Aviation History

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...
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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 ...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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, ...
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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...
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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...
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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.
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When most of us think of the first powered flight, the first thing that comes to mind is the Wright Brothers. They claimed to have been the first to fly a powered aircraft on December 17, 1903. How...
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