Aircraft manufacturers and users have a penchant for picking names for their machines. Sometimes, a name is so good or so universally associated with a manufacturer that it gets recycled on a new design. The Chance Vought company’s first Corsair was in 1926. It was an observation biplane, the O2U, supplanted by the O3U. Fewer […]
How airplanes became aerial ambulances
If World War I showed the nations of the world how the airplane could vault over ground emplacements to strike at an enemy, the combatants also came to appreciate the efficacy of using aircraft as ambulances to surmount obstacles and save precious time flying away from the fray. During that war, U.S. Army aviation devised […]
‘Dottie Mae’ debut highlights Warbird Roundup 2017
There’s an old-hat easygoing comfort in the way the Warhawk Air Museum hosts its annual Warbird Roundup in Nampa, Idaho, every summer, but the event is far from the same each year. This year, in addition to rousing start-ups and fly-bys with the Planes of Fame Museum’s P-38, F4U, and B-25, Warbird Roundup hosted the […]
‘Cobras come calling
It was rare — almost like lottery-winning rare — as three World War II Bell P-63 Kingcobras and one predecessor P-39 Airacobra landed at Wittman Field in late July for EAA AirVenture 2017 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. These aluminum ‘Cobras have become more furtive than their reptilian namesakes. To see one at an air show is […]
Erickson Aircraft Collection is an Oregon jewel
A fabulous aircraft collection resides just to the east of Oregon’s fabled snow-capped volcanic peaks, in Madras, Oregon. Numbering nearly 30 airplanes and ranging from a Stearman biplane to a B-17G Flying Fortress, the Erickson Aircraft Collection is the realized dream of Oregon aviation pioneer Jack Erickson. Michael Oliver is the general manager of the […]
Want two, three, or no engines with that Gooney Bird?
It was not uncommon for mass-produced aircraft of the 20th Century to stick with one type of engine, albeit with model advances as the engines improved. All production B-17s except the Model 299 prototype flew with some version of the Wright R1820 radial; B-24s were loyal to Pratt & Whitney R1830s. The Douglas DC-3/C-47 series […]
Jenny a century later
The World War I Curtiss Jenny trainer evolved from less-than-optimal JN-1 and JN-2 models of 1915 to the definitive JN-4D that found its stride 100 years ago. In the spirit of centennial commemorations, a look back at the Jenny is in order. The earliest Jennies employed control wheels. By the advent of the JN-4D, a more traditional […]
End of an Air Force: Germany after World War II
At war’s end, statistics showed the race to produce German jet fighters like the Me 262 was ramping up.
Planes of Fame Air Show brings out the best
The Planes of Fame Museum presented its 2017 warbird air show at Chino, California, on May 6-7, with practice flights and arrivals on the preceding Friday. The museum, a long-time pillar of the busy warbird scene at Chino, has earned a reputation for attracting top warbirds from several states for its annual air show, in addition […]