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<title>Who Are The Aviators Who Wear The Silver Wings With The Letter “G” – April 19, 2024</title>
<link>https://www.robertnovell.com/who-are-the-aviators-who-wear-the-silver-wings-with-the-letter-g-march-3-2017-2-2/</link>
<comments>https://www.robertnovell.com/who-are-the-aviators-who-wear-the-silver-wings-with-the-letter-g-march-3-2017-2-2/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 19 Apr 2024 13:15:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/?p=7131</guid>
<description><![CDATA[RN3DB April 19, 2024 Good Morning, This week I want to acquaint you, once again, with the unsung heroes who wore the silver wings with the […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 class="rtecenter" style="text-align: center;">RN3DB </h1>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">April 19, 2024 </h3>

Good Morning,
This week I want to acquaint you, once again, with the unsung heroes who wore the silver wings with the letter “G”…………the glider pilots. I recently had the pleasure of visiting again, the museum dedicated to those who flew the gliders. The museum is located in Lubbock, Texas and I have a few pictures below that I would like to share and then the main article will follow.
Enjoy…..
<a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_20190506_085746.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-6068" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_20190506_085746-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="574" height="766" /></a>
<a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_20190506_085557.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-6069" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_20190506_085557-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="621" height="828" /></a>
<a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_20190506_085445.jpg"><img decoding="async" class=" wp-image-6070 aligncenter" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_20190506_085445-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="589" height="785" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_20190506_085445-225x300.jpg 225w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_20190506_085445-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_20190506_085445-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_20190506_085445-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_20190506_085445-110x146.jpg 110w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_20190506_085445-38x50.jpg 38w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_20190506_085445-56x75.jpg 56w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_20190506_085445-scaled.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 589px) 100vw, 589px" /></a>
<a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_20190506_085612.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-6067" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_20190506_085612-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="579" height="772" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_20190506_085612-225x300.jpg 225w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_20190506_085612-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_20190506_085612-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_20190506_085612-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_20190506_085612-110x146.jpg 110w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_20190506_085612-38x50.jpg 38w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_20190506_085612-56x75.jpg 56w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_20190506_085612-scaled.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 579px) 100vw, 579px" /></a>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">General Westmoreland’s Comments</h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"> On The Glider Pilots Of WWII</h2>
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“The intrepid pilots who flew the gliders were as unique as their motorless flying machines. Never before in history had any nation produced aviators whose duty it was deliberately to crash land and then go on to fight as combat infantrymen. They were no ordinary fighters. Their battlefields were behind enemy lines.”
“Every landing was a genuine do-or-die situation for the glider pilots. It was their awesome responsibility to repeatedly risk their lives by landing heavily laden aircraft containing combat soldiers and equipment in unfamiliar fields deep within enemy-held territory, often in total darkness. They were the only aviators during World War II who had no motors, no parachutes, and no second chances.–General William C. Westmoreland, U.S. Army, Retired
<a href="http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=504" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/files/images/sw_march12_a.jpg" alt="" /></a>
<h2 class="rtecenter" style="text-align: center;">National WWII Glider Pilots </h2>
<h2 class="rtecenter" style="text-align: center;">Association, Inc </h2>
American glider pilots, along with airborne forces, spearheaded all the major invasions, landing behind enemy lines in their unarmed gliders in Sicily, Normandy, Southern France, Holland, Bastogne, Rhine Crossing, Luzon in the Philippines, and Burma.
One veteran American glider pilot painted a vivid picture of the stark terror they experienced. “Imagine”, he said, “flying a motorless, fabric-covered CG-4A glider, violently bouncing and jerking on a 11/16 inch thick nylon rope 350 feet back of the C-47 tow plane. You see the nervous glider infantrymen behind you, some vomiting, many in prayer, as you hedge-hop along at tree-top level instinctively jumping up in your seat every time you hear bullets and flak tearing through the glider. You try not to think about the explosives aboard. It’s like flying a stick of dynamite through the gates of Hell.”
There were only about 6,000 American military glider pilots, all volunteers. They proudly wore the silver wings with the letter “G” superimposed on them. The brash, high-spirited pilots were not a bit bashful about letting everyone know that the “G” stood for “Guts”.
