World War I marks the first major conflict where the use of aircraft really took off. Unlike WWII, however, these early military planes were primarily used for reconnaissance. From Racer to Recon In January 1914, French Naval officer, engineer, and businessman Gustave Delange joined the Société Anonyme des Etablissements Nieuport (A French airplane company) and started working [...]
In a world of fabric-and-wood, be metal. Hugo Junkers (1859-1935)©MP/Leemage The Junkers F.13 was one of the most advanced aircraft of its time. Developed in Germany at the end of WWI, this advanced cantilever-wing monoplane was the first ever all-metal transport aircraft. It was also Junker's first commercial aircraft--not too shabby considering they would go [...]
Ferdinand Adolph Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin With a name like that, you just know he was meant to do great things. We’ve talked about rigid airships before (remember the giant Airlander 10?) and how sometimes you need to look back when looking to the future. On this day (May 26) in 1909, the rigid [...]
