Beyond the limits In part one of this series, artists of the early 20th Century imagined voids in their illustrations of primordial airliners to demonstrate the comfort and complexity of mankind’s latest leap forward. By the late 1930s, however, and certainly by the end of World War II, aviation was becoming vastly more sophisticated. Engineering, on the other hand, remained tethered to the two-dimensional blueprints … Continue reading Cutaways 2
Under the skin These days, 3D CAD and sophisticated rendering tools mean creating images that aren’t rooted in reality is a breeze. For most commercial applications, it’s the norm. For example, I follow developments in electric aviation fairly actively, and the fact that last night’s beer coaster brainwave can be a fully rendered, photo-realistic artefact by lunchtime is clearly a real bonus for entrepreneurs, founders … Continue reading Cutaways
The story of C-54 Skymaster production at the Douglas Chicago factory is extraordinary in itself. But how they produced their very first aircraft – and how – quickly is simply next-level. Continue reading War comes to Chicago
What It Takes to Pull Formation Gsat World Championship Level Written by Monica Kade Flying is an unexpected romance, one that many have come to know intimately in their own way. It seems to choose the individual, rather than the other way around, and it’s a feeling that’s hard to shake from the soul. Those who love it, live and breathe it—and a select few, … Continue reading Extra Manoeuvers
Orion rising The first thing you notice is its size. In fact, the most common reaction is ‘Oh. Wow!’ Although it’s hardly enormous by modern standards, the Lockheed Orion’s ancestry in the Electra turboprop is a vivid reminder that even small airliners are not small aeroplanes. To walk from SAAM’s darkened restoration workshop into a display hangar that is dominated by a retired RAAF AP-3C … Continue reading Home for a hunter
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