American glider pilots were scheduled for “Operation Eclipse”, the Allied airborne offensive planned to capture Berlin. But, the glory went, through political default, to Russian ground forces. They were spared an invasion of Japan when the atomic bombs fell on Hiroshima.
They suffered heavy casualties and their ranks have thinned through the years until now only about 390 are banded together in The National World War II Gliders Pilots Association with its headquarters at 4037 Ringdove Way, Roanoke, TX 76262,. They are a vanishing breed. There will be no future generations of American military glider pilots. The Defense Department ended the military glider pilot program in 1952.
World War II Glider Pilots; none had ever been before and probably none will ever be again; a hybrid breed like jackasses with no need to reproduce themselves; definitely one of a kind understood only by themselves and some completely beyond understanding. A few more years and military glider pilots will be an extinct species remembered by few. But they did exist and were involved in some mighty important and exciting military actions in WWII.
<a href="http://www.ww2gp.org/eight_missions.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Source Document</a>
I cannot begin to imagine the pressure the crews, and passengers, were under when they released from the tow plane. Aviation is full of challenges but I don’t think you could face a greater challenge than the crews who wore the Silver Wings with the letter “G.”
Now what about the airplane itself? There were around 14,000 of the CG4A Gliders produced by a number of different companies in the US and the specifications were as follows:
Wing Span— 83 feet, 8 inches Length (Overall)—48 feet, 3-3/4 inches Height—12 feet, 7-7/16 inches Weight, design— 3,750 pounds Gross Weight, design—7,500 pounds Wing Chord—10 feet, 6 inches
The Americans were not the only ones to employ this asset. The Germans led the way followed by the Russians, USA, and Britain. The British manufactured a glider called the Airspeed Horsa. This was manufactured in Britain by Airspeed LTD, and was named the Horsa after a 5th century German mercenary.
<a href="http://www.paradata.org.uk/media/4150?mediaSection=Photos" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/files/images/sw_march12_d.jpg" alt="" /></a>
The specifications for the Horsa are as follows:
Capacity—25 passengers Length—67 ft (20.4 m) Wingspan—88 ft (26.8 m) Height—21 ft (6.4 m) Wing area—1,148 ft² (106.7 m²) Empty—7,500 lb (3,400 kg) Loaded—15,250 lb (6,920 kg) Towing speed—127 mph (204 km/h) Gliding speed—100 mph (160 km/h)
There is a lot of information out there on the Gliders used in WWII and I encourage you to take some time to look around and reacquaint yourself with the facts. I have a video that has some very valuable footage on the Glider program but it will take you an hour to view it all; however, it is well worth your time.
Have a good weekend, enjoy your time with friends and family, and please remember that we all need to focus on time management—life is short.
Robert Novell April 19, 2024
 
P.S.-Although most of the gliders used at Normandy were lost many were recovered and the recovery method was a real adventure for all concerned.
Glider Pulled Into the Air from a Standing Start
A glider snatch was accomplished by a C-47 tow plane flying just above ground level with a hook trailing behind from a cable that played out from a revolving drum in its fuselage. The hook snagged a glider towrope suspended between two vertical poles sweeping it airborne behind the tow plane from a dead standstill to 120 mph in a matter of 7 seconds.
<a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/files/images/sw_march12_c.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/files/images/sw_march12_c.jpg" alt="" /></a>Taken by Yves Tariel of Paris, France, this is a picture of the pick-up of the first glider to be recovered from the Normandy landings. It was taken on June 23, 1944 as the glider was being snatched from a field just SE of St. Mere Eglise France. by lst Lt. Gerald “Bud” Berry, 91st TCSq, 439th TCGp.
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<title>Bill Lear…..Inventor/Innovator and Aviation Pioneer – April 12, 2024</title>
<link>https://www.robertnovell.com/bill-lear-inventor-and-aviation-pioneer-august-12-2016-2-2/</link>
<comments>https://www.robertnovell.com/bill-lear-inventor-and-aviation-pioneer-august-12-2016-2-2/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 12 Apr 2024 05:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/?p=6921</guid>
<description><![CDATA[RN3DB April 12, 2024 Good Morning, Today we are going to talk about Bill Lear. Most of us recognize his accomplishments in the airplane manufacturing arena […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 style="text-align: center;">RN3DB</h1>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">April 12, 2024 
</h4>

Good Morning,
Today we are going to talk about Bill Lear. Most of us recognize his accomplishments in the airplane manufacturing arena but there was much more to Bill Lear and we will tell you the rest of the story today.
