Aviation History

A photograph of Lt. JG David S. Ingalls, USN pilot and the very first US Navy Fighter Ace in 1918

The U.S. Navy has traditionally had a lot of excellent fighter pilots who performed extremely well in World War I, World War II, and in the Vietnam War. But did you know who was the very first U.S....

The Shootdown of Tiger #620

Being a test pilot is a dangerous job sometimes, and unusual events occur on a regular basis. In this case a test pilot shoots himself down but survives.

The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force in the Second World War

Riding A Spitfire

The Spitfire is the most famous and beloved aircraft of World War II. Its unique design and superior agility in dog fighting gave the British Royal Air Force a decisive advantage over the German Lu...

A Rolls-Royce Nene-powered Armstrong-Whitworth-A.W.52-TS363 installed in a British "Flying Wing" aircraft in 1949

How To Exit An Aircraft Quickly

Until the closing days of the Second World War the only way to exit a fatally damaged aircraft was to jump through a door or hole, or after removing the canopy to roll the aircraft upside down and ...

Image of the seating in a Boeing RB-47H reconnaisance aircraft

A "Ferret" Mission

I had the honor of serving in the USAF from 1960 through 1965 as a Russian Linguist. This was during one of the most interesting periods in the history of the Cold War with the Soviet Union. Most c...

Lawrence Richard Walters a/k/a The Lawn Chair Pilot

Up, Up and Away

Who among us has not thought, if not dreamed, of becoming a pilot? Those of us who did dream of flying can't help but turn our gaze skyward when we hear an airplane passing overhead. What thoughts ...

An aerial shot of bombed out Berlin shortly after the end of World War II

The First Cold War Crisis

The Berlin airlift of 1948-1949 was a test of the will of the Allies in the face of strong Soviet interference with the Marshall Plan and access to Berlin. Not to be intimidated nor deterred, the A...

Tupolev ANT-25RD N0251 in flight on March 1, 1934.

The World's First Transpolar Flight

From June 18, 1937, through June 20, 1938, the first transpolar flight occurred when a Soviet-era ANT-25 aircraft, crewed by three Russians, flew from Moscow to Vancouver, WA, across the North Pole...

Alvin S. White, North American Aviation Test Pilot, standing beside the XB-70 Valkyrie Escape Capsule

Alvin Swauger White, North American Aviation Test Pilot

Alvin S. White was the Pilot in Command of the XB-70 on June 8, 1966, when it was involved in an accident that ended the XB-70 program. Al White was a talented experimental aircraft test pilot with...

Formation flight of the XB-70A-2-NA Valkyrie bomber and four othe aircraft

Valkyrie Down: The Unsolved Mystery

Perhaps the most beautiful aircraft ever built was the North American Aviation B-70 Valkyrie bomber. This incredible bomber was designed to outrun any Soviet fighter jet by speeding along at Mach 3...

Flying the SR-71 and setting world speed records. Example: New York to London, a distance of 3,470 Miles, average speed of 1,817 mph, 1:55:32 time enroute

Can You Safely Eject From An SR-71 At Speed And Altitude And Survive?

Flying the SR-71 was not only a lot of fun for the pilots but presented them with some real danger should something go wrong. So, could they survive ejecting from an SR-71 at 85,000 feet plus and M...

A photo of Jimmy Doolittle sitting on the Turtle Deck of a Curtiss P-1C Hawk at the 1929 Cleveland National Air Races

The Outside Loop

Whenever the name Jimmy Doolittle comes up, the first thought that occurs to us is the raid over Tokyo in World War II. On that date, the United States launched 16 B-25 bombers from the deck of the...