Messing about in planes This won’t be news to TAVAS members any more, but a couple of weekends back I had the enormous pleasure of hanging out with my mate Andrew at the TAVAS Museum at Caboolture, north of Brisbane. (Plus other shenanigans, which we needn’t go into here.) TAVAS Museum I’d like to stop here, in case your boss comes in and you have … Continue reading (G)olden days
Marie Marvingt In March 1915, an injured pilot of the French Aéronautique Militaire was transported to a field hospital behind Verdun, 200km east of Paris. There, one of his nurses learned he had been the only pilot available to fly an important bombing mission. Within days, that nurse would become history’s first female combat pilot. No ordinary nurse This was still the early days of … Continue reading Eagle & dove
After our epic 1925 trip from Adelaide to Sydney and back (and apologies for the long interlude) it’s time to meet the man behind the Larkin Aircraft Supply Co or LASCO, and Australian Aerial Services Limited. Herbert ‘Jimmy’ Larkin Like WW1 flyers from all over the world, the Australian soldiers who came home as aviators were determined to create careers in their new-found element. But … Continue reading Going by air (Part 4)
Back from the past It’s no practical solution to anything really, but sometimes when I’m not sure what to do with ‘airscape’ I just sit back and see what serendipity brings… Sure enough, last week whatever Great Spirit you choose to believe in stepped up with an out-of-the-blue email from Gander, Newfoundland. I showed my kids how almost exactly on the other side of the … Continue reading Auld Lang Syne
Ready for anything Thanks for standing by, airscapers. (And thanks for not asking what happened to June!) Back in February, I think, I flagged the potential of some changes that would impact on airscape one way or another this year. Turns out I was right. But still, the changes came later than I’d expected and, true to life, were completely different from what I’d planned. It … Continue reading Stacking up
Another day Take a minute to think about everything you’ve done in the past eleven weeks, going right back to the start of July. Now – how long does it feel since I posted this article to mark the first day of the Battle of the Somme? The thing is, by remembering the particular carnage of July 1st, 1916 we tend to forget about all … Continue reading Somme snapshot
Fallen Eagles By Norman Franks ISBN 978 1 47387 996 6 A book should be about the size of an airport terminal. Not too rudimentary, and not too overblown with distractions either – but still big enough to deliver all the anticipation, preparation, challenge and satisfaction you’d expect for your planned flight. That’s not how this one works though. Rather than take us from the … Continue reading 99 Ways To Die
This post is a sort of addenda to my last article, Red Baron Down, to show another side of life for Manfred von Richthofen – the precious relationship he enjoyed with his Danish hound Moritz. Apart from the footnote, it comes directly from von Richthofen’s The Red Battle Flyer. My little lap-dog March 1917 The most beautiful being in all creation is the … Continue reading A friend indeed
More than half of the RFC pilots killed during World War One died in training, not combat. So although Canadian Billy Bishop would claim 72 victories, he had to face the most dangerous part of war flying first… I tried very hard On November 1st, 1916, I was sent to a school for elementary training in the air. This consisted, first of all, in going up … Continue reading Billy Bishop VC
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