THE OTTO FOUR-STROKE—SELF TAUGHT
THE UBIQUITOUS Otto four-stroke internal combustion engine didn’t originate with Otto. For instance, Frenchman Alphonse Eugène Beau de Rochas patented the four-stroke concept in 1861, fifteen years before German Nicolaus … Continue reading
SCHMID LSR CRACKS 800 KM/H AT BONNEVILLE
VIRTUALLY, THE Land Speed Record car of Leopold F. Schmid has achieved its design goal of 800 km/h, 497 mph or 432 knots. I include this third equivalent unit because … Continue reading
THE PILOT’S VIEW, EPISODE 1
THE EARLIEST aeroplanes were less than open-cockpit, for they had no cockpits at all. Orville or Wilbur Wright initially lay prone on a padded cradle on the bottom wing of … Continue reading
JUNKERS G-38
Passengers in today’s jumbo jets travel encapsulated in alloy tubes, but those in the 1930’s Junkers G-38 had more interesting choices: Eleven sat in upper or lower levels, four had … Continue reading
HENRY FORD’S AMAZON ADVENTURE
IN THE early part of the last century, Henry Ford’s social engineering achieved a miracle of capitalism: His workers could actually afford the fruits of their labor (see http://wp.me/p2ETap-tH). Later, … Continue reading
MILLER TEXAS GEM
FORMULA ONE—whether on the ground or in the air—is replete with high technology and innovation. One of my favorites of Formula One air racers is Jim Miller’s Texas Gem N74M. … Continue reading
SAUNDERS-ROE PRINCESS
HISTORY HAS been known to repeat itself in a disconcertingly short interval. Two British aircraft, the Bristol Brabazon and Saunders-Roe Princess, had similarly ambitious plans—and were both failures, albeit brilliant … Continue reading
VOUGHT XF5U
THE XF5U “Flying Flapjack” was one of the might-have-beens of aviation history. Its designer, Charles H. Zimmerman, was a talented aerodynamicist and member of NACA, the National Advisory Committee for … Continue reading
DOUGLAS WORLD CRUISERS
ONE OF the grandest adventures in aviation occurred in 1924 when a trio of U.S. Army Air Service Douglas World Cruisers became the first aeroplanes to circumnavigate the globe. The … Continue reading
MILLIKEN M-1 TAKES TO THE (VIRTUAL) AIR
BILL MILLIKEN built and flew his own airplane. Maybe that’s not so remarkable, but he was a college student at the time and the year was 1933. And this is … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 