Leader of the revolution
Of all the great aviation stories out there, my favourites are the ones that take me completely by surprise. And so it was with this. I assume you’ve seen the footage of legendary German test pilot Hanna Reitsch flying the twin-rotor Focke-Wulf Fw.61 inside Berlin’s Deutschlandhalle sports stadium during February 1938. If not, here it is: It begs the question – where were “our” helicopters? … Continue reading Leader of the revolution
Write flyers
airscape has a long-standing tension with poetry. I like it, but I know a lot of other people like it less. And so I restrain myself. Usually. The following clip is simply too good to miss though. And while the star of the show is undoubtedly the English Electric Lightning, Hawker Hunters and Slingsby Swallow sailplanes also feature. There’s also a wonderful PoV sequence of … Continue reading Write flyers
Behind the walls
I thought I’d add a little background info for the story of the Colditz Glider, as covered in my Flight From Colditz book review. I actually wrote this summary for the review, but it just didn’t fit. So here it is. . . Oflag IV-C The basic story of Colditz is fairly well known: In the second half of 1940, the Germans decided it would … Continue reading Behind the walls
Over the walls
Flight From Colditz by Tony Hoskins Published by Frontline Books (Pen & Sword Books), 2016. I used to think I was well-informed for knowing that the World War Two POWs of Offizierslager or “Oflag” IV-C – the infamous Colditz Castle – had built a two-man glider in the attic of their prison before they were liberated by the 1st US Army in April 1945. And … Continue reading Over the walls
Death of an airliner
It came up during a documentary on the jumbo jet. While reviewing the handful of 747 accidents caused by airframe failings, the narrator mentioned that the United Airlines 747-122 – which had lost its cargo door out of Honolulu on February 24th, 1989 – was repaired and returned to service. That’s not surprising in itself. Alarming as the post-accident images appear, the actual damage to the … Continue reading Death of an airliner
Way to go
I have a thing for maps. (I might have mentioned this once or twice before…) So finding a collection of old air navigation maps on the internet is a serious delight – one I’m not about to keep for myself. The collection covers about 70 maps from the Connecticut State Library at Hartford, and is an incomplete set of ‘United States Air Navigation Maps (Experimental)’ from … Continue reading Way to go
Anomaly on the horizon
Bill Lancaster The Final Verdict by Ralph Barker First published in 1969, re-released by Pen & Sword Aviation in 2015. If you’re ever looking for a story to turn into an aviation blockbuster, you could do a lot worse than the life of Bill Lancaster. His memory is a ready-made movie script, complete with dangerous flights and nail-biting escapes, glowing public adulation and depression-era destitution; … Continue reading Anomaly on the horizon
Santos-Dumont
On a breezy Paris afternoon in 1901, more than two years before the Wright Brothers even invented the airplane, the only real contender anywhere set out to claim aviation’s first great prize. That visionary aviator was Brazilian emigré Alberto Santos-Dumont, and his goal was the 100,000 franc Deutsch Prize. When people ask you who invented the airship, please don’t say ‘von Zeppelin’. The idea of … Continue reading Santos-Dumont
Bang!
I came across an amazing image when I was preparing an earlier post, Without A Trace. Even then, I knew I wouldn’t be able to let it rest with a 20 word caption. It was of a Mosquito – a truly great aircraft that is familiar fare for airscape. But much as I’ve studied the DH98 – the ‘Wooden Wonder’; the ‘Timber Terror’ – I’d … Continue reading Bang!
A real lady
It’s amazing what can turn up just off the beaten track. . . In this case, the beaten track is known as Transmitter Road, Eielson Air Force Base, near Fairbanks – “The Golden Heart” of Alaska. (Remember that soubriquet, it’ll come up again.) And while it won’t amaze everyone, what’s just off that beaten track is this: Deep in rumour Yes, it’s a B-29. … Continue reading A real lady
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