Aviation History

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

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...

Igo Sikorsky's VS-300, the world's first practical helicopter flying in Stratford, CT on September 14, 1939, ushering in the age of helicopters

The Age Of Helicopter Airlines

Clarence Belinn formed the first helicopter airline in 1947, flying mail from the roof of the post office at LAX. In 1954 Los Angeles Airways began operations carrying passengers from LAX airport t...

Amy Johnson was a pioneering English pilot who was the first woman to fly from London to Australia in the 1930s

Amy, Wonderful Amy

I have always been fascinated by airplanes, and on February 25, 1961, I took my first flight in an Aeronca 7AC (N2778E) in San Angelo, Texas. That flight was the culmination of my dream of flying, ...

The Flying Debutante

A privileged young girl learns to fly while attending college, without her parent's knowledge, and becomes famous for setting several world records for women in the 1930s. Discover the famous Flyin...

A photograph of Yuri Alexseyevich Gagarin, the first man in space and continued his military service becoming a Colonel in the Soviet Air Force before his aircraft accident on March 27, 1968.

Yuri Gagarin, The First Man In Space

On April 12th, 1961, a Soviet Vostok-1 rocket launched the first man into Earth orbit, becoming the first man in space. Yuri Gagarin slips the surly bonds of Earth to become the first human in spac...

The United States Air Force Academy

The U.S. Air Force Academy is the youngest of the military academies, and is focused on continuing to improve the quality of officers and leadership in the corps.