ALEXANDER EAGLEROCK
IF YOU’VE changed planes in Denver (and haven’t we all at one time or another?), you might well have admired a biplane displayed overhead near Gate 21 of Concourse B. … Continue reading
SOME VTOL AIRCRAFT
VTOL STANDS for vertical takeoff and landing, as it applies to fixed-wing aircraft (not rotary-wing or helicopters). Here’s a brief sampling of the type and its variants. Maybe you’ll share … Continue reading
LATHAM AND THE ANTOINETTES
SOME PEOPLE—and endeavors—are just plain unlucky. Hubert Latham was a pioneer French aviator with the skills of his countryman Louis Blériot. His Antoinette VII aeroplane could outclimb Blériot’s Type XI. … Continue reading
DE HAVILLAND BEAVER: PILOT FAVORITE, MOVIE STAR
THE CANADIAN De Havilland DHC-2 Beaver met one of its design criteria by being faster than a sled dog. This bush pilot’s favorite was named one of the top ten … Continue reading
MAGNIFICENT MACHINES—AND TALES TOO
IT’S AS though a bunch of aeroplane enthusiasts got together to make a comedy flick—and spin off a wonderful book. The full title, Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines … Continue reading
THE LIFE AND ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY OF ARMAND DEPERDUSSIN
ARMAND DEPERDUSSIN, pioneer French airplane manufacturer, was larger than life. He had been a traveling salesman, a cabaret singer and a silk tycoon. His aeroplanes were the world’s first to … Continue reading
LLOYD STEARMAN, WICHITA AIRMAN
THIS TITLE may sound as though I’m channeling a Glen Campbell song, but indeed I’m celebrating an aviation great who played a role in earning Wichita, Kansas, the title “Air … Continue reading
GRUMMAN’S (AND MAUREEN O’HARA’S) GOOSE
THE GRUMMAN Goose sure did ok for itself. Designed in 1936 for well-heeled Long Island commuters, this amphibious aircraft was Grumman’s first monoplane, its first with twin engines and its … Continue reading
THE HAMMOND AIRPLANE—AND GORE VIDAL’S FATHER
THE FLIVVER Movement aspired to put America aloft in the 1930s, just as, two decades before, Ford’s Model T flivver had put America on the road. One of the contenders … Continue reading
THE WRIGHT ART
REPORTS OF the first powered, heavier-than-air, controlled flight encouraged artists around the world to incorporate the Wright Brothers’ craft in their work. Even today, the Wright Flyer is the subject … Continue reading
