SCHNEIDER TROPHY, PART 1
THERE’S A rich history documenting the Schneider Trophy, seaplane races held 11 times between 1913 and 1931. It began in Monaco and was to end—somewhat ignominiously—off the Isle of Wight, … Continue reading
A CENTURY OF AIRLINE COMFORT
IT’S TIME to celebrate the 100th anniversary of airline comfort. Things have changed a great deal since 1913’s first commercial scheduled passenger-carrying heavier-than-air flight (all these qualifiers are useful). Here’s … Continue reading
TUPOLEV ANT-25
WHEN STALIN said “Jump,” Soviets were wise to respond “How high?” Famed aircraft designer Andrei Nikolaevich Tupolev was no exception. In fact, I’ve already recounted two of his technical leaps, … Continue reading
DAYTON-WRIGHT RB RACER
THE LAST of the James Gordon Bennett Cup air races, held in 1920, had an amazingly advanced entry, the Dayton-Wright RB Racer. By any measure, the RB should have won … Continue reading
AVRO TYPE F
PILOTING—IN or out? This was a fundamental question during the first two decades of aviation. Some said a pilot needed intimacy with the air flow to optimize control. Others thought … Continue reading
STOUT BUSHMASTER 2000
WILLIAM BUSHNELL Stout designed the Ford Trimotor in the mid-1920s, but I doubt he imagined that—three decades later—he’d update his design and call it the Stout Bushmaster 2000. The story … Continue reading
CONCORDE VS QE2
THE CONCORDE Supersonic Transport and Cunard Line’s Queen Elizabeth 2 were already classic craft when we at R&T had our 1988 experience with them. Each craft was a fantastic technical … Continue reading
BUGATTI 100P
ETTORE BUGATTI combined artistry with his engineering of cars, boats, railway transport—and an airplane, the Bugatti 100P. In the mid-1930s, he teamed with Belgian aeronautical engineer Louis de Monge to … Continue reading
OPEL’S RAKS
WHEN WE last visited the German aviation industry (in 1922; see http://www.wp.me/p2ETap-W8), the Inter-Allied Commission had demanded—and got—destruction of the Zeppelin-Staaken E-4/20. This passenger liner was simply too advanced, potentially … Continue reading
ZEPPELIN-STAAKEN E-4/20
A DECISION made shortly after World War I likely delayed aircraft technology by more than several years. In its structure, power and utility, the German Zeppelin-Staaken E-4/20 was simply too … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 