Enjoy……………………….
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Bill Lear The Innovator </h2>
From the 1930s to the 1960s, William Powell Lear earned over 100 patents for groundbreaking electronic devices in three industries, including the first practical automobile radio, the airplane radio-compass and autopilot, and the eight-track tape player.
Born in Hannibal, Missouri in 1902, Lear attended public school in Chicago only through the eighth grade. During World War I, at age 16, he joined the Navy; after the War, he became a pilot. Here, Lear received the training that fueled a lifetime of invention in electronic technology.
At the age of 20, Lear founded Quincy Radio Laboratory, the first of his many companies. In the late 1920s Lear was contracted by Galvin Manufacturing Corporation in Chicago to assist Galvin engineers with a car radio design project. Later, a car radio patent was issued to Lear (U.S. patent 1,944,139). In 1930 Galvin Manufacturing introduced this car radio as the “Motorola.” It was one of the first commercially successful car radios, and the first major product for the company that later became Motorola, Inc. Paul V. Galvin created the Motorola brand from “motor” (motorcar) + “ola” (sound).
Meanwhile, Lear turned his attention to airplanes. By the beginning of the Second World War, he had invented the first reliable aeronautical radio compass, as well as the “Learmatic Navigator”—an automatic pilot system, which kept planes on course by locking into whatever radio broadcasts the apparatus picked up.
During World War II, Lear’s companies were a major source of the technology that helped make an Allied victory possible. Lear followed up his War effort by perfecting miniature autopilots for fighter jets, and by developing the first fully automatic landing system. This latter invention won Lear the FAA’s Collier Trophy, bestowed on him by President Truman (1950). In 1962, after he made possible the first-ever completely automatic blind landings of passenger flights, Lear was also honored by the French Government. In the same year, Lear formed Learjet, which soon became — as it remains, under different ownership — the world’s foremost supplier of corporate jets.
But Lear moved on to yet another challenge: the perfection of an endless magnetic loop recording and playback system. As early as 1946, Lear had been interested in audio recordings; after experimenting more seriously in the early 1960s, he created the eight-track tape player. Lear’s tape contained four stereo “programs,” running in parallel on eight “tracks,” for the entire length of a single, continuous tape loop. A solenoid coil detected the splice where the loop was closed, and sent a signal to the playback head to shift over to the next pair of tracks at that point. Because Lear’s system had thinner tape and compact recording heads, this shifting process could be repeated indefinitely.
Lear’s system was a great improvement on the esoteric four-track players that already existed; it was also a huge marketing success. From 1965 well into the 1970s, Lear’s eight-track players made their way from Lear jets and Ford cars into the homes of virtually every music enthusiast.
Lear’s projects in the 1970s included further small-aircraft design, and the search for an antipollutant steam engine. Before and after his death in 1978, Lear earned many other honors, including induction into the International Aerospace Hall of Fame (1981). He also acquired a reputation as an eccentric, since he — like Samuel Clemens, another native of Hannibal, Missouri — vividly envisioned time-travel, and even predicted “teleporting” as seen on Star Trek. (remember beam me up Scotty?)
Critics should realize that the vision that earned William Lear sneers is the same vision that helped him transform the automotive, aviation and audio industries. If global technology has not advanced as quickly as Lear thought it would, it was through no fault of his own.
<a href="http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/lear.html">Source Document</a>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Bill Lear The Visionary – The Rest of The Story</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="irc_mi aligncenter" src="https://rixxblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/learportrait-e1491355329625.jpg?w=640" alt="Image result for Bill Lear" width="292" height="353" data-iml="1554990675198" />
Late in the day on October 7, 1963, the first Learjet 23 (N801L) took flight for the first time in Wichita, Kansas, just before the sun slipped below the prairie horizon. Test pilots Bob Hagan and Hank Beaird knew instantly that they had a winner.The sleek jet, with an elegant design, years ahead of its time, flew like a dream. Its systems performed flawlessly and it accelerated on takeoff faster than any jet, civilian or military,they had ever flown. By the time they were ready to land, the skies were nearly dark but hundreds of headlights sparkled below at the Wichita airport. A local radio station reported that the Learjet was making its maiden flight, and people jumped in their cars to see the sight. Many were spouses and children of Learjet employees, who had worked round the clock for months and were as invested in the jet’s success as the company’s founder. The crowd cheered. Grown men cried. The jet that couldn’t be built was everything it was supposed to be and more. The Learjet was on its way to defining a new category of aircraft, and becoming an enduring icon of business aviation.
