Aviation History

Gary Powers and the U-2 Program

The wreckage of the U-2 flown by Gary Powers over the Soviet Union an downed near Sverdlovsk The Aftermath Of The Downing The CIA's first indication that something was wrong with Power's mission oc...

The U-2 Enters Service

The 60-year-old aircraft still flys today serving our country's need for information on our adversaries. U-2 flights began in 1956, but they were paused by President Eisenhower in 1958 because he w...

The Iconic U-2

In late 1954 the CIA, at the direction of President Eisenhower, was told to develop a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft due to the growing threat of the Soviet Union. Lockheed had developed the...

The Birth Of Instrument Flying

In the early days of aviation, navigating in bad weather presented a real challenge for pilots, resulting in the early demise of many pilots. There were no navigation aids to help pilots easily fin...

Advanced Flying Wing Aircraft

The Avro Vulcan B.1 was a jet-powered, tailless, delta-wing high-altitude strategic bomber of the mid-1950s Aircraft designers understood the advantages of a flying wing aircraft, but after the Nor...

The Flying Wing

Early adoption of the Flying Wing occurred in 1908 but achieved some success in 1940 when Jack Northrop built the N-1M Flying Wing aircraft. Following that success Northrop Aircraft Company went on...

The First Non-Stop US Transcontinental Flight

In early May of 1923 two Army Air Service lieutenants departed from Long Island, NY en route to San Diego, CA in a Fokker T-2 to complete the first non-stop transcontinental airplane flight. The 26...

The First US Navy Ace

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.

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...

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 ...

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...