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Category Archives: Vintage Aero

PIERRE PRIER—FIRST NONSTOP LONDON/PARIS PART 2

YESTERDAY IN PART 1, my perusal of The Aeroplane magazine, July 28, 1950, introduced me to pioneer aviator Pierre Prier. In 1911, he was the first to fly nonstop from … Continue reading →

March 12, 2022 · Leave a comment

PIERRE PRIER—FIRST NON-STOP LONDON/PARIS PART 1

PIERRE PRIER’S APRIL 19, 1911, FLIGHT was the first non-stop from London to Paris. I’ve only recently learned of the achievement; this, in reading a 70-year-old magazine. Here, in Parts … Continue reading →

March 11, 2022 · 1 Comment

AIRWAYS OF AMERICA—1933 PART 2

YESTERDAY, WE FOLLOWED a 1933 airways route from New York to San Francisco, based on A.K. Loebeck’s book Airways of America Guidebook No. 1 United Air Lines. Here in Part … Continue reading →

February 24, 2022 · 1 Comment

AIRWAYS OF AMERICA—1933 PART 1

“THE SENSATION OF FLYING is not what most people imagine…. There is perfect calmness, possibly a feeling of exhilaration, never one of fear.” This, from cartographer and artist Armin K. … Continue reading →

February 23, 2022 · Leave a comment

TUPOLEV’S SST PART 2

YESTERDAY’S PART 1 discussed Russian aircraft designer Andrei Tupolev’s various responses to Soviet “requests.” A most recent one involved Supersonic Transport competition between Russia and the West. Today in Part … Continue reading →

November 26, 2021 · Leave a comment

TUPOLEV’S SST PART 1

RUSSIAN AIRCRAFT DESIGNER Andrei Tupolev was familiar with Soviet “requests.” His 1932 ANT-20 Maksim Gorki was to celebrate the 40th anniversary of this Russian writer’s first publication. This vast aircraft’s … Continue reading →

November 25, 2021 · Leave a comment

B.C. HUCKS’ MARVELOUS STARTER

THE IMAGE OF firing up a vintage aeroplane is embedded in my mind: An intrepid fellow manually turns the propeller through a couple of rotations. The pilot yells  “Contact!” The … Continue reading →

November 13, 2021 · 1 Comment

RECALLING THE MARTIN AM MAULER

A RECENT REFERENCE to control-line aircraft modeling here at SimanaitisSays evoked strikingly similar memories from reader Bob Storck. As a kid, he too enjoyed carrier event with model Navy aircraft … Continue reading →

November 1, 2021 · Leave a comment

BLÉRIOT 125 PART 2

YESTERDAY, WE LEARNED about Louis Blériot’s enthusiasm for air transport, as exemplified in his company’s development in the early 1930s of the innovative Blériot 125. Today in Part 2, here … Continue reading →

September 29, 2021 · Leave a comment

BLÉRIOT 125 PART 1

LOUIS BLÉRIOT BELIEVED in air transport. In 1908, Blériot became the first to fly La Manche, what we English speakers call the English Channel. Barely three years later, on commission … Continue reading →

September 28, 2021 · 1 Comment