In his late fifties, with Lear Inc. a major player in avionics, Bill Lear began thinking about building a moderately priced small jet designed specifically for the business market. Corporate aircraft at that time were principally reconfigured surplus military aircraft originally designed to carry military personnel. Lear thought they were big, slow, expensive barges. He spent two years successfully modifying a Lockheed Lodestar jet with engineers Gordon Israel and Ed Swearingen. But he believed there was a need for a nimble business jet that had a cruising speed of 500 mph, comparable to a jetliner.
ear came across a Swiss-built fighter-bomber, the P-16, which never went into production but had, among other things, a wing design he liked. Lear moved to Switzerland in 1955 and set up a new company, Swiss American Aviation Corporation. He hired Dr. Hans Studer, designer of the P-16, and integrated a team of American engineers, including Gordon Israel, Hank Waring and Don Grommesh, with members of Studer’s team.
At the time, no one believed there was a sizable market for business jets. In 1962, when the Swiss jet project fell out of favor with the board of Lear Inc., Bill Lear sold his interest in the firm, which then became Lear-Siegler. Lear was on his own, prepared to invest $12 million of his personal fortune in the development of the new business jet. The prevailing wisdom was that it would take $100 million and 10 years to build the kind of business jet Lear wanted. The only way his team could do it was to skip the prototype phase and go right into production. It was a strategy that left no room for error.
As work progressed it became clear that the different work styles of the Swiss and Americans, compounded by language barriers, made it impossible to remain in Switzerland. He selected Wichita, Kansas, as the new headquarters and broke ground on a new complex in August 1962, changing the name of the company to Lear Jet Corporation.
Lear hovered over the engineering team, who stopped only to eat and sleep. They revised and re-revised according to Lear’s latest inspirations. They shaved off weight wherever possible to achieve performance targets. Their efforts paid off. Among the innovative design features of the new Learjet were a distinctive wrap-around windshield and a unique outward-opening clamshell door, a feature that continues to adorn every Learjet built to this day. Simplicity was engineered into the instrument panel, and the cockpit included comfortable seating for pilots. Passenger seats were designed to fold down and swivel. Safety features included dual electrical systems and separate fuel lines for each engine. The only major design change at the late stages was a switch from a cruciform tail to a t-tail design, which improved stability and enhanced the jet’s spectacular silhouette. On Sept. 15, 1963, Learjet #1 rolled out of the hangar. That it was a Sunday did not stop hundreds of employees and their families from coming to watch.
After the first flight in October 1963, Learjet #2 and #3 were completed and the test program progressed into the following year. A hitch occurred when Learjet #1 crash-landed in a cornfield after pilots neglected to retract the spoilers on takeoff. The pilots were fine and the plane was intact but a fuel line ignited and the subsequent fire destroyed the plane. As it turned out, it was a happy accident. Learjet #1 could never have been certified and the insurance money that Lear collected helped keep the company going as the remaining jets completed the testing needed for certification. Learjet #2 (N802L), the first actual production Learjet, was donated to the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum 14 years later in 1978, and is still on display.
<a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/2004-11706h.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-4006 aligncenter" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/2004-11706h-300x199.jpg" alt="digital original" width="608" height="403" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/2004-11706h-300x199.jpg 300w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/2004-11706h-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/2004-11706h-1536x1021.jpg 1536w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/2004-11706h-2048x1362.jpg 2048w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/2004-11706h-220x146.jpg 220w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/2004-11706h-50x33.jpg 50w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/2004-11706h-113x75.jpg 113w" sizes="(max-width: 608px) 100vw, 608px" /></a>
As certification continued, the company began to run out of money, having spent deposits received for the first 22 orders. Clay Lacy, then a United Airlines pilot, signed on as a consultant during his off-hours to help market the jet. Distributor Bob Graf came to the rescue by getting orders for another 31 jets. Minor problems and issues raised by FAA inspectors were resolved one by one. The FAA type certificate was finally awarded July 31, 1964, and the company was able to enter full production, financed by a public offering late that year. The Learjet 23 was on the market. The Learjet was a productivity tool and a hot rod. It was elegant and it was a rocket. It won over the aviation world and the business community, and captured the public’s imagination. Early buyers were primarily large corporations, but celebrity customers such as entertainers Frank Sinatra and Danny Kaye and newsman Peter Jennings helped foster its image as the ultimate plane for the jet set.
