Mount Everest With an elevation of 29,029 ft, Mt. Everest is the highest mountain on planet Earth (from sea level). It has always attracted climbers and mountaineers, and despite time, none of that has changed; Everest has retained its charm. Like a siren, the summit calls out to adventurers looking for a thrill and unique [...]
If you do an internet search for "chemtrails," your search results are going to be inundated with talks of conspiracy theories--I guarantee it. When I did a search of the term in google, for instance, the very first hit was the Wikipedia page for "Chemtrail conspiracy theory." The general theory (which you can read on [...]
Remember when in 1984 NASA and the FAA got together and intentionally crashed a B-720 aircraft in the name of airplane safety? Well, they’re back at it again—because who doesn’t like intentionally crashing stuff? Recently, NASA and the FAA put 10 crash test dummies to the test to help develop new crashworthiness guidelines for the future of [...]
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 [...]
Move over, No-Shave November. If you have an Air Force man in your life, maybe you've been wondering why he's suddenly decided to start nurturing a caterpillar above his upper lip. Maybe he was born with it--or maybe it's just Mustache March. When the Mustaches March Along The month of March. We all know that [...]
March 8 is International Women’s Day—a day marked by celebrating all the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. As a woman, I would like to emphasize the importance of recognizing women for their achievements and contributions to history and the general betterment of society. Women have pretty much always been involved in aviation, [...]
Grumman Avengers assemble! While it was no bombshell in terms of its beauty, don't let that fool you: despite its rather homely looks, this torpedo bomber saw some major wins. During its operational use during WWII, nearly 10,000 of them were produced. Who's the beauty queen now? Design and Development At a brief point in aviation history, the Douglas [...]
From the Silver Screen to Blue Skies If you’re compiling a list of some of the most influential figures in the aviation industry, Howard Hughes has to be on it--there’s no question about that. And he’d likely make appearances on other lists, too, such as most financially successful individuals, and even controversial filmmakers (of the [...]
Franklin D. Roosevelt has the distinction of being the first US president to ever fly in an aircraft, while Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first president to travel in an airplane with the designation Air Force One. It was Theodore Roosevelt, however, who was the first [former] president to ever fly in an aircraft in October [...]
Some of the most popular, iconic airlines of the United States have disappeared from the skies--and from our minds. How is it that some of the most popular airlines are now defunct? For some, financial problems were to blame. For others it was labor problems, increased competition or plane crashes which doomed them. Some of the [...]
