On November 8, 1957, a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser left San Francisco International Airport at 11:51 am (PST) for Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii. It was a Friday and, for many people, it was probably a rather ordinary day. Pan Am Flight 7, registration N90944, Clipper Romance of The Skies was an around-the-world flight; its first leg [...]
In the middle part of the year 1940, the largest sustained bombing campaign to that date took place over the United Kingdom. It is considered as the first all-air battle in history: The Battle of Britain. A Brief History Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister, 1940-1945 and 1951-1955. Great Britain and Germany fought in [...]
For the rest of The History of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles series, you can read Part 1: WWI here and Part 2: Interwar Years & WWII here. Post-WWII: Evolution of Target Drones and Reconnaissance The Cold War Immediately after World War II ended, the Cold War began. The Soviet Union and the United States were two global superpowers: [...]
Ruth Law Oliver, who was featured in our Women in Aviation History post earlier this month, passed away 46 years ago on December 1, 1970 in San Francisco. She was 83 years old. Image: PD-US A Brief Biography She was born on May 21, 1887 in Massachusetts. Ruth was a pioneering aviatrix in her [...]
45 years ago, on November 24, 1971, an unidentified man hijacked a Boeing 727 aircraft somewhere in the airspace between Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington. The perpetrator has never been located or identified, despite an extensive manhunt and FBI Investigation. To this day, he is known only by his alias Dan Cooper—or, more popularly, “D.B. [...]
To read The History of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Part 1: WWI, click here. Post-WWI: Target and Assault Drones Interwar Years After World War I, the aviation industry advanced exponentially. These advancements (particularly within the air transport sector) hindered the testing and operation of unmanned systems. As post-war hostilities decreased, so did military interest in unmanned flight; [...]
In continued celebration of National Aviation History Month, we’re focusing now on one incredible portion of aviation history: Night Witches. During World War II, women became involved in positions typically reserved for men. Little known are the Night Witches, who were a large part of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment in the Soviet Air Forces. [...]
When we think of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), it’s easy to limit our thought to present-day UAVs—after all, drones have been receiving a lot of media attention lately. While modern drones and remotely piloted vehicles (RPVs) have become critical to the US Military due to their advancements, the development of such vehicles is, like so [...]
Earlier this year, we wrote about the history of aviation. Today, we’re going to take that in a slightly different direction and look at some significant women in aviation history. Women aviators, often called an aviatrix, are plentiful throughout aviation’s history. Here are just a few of our favorites: Raymonde de Laroche Raymonde de [...]
It's a dangerous process -- but a necessary one. The refueling of jet planes around the globe are constantly looking to improve the technology behind air-to-air refueling. For the United States Armed Forces, there are two different methods used for this specific process: one more primarily used by the US Navy, and the other by [...]