<h6 style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.historynet.com/wp-content/uploads/image/2012/AVH/lear_brief.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter" style="width: 600px; height: 350px;" src="http://www.historynet.com/wp-content/uploads/image/2012/AVH/lear_brief.jpg" alt="" /></a>(Rat Pack stalwarts Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra lent Lear’s private jet an invaluable aura of cool during the mid-1960s. [John Bryson/Sygma/Corbis])</h6>
In 1965, the Learjet 23 began setting official performance records. In May 1965, a Learjet piloted by Lacy and Jack Conroy established three world speed records, from Los Angeles to New York and back in 10 hours, 21 minutes flight time, with two refueling stops. In December 1965, a Learjet flown by Hank Beaird and Ronald Puckett, with five passengers, set a time-to-climb record reaching 40,000 feet in 7 minutes, 21 seconds. With an engine thrust-to-weight ratio of 1:2.2 pounds, the Learjet could outclimb an F-100 fighter.
The first new derivative, the Learjet 24, was type certified in March 1966. Shortly thereafter, a Learjet 24 piloted by Hank Beaird, John Lear and Rick King, with journalist John Zimmerman on board, set 18 international aviation records by completing a round-the-world trip in 50 hours and 19 minutes of flight.
After a crushing recession in 1966, Lear sold controlling interest in 1967 to the family-owned Gates Rubber Company of Denver and the company was renamed Gates Learjet. Shortly thereafter the Learjet 25, with a larger cabin and greater range, was certified and following its introduction in 1968 set a new time-to-climb record of 6 minutes, 19 seconds to reach 40,000 feet. In August 1973 the Learjet 35, with a longer cabin and fuel-efficient turbofan engines, made its first flight, certified with the long-range Learjet 36 in July 1974. With its more comfortable cabin and superior fuel efficiency at the time of the first energy crisis, the Learjet 35/36 was the right jet at the right time. It was the most successful Learjet to date. In 1976, golf legend Arnold Palmer and pilots James Bir and Bill Purkey set another round-the-world speed record in a Learjet 36 at 48 hours and 48 minutes flight time. The following year, the FAA certified the operation of Learjet aircraft to 51,000 feet, the highest in civil aviation.
And in February 1979 astronaut Neil Armstrong and Learjet test pilot Pete Reynolds set five world records for business jets, including high-altitude time-to-climb, in the widebody Learjet Longhorn 28, the first production plane with winglets. The records stood for nine years before being broken – by another Learjet.
In March 1981 the Learjet 55, the company’s first medium-size jet, received FAA certification, which two years later set a new world speed record flying nonstop from Los Angeles to Paris in 12 hours, 37 minutes with one refueling stop. In the 1980s, Learjet developed the Learjet 31 and 55C, the first aircraft with delta fins. Gates continued to run Learjet until 1987 when a group of New York-based investors bought the company in a leveraged buyout deal. The investor company, Integrated Resources, soon faced financial troubles as a result of the tumbling real estate market and was forced into bankruptcy. Learjet’s future was uncertain.
On June 29, 1990, Learjet was acquired by one of Canada’s largest manufacturing companies, Bombardier, founded by inventor and entrepreneur J. Armand Bombardier in 1942. Under the leadership of Bombardier’s son-in-law, Laurent Beaudoin, who took the reins of the company in 1964, Bombardier had grown to become a diversified transportation company, including the 1986 acquisition of Canadair, manufacturer of the Challenger business jet. Learjet was an ideal fit, and provided Bombardier with the industry’s largest family of business jets.
Bombardier put Learjet back on track and energized its product line. By the end of 1990, the company announced the mid-size Learjet 60 project and unveiled an enhanced version of the 31, the 31A. In 1991, Bombardier established the Bombardier Test Flight Center in Wichita, the same year the Learjet 60 made its first flight. Certified January 1993, the Learjet 60 went into service as the world’s quietest business jet, and quickly became the best seller in its category. It eventually evolved into the Special Edition Learjet 60 in October 2004, offering over $1 million of the finest options and equipment as standard equipment.
