THE ANTONOV AN-2—A CLASSIC SOVIET
AIRCRAFT, BY VIRTUE of their technology and engineering, are sleek and well-finished. Unless they’re the Antonov An-2, affectionately known as the “Aннушка,” “Annushka,” “Annie.” Close up, an Aннушка looks like … Continue reading
ALOFT IN PARIS PART 2
YESTERDAY IN PART 1, we began our time travel above Paris with the Opéra Garnier. Off in the distance at about 11:35 was the Grand Palais along the Seine. The … Continue reading
ALOFT IN PARIS PART 1
PASCAL ORY’S BOOK Legend of the Skies: Images and Objects From the World of Aviation offers images of Paris from the air, circa 1910. With the help of Google Maps and … Continue reading
BEL GEDDES AIRLINER NUMBER 4 PART 1
IT’S A SIGNIFICANT understatement to call Norman Bel Geddes an industrial designer: His designs were artistic, innovative, eccentric, flamboyant, occasionally bordering on the wacky, hardly just “industrial.” Here in Parts … Continue reading
THE DRAMA AIN’T OVER TILL THE CAL PILOT GETS HIS DUE PART 2
YESTERDAY’S TOPIC WAS pioneer aviator John J. Montgomery’s demonstration of controlled flight of a heavier-than-air craft. The year was 1883, nine years before the Wright Brothers opened their bicycle shop, … Continue reading
THE DRAMA AIN’T OVER TILL THE CAL PILOT GETS HIS DUE PART 1
AWHILE BACK I viewed Gallant Journey, 1946, on “Turner Classic Movies.” It was a pleasant enough flick, starring Glenn Ford as California aviation pioneer John J. Montgomery. Little did I … Continue reading