20th Century
The Spitfire, of course, Part 2
A couple of years ago I wrote an article here concerning the design of the Spitfire and questioned its status as the best fighter of WWII. I mentioned in that article a follow up piece [more…]
Aviation
20th Century
Fleet Air Arm Museum
End of January I had a trip down to the Fleet Air Arm Museum at RNAS Yeovilton with a couple of fellow Postaliers. Don’t arrive after 11 am if you want breakfast in the cafeteria. [more…]
20th Century
Callsign Revlon
On 25th October 1994 29 year old US Navy Lieutenant Kara Hultgreen was killed whilst attempting to land on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Pacific Ocean. The case remains highly controversial to [more…]
20th Century
Focke-Wulf Fw 190, Part 2
I’m back again with the second part of this series about the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 – the Luftwaffe’s forgotten fighter. In the first part we covered the genesis of the Fw 190 and how the [more…]
20th Century
Aspiring Anorak Aversion Therapy
The subject heading may read as though it is an introduction to an accountancy exam, but no, it is aversion therapy applied to an obsession, by licensed operators of machines such as the Dehavilland Chipmunk [more…]
20th Century
The Spitfire, of course
Ask anyone from the general public to name a great aeroplane or a great British fighter of WWII, and chances are they will say, without hesitation, “The Spitfire of course.” If you ask why you [more…]
Animals
20th Century
The Baby Boeing
I think most of us here don’t get terribly excited at the thought of the Boeing 737. It’s quite mundane, unremarkable, pedestrian even. I suspect more than a few of us here have been herded [more…]
Engineering
I Learned About Flying From That Part Two
It was another hot morning in Fremantle, Western Australia in early January. Forecast for 36 degrees Celsius, 97 in old money. “Gonna be a scorcher, Geek-o!”, said my benevolent host and long-time friend Mike, whom [more…]