AN ENGLISH ECCENTRIC PART 2
NOEL PEMBERTON-BILLING, pioneer aviator, aeroplane manufacturer, outspoken adventurer, succeeded and failed a goodly number of times in his early years. Founder of Supermarine, Pemberton-Billing built no aeroplanes as renowned as … Continue reading
AN ENGLISH ECCENTRIC PART 1
MY INTEREST IN Noel Pemberton-Billing arose from my GMax/Microsoft Flight Simulator hobby: It was Pemberton-Billing who designed the 1913 P.B.7 flying boat which I modeled. Here, in Parts 1, 2, … Continue reading
AN AERO ENGINEER PHILOSOPHER PART 2
THERE WAS APPARENTLY a time when philosopher-to-be Ludvig Wittgenstein had nary a thought on existential propositions. Mechanical engineering diploma in hand, Wittgenstein had an immediate goal of earning a doctorate … Continue reading
AN AERO ENGINEER PHILOSOPHER PART 1
WERE IT NOT for London Review of Books, I wouldn’t have known that philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein had the “childhood dream of becoming the greatest aviator since Orville and Wilber Wright.” … Continue reading
AUTOMOTIVE NEWS UPDATE
THESE DAYS, I get most of my automotive ken from the weekly Automotive News, the primary journal of worldwide automotive industry happenings. Here are a few tidbits. Some educate me, … Continue reading
THE SCOTTISH PLAY PART 2
NEVER, EVER utter the word “Macbeth” in a theater. Unless, of course, you’re acting a role in the play of that name. Tidbits yesterday in Part 1 suggested the origin … Continue reading
THE SCOTTISH PLAY PART 1
THE WORD “MACBETH” is never, ever uttered in a theater, except when performing in the Shakespeare play. To avoid the curse, it must always be referred to as “The Scottish … Continue reading
THREE SUPERLATIVE DELIVERY VEHICLES
THE POINT OF April Fools Road Tests in R&T was to poke fun at the magazine’s testing procedures, not the vehicles being evaluated. This was particularly important when I approached … Continue reading
QUEEN ELIZABETH II—A MAJESTIC PERSONAGE PART 2
IT’S NOT SURPRISING that Elizabeth Longford’s The Oxford Book of Royal Anecdotes includes insights concerning Queen Elizabeth II. Today, in Part 2, we encounter Britain’s first Queen Elizabeth and loyal, … Continue reading
QUEEN ELIZABETH II—A MAJESTIC PERSONAGE PART 1
WHAT WITH her kids, and more recently her grandkids, Queen Elizabeth II has had her share of annis horribilis. More than three decades ago, royal biographer Elizabeth Longford edited The … Continue reading
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