Tomcatting: Why the Grumman F-14 Never Lived up to its Reputation
U.S. Navy aircrews and recruiters loved the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, but a careful review of its record suggests the Top Gun mount wasn’t all it was cranked up to be.
Angels From Above: Pioneering Air Evacuation of Wounded in World War II
Allied special forces units in far-flung theaters pioneered air evacuation of wounded in World War II, providing a needed boost to the men’s morale.
Telescoping-Wing Airplanes: An Unusual Approach to Variable Geometry
Before jets sported swing wings, an early Russian Designer took a novel approach to variable-geometry wingspans in a series of French built airplanes.
Billy Mitchell’s Aerial Blitzkrieg
A century ago, the U.S. Army Air Service embarked on its first major air campaign, presaging the combined-arms assaults to follow.
Early Birdman Bud Mars: An Aerial Daredevil Wows the World
Pioneer aviator Bud Mars thrilled airshow crowds, narrowly escaping death on several occasions, and was among the first to fly airplanes in the Far East
Building a Secret T-28D Trojan
Designed as a replacement for the venerable T-6 Texan trainer, the North American T-28 Trojan proved to be a versatile primary trainer.
Leave No Man Behind: Origins of Air Rescue in the Vietnam War
Hampered by inadequate equipment and training, resourceful American aircrews improvised combat search-and-rescue techniques early in the Vietnam War.
T Square 45: A B-29 Bomber Returns to its Former Glory
The Seattle Museum of Flight’s meticulous B-29 restoration has returned most of the veteran bomber’s controls to working order.
Lost Flight to Brazil in 1927: A Young Pilot Disappears in the Amazon
After becoming the first to fly across the Caribbean Sea, Paul Redfern vanished in the Amazon jungle, spawning a dozen search expeditions and an unsolved mystery.
Best Dive Bomber: How One Man Helped Change the Pacific War’s Course
Seeking payback for Pearl Harbor, dive-bomber pilot Dick Best had a hand in sinking two Japanese carriers during the Battle of Midway.
The Baroness of Flight
Raymonde de Laroche’s first flight with Wilbur Wright sparked a fatal attraction to flying.
Short Fuzes: Why Bombs Blew Up On Fighters in the Vietnam War
When bombs began exploding prematurely over Vietnam, killing aircrews, the cause was traced to faulty fuzes, but more would die before a solution was found
How ‘Speedy Pete’ Piloted the Fastest Flight Ever Made by a Manned Aircraft
Piloting X-15s to a record Mach 6.7 and the fringes of space, U.S. Air Force Major Pete Knight earned the Harmon Trophy and nickname “Speedy Pete”
Tuskegee Airman Charles McGee: ‘Do While You Can’
Charles McGee never thought much of flying until he started training at Tuskegee. When he finally left the U.S. Air Force, he had 30 years and three wars behind him.
