In the late 1920s before the sobering effects of the Great Depression, aircraft and engine manufacturers tweaked and dabbled as they pursued the Next Big Thing.
Of Wings & Things
Radical Japanese fighter overcome by events
The Kyushu Shinden first tested its wings on Aug. 3, 1945. Two more quick test sorties, said to have been made on Aug. 6 and 9, the dates when atomic bombs exploded over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, were the last flights for the Shinden. Six days later Japan surrendered, ending the war and the need for the Shinden.
Dauntless: From Northrop concept to Douglas production
The BT-1 might have been an anecdotal footnote in aviation history, but the modified XBT-2 showed promise. Now part of the Douglas portfolio for the Navy, the XBT-2 was redesignated the Douglas SBD-1.
Celebrating 100 years of Fairchild Aircraft
Led by Sherman Mills Fairchild, who enjoyed both wealth and talent, Fairchild fast became a reliable part of American aviation industry.
Me 262 jet pointed to the future as it slipped into the past
The shark-like predator look of the Messerschmitt Me 262, coupled with its capabilities as a combat jet aircraft in World War II, ensure this warplane will be forever fascinating.
Hawk One Canada was an air show stunner
Through the 1970s, air shows in the Northwest U.S. and across the border in British Columbia could count on a roaring, rousing opener performed by McDonnell F-101 Voodoo interceptors.
Albin Longren: The aviation pioneer you don’t know
Longren did not have any formal education as an aeronautical designer and engineer. He also lacked any flight training. Neither stopped him from achieving success with his original biplane, the Longren Topeka.
Martin bombers: From World War I and beyond
Glenn Martin, characterized by some biographers as a prim and proper son who doted on his mother, was also an aviation visionary who leapfrogged his early bomber successes into a growing line of warplanes for the Air Force, Navy, and foreign customers.
A toast to the importance of aviation
“Aviation is even more widely interesting than prohibition.”