Although a work of fiction, “A Common Glory” is based on fact and makes good use of historic photographs, as it weaves a charming but sometimes tragic Southern love story during World War II. George Westcott is a Royal Air Force pilot instructor, training RAF cadets at the U.S. Army Air Corps’ Cochran Field in […]
A new look at aviation’s first century
“Reconsidering a Century of Flight” is a compilation of a dozen long articles, by an interesting variety of aerospace writers, that takes a new look at aviation’s first century and its effects on society. Drawing on existing scholarship as well as new research, editors Roger B. Launius and Janet Daly Bednarek have divided the essays […]
Commander Aircraft to be liquidated
Troubled times continue at Commander Aircraft Co., as the Bethany, Okla.-based company is set to be liquidated. After two failed attempts to find saviors for the bankrupt company, Commander’s December 2002 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing has been converted to a Chapter 7 filing by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. All operations at the company […]
‘I’m saving a life’
On one of his first days as the new president and chief operating officer of Ballistic Recovery Systems Inc., Larry Williams was walking through the company’s South St. Paul, Minn., plant. He stopped to watch one of the firm’s employees pack a parachute. Intrigued by the process, he asked the young woman what she was […]
Hooray for Hollywood
Since the earliest days of moviemaking, airplanes have been stars on the big screen — often pushing credibility to the limits. Take “”International House,”” a 1933 movie that was, ostensibly, about the invention of television. Packed with stars of the day, including Rudy Vallee, George Burns, Gracie Allen and Cab Calloway, the film is dominated […]
Thanks for (sharing) the memories
When George Christie was 16 years old, aviation was in its Golden Age. Armed with a $5 Kodak camera, the young aviation buff had plenty of opportunities to take photos of his favorite thing — airplanes — and the personalities who flew them. Some of his favorites include shots of the Boeing Clipper at Lake […]
Commander Aircraft to be liquidated
Troubled times continue at Commander Aircraft Co., as the Bethany, Okla.-based company is set to be liquidated. After two failed attempts to find saviors for the bankrupt company, Commander’s December 2002 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing has been converted to a Chapter 7 filing by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. All operations at the company […]
Reach out and touch — your airplane
You live in the South, so icing isn’t a problem, right? Wrong, as this winter’s Arctic blasts demonstrate. Wing icing has been in the news a lot, lately, and pilots should be paying attention regardless of where they live. On Dec. 29, the National Transportation Safety Board issued an Alert to Pilots concerning ice accumulation […]
The newest jet jockeys
University of Florida scientists have grown rat brain cells in a petri dish and taught them to fly a fighter plane, according to school officials. The “”brain,”” grown from 25,000 neural cells extracted from a single embryo, has been taught to fly an F-22 jet simulator, they claim. “”When we first hooked it up, the […]