A SCREENPLAY PITCH PART 1
“I GOT this great screenplay! It has everything. Action. Glamor. International rivalry. Airplanes for the guys. Romance for their girlfriends.” “Old hat….” “Wait! There’s this World War I pilot who’s … Continue reading
THEO’S WONDERFUL FLYING MACHINE
“THEO JUST INHERITED his Grandfather’s flying machine. It had become a little rusty and broken, but Theo set to work to repair it.” And thus begins this charming little book … Continue reading
ON SENDING THE KID UP IN A CRATE LIKE THIS PART 2
YESTERDAY’S SIMANAITISSAYS outlined the reasons for World War I fighter planes of pusher configuration, a primary benefit being its forward-facing armament not shooting off the aircraft’s aft-spinning propeller. Each of … Continue reading
ON SENDING THE KID UP IN A CRATE LIKE THIS PART 1
AERIAL AGGRESSION in World War I originated with pilots and their handheld pistols, fired almost randomly, or rifles wielded by observers in aircraft designed with this intent, observation. Fighter planes, … Continue reading
THE WRIGHT ENGINE PART 2
IN PART 1 yesterday, we learned that the 1903 Wright Flyer was powered by a horizontally aligned inline-four designed and fabricated by the brothers themselves and their mechanician Charlie Taylor. … Continue reading
THE WRIGHT 1903 ENGINE PART 1
THE WRIGHT BROTHERS designed and developed the first powered heavier-than-air craft with theoretical as well as practical considerations. “The Wright Brothers—Aero Theoreticians” here at SimanaitisSays described one aspect of this, … Continue reading
THE HINDENBURG’S BABY GRAND
IT WOULD seem incongruous to find a piano aboard an airship. But, for awhile, the Lounge of the Zeppelin LZ-129 Hindenburg featured a baby grand built by Julius Blüthner Pianofortefabrik … Continue reading
THE FIRST PERSON TO FLY IN THE U.S.
JUST AS GEORGE Washington crossed the Delaware River in December 1776, within two decades Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard entered aviation history as the first person to fly in the U.S., also … Continue reading
TROOPS (AND PLANES) TO THE BORDER PART 2
YESTERDAY WE left U.S Army General John J. “Black Jack” Pershing and Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa poised for interaction in a border squabble. Today, we see how aeroplanes played a … Continue reading
TROOPS (AND PLANES) TO THE BORDER PART 1
“A STORY as timely as today’s headlines,” it has been said. However, this story about the United States versus Mexico took place 100 years ago. The tale involves a U.S. … Continue reading
