The Making of a Lockheed Signature The Lockheed Model 10 Electra represented a shift in aircraft technology. It was Lockheed's first all-metal, twin-engine monoplane airliner developed in the 1930s to replace the wooden, single-engine Orion. Not only was it a giant leap in airliner technology but it was also a precursor to the future of Lockheed [...]
On September 19, 1783, a duck, a sheep, and a rooster all made history as the first passengers to ever travel through the air in a balloon. While their names didn’t go down in the history books, the names of the balloon’s inventors certainly did. The Montgolfier Brothers Beginning in France during the late 18th [...]
Long before Neil Armstrong made one giant leap for mankind (or, you know, didn’t, if that’s your belief), NASA’s work was a lot closer to home. In fact, it had nothing to do with aerospace at all. At least, not technically. The NASA we know and love today grew out of a federal agency founded [...]
Not all vampires suck, you know. Not all vampires can fly, either. In both American and European folklore, only some can. But Bram Stoker’s Dracula, The Little Vampire, and The Lost Boys all could fly. So could this de Havilland Vampire. And fly it did. Britain’s Second Jet-Powered Aircraft Post-WWII In 1941, the de Havilland [...]
In reality, though, Lilian Bland was truly anything BUT bland. It’s true that Lilian Bland was the first woman to fly a plane in Ireland. But it’s also true that she was so much more than just a pilot. She was the first woman in the world to both design and build her very own [...]
When we think of radiation, we think scary. We think of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. We think of the Chernobyl disaster and radioactive boars running around Europe. Or we think of cancer—fatigue and hair loss. Do you think of bananas? Doubtful. Do you think of flying? Probably not. But there are doses of radiation thanks [...]
When the United States Army Air Forces wanted an operational jet fighter of their own, the War Department's wish was Kelly Johnson's command. They sure wished upon this shooting star. The Lockheed P-80 was the first jet fighter used operationally by the USAAF. The aircraft was designed and built by Lockheed in [...]
Did a killer unintentionally change the course of aviation history as we know it? In 2015, famed historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough released a new book, “The Wright Brothers.” Early in his text, he recounts an event that ultimately changed the course of Wilbur’s life—and arguably the history of aviation as we know [...]
When you think of warbirds, you're probably not thinking of war birds (or the "The Gang Wrestles for the Troops" episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia). There are a lot of reasons why former military aircraft that are still airworthy are revered. One thing that's for certain is the major role all forms of aircraft played in war. [...]
Experimenting--it's a perfectly normal phase in every aircraft's life. Some just never quite grow out of it. If ugly ducklings could fly (they can't until 12 weeks of age, by the way), they might be called Stipa-Caproni. At least if they were Italian ducks. What's a little more certain is for many, this aircraft is [...]
