After Jimmy Doolittle made the first flight solely by reference to instruments, the Doolittles celebrated by throwing a dinner party. Ever the gracious hostess, Josephine Doolittle asked the guests to help commemorate the event by signing the white linen tablecloth. She then embroidered the names in black thread. Among the guests who signed the tablecloth […]
Under cover
The next time you struggle with your aircraft’s canvas cover think about this: When Howard Hughes moved the HK-1 to Long Beach, Calif., for final assembly, he insisted that a tent made of canvas and pipe be erected to protect the behemoth aircraft from the elements. The tent was an engineering marvel itself since the […]
Records fall in 2005
Last year saw aviation records set that will be hard to beat, if not utterly impossible. The biggest story, which made news all over the world, was Steve Fossett’s non-stop, unrefueled solo flight around the world in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, but there were other, less dramatic records set. Most may endure longer, for Fossett […]
Rules for flight
Some common wisdom that’s good to revisit now and then: 1. Every takeoff is optional. Every landing is mandatory. 2. If you push the stick forward, the houses get bigger. If you pull the stick back, they get smaller. That is, unless you keep pulling the stick all the way back, then they get bigger […]
A rare bird for sale
What probably is the only Douglas A-20 capable of flight is for sale. It’s a rare bird — so rare that the asking price is $1,150,000. The A-20 Havoc was forerunner to the better-known A-26, later designated B-26 and often confused with the Martin B-26 bomber which, by the time of the renaming, was out […]
Prove it!
When I was a small boy, if a schoolmate made a statement with which another disagreed, the accepted rejoinder was “Prove it!” Later on, having discovered an interest in science, I learned that this is an appropriate response to any theory. “Prove it.” Today, however, theories abound, proofs are as scarce as hens’ teeth, and […]
Socata takes on VLJs
Will Socata survive the arrival of Very Light Jets? “That’s a question we get a lot,” said Stephane Mayer, president of the French aircraft manufacturer, on opening day of Sun ‘n Fun. “But as the order book for the TBM 850 grows, less people are asking that.” While the buzz in the industry is about […]
Mission accomplished
Bruce Bohannon’s Flyin’ Tiger has completed its mission for ExxonMobil Corp. A highly customized RV-4, the Flyin’ Tiger set 30 records in the past seven years under Exxon sponsorship. “The primary purpose of the sponsorship was to increase awareness of Exxon Elite in the general aviation marketplace and demonstrate the quality and reliability of Exxon […]
New Piper: A company in transition
“There are a lot of exciting things happening at Piper,” said CEO Jim Bass at this year’s Sun ‘n Fun. “We’re a company in transition and a company which we think has an incredible amount of potential.” The question on a lot of minds is whether The New Piper Aircraft Co. will build a jet. […]