Learjet aircraft have pioneered the corporate aviation market for almost 43 years, delighting owners and pilots with their performance, comfort, technology and styling. Certified to FAR Part 25, Amendment 77, the Bombardier Learjet 45 and its derivatives are now approved for civil operation in more than 43 countries worldwide. Due to their durability, speed and high operating ceiling, Learjet also has been the aircraft of choice for a wide range of special missions, including air ambulance services and aerial photography.
Much of the air-to-air footage seen in movies over the past three decades, including the exciting scenes of F-14 fighters in “Top Gun,” was shot from cameras mounted in Learjet aircraft owned by Clay Lacy, a consultant on the first Learjet who owns and still flies the 12th original Learjet.
Learjet aircraft have been used worldwide for medevac, air ambulance, air defense, reconnaissance, military training and high-altitude mapping. U.S. Navy and Air Force test pilots train in Learjet aircraft, as well as pilots with leading commercial airlines. Governments and corporations worldwide, including the governments of Ireland and Macedonia, also depend on Learjet aircraft.
The jet that was the impossible dream of a visionary dreamer was made possible by people who believed in it as much as Bill Lear did. Throughout the decades it has continued to build on its heritage thanks to new generations of engineers, designers, technicians, pilots and customers who embraced the dream as their own. And the legend lives on.
<a href="http://us.bombardier.com/us/library/documents/Learjet_History_Backgrounder_01_08.pdf">Source Document</a>
Sadly Learjet production is no more. The end of an era, the end of the corporate jet ever made. Have a good weekend, take care with family and friends, and keep them close. Fly safe, protect yourself, and protect your profession.
Robert Novell
April 12, 2024

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<title>Noel Wien and the Alaskan Frontier – April 4, 2024</title>
<link>https://www.robertnovell.com/blognoel-wien-and-alaskan-frontier-february-3-2012/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 05 Apr 2024 01:15:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Aviators Mindset]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Legacy Carriers]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/blognoel-wien-and-alaskan-frontier-february-3-2012/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[RN3DB April 4, 2024 Good Morning and Happy Friday., Today we will talk about the “Father of Alaska Bush Flying” and the airline he created. If […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 style="text-align: center;">RN3DB</h1>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">April 4, 2024</h4>

Good Morning and Happy Friday.,
Today we will talk about the “Father of Alaska Bush Flying” and the airline he created. If you are up to date on my recent blog articles then you know I am talking about Noel Wien who not only set the standard for bush pilots but also made commercial aviation in Alaska what it is today. For a fact sheet on Noel Wien please follow this link, <a href="http://www.nationalaviation.org/wien-noel/">FACTS</a>, and at the end of today’s blog I have a number of photos for you to view that document Mr. Wien’s early adventures/accomplishments and flying in Alaska.
Now, let’s talk about Noel Wien and Wien Alaska Airlines…………….
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Noel Wien</h2>
Noel Wien first came to Alaska in 1924 and immediately saw opportunity. He spent the first few weeks barnstorming, and then set his sights on connecting the 600,000 square miles of Alaska with a viable air transportation system. Most people find it illogical to use bush flying and viable air transportation in the same sentence but if you know your history, and read Robert Novell’s “Third Dimension Blog,” then you know that the “Air Mail Service Pilots” were the bush pilots of the lower forty-eight states and it was this group of Aviators that paved the way for commercial carriers like United, American, Eastern, and others.
So, now that we understand the importance of bush pilots let’s talk about Noel Wien’s accomplishments.
Noel Wien was known as the “Father of Alaska Bush Flying,” The Arctic Ace,” and the “Lindy of the North.” What was it that this man brought to Alaska that brought him such accolades? The same that Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Wiley Post, and others brought to the table—-courage, skill, and the willingness to put their talent, and lives, on the line to prove that aviation was the way to the future. Well, the future is here and Aviation has connected the world, and its people, in a way that was never imagined by the early Aviators.
Noel Wien was the first person to fly from Fairbanks to Nome, the first to fly beyond the Arctic Circle, the first to fly across the Bering Strait, the first to fly from Fairbanks to Seattle, and last, but not least, the first to fly round trip between Alaska and Asia. Some might say that Noel Wien’s accomplishments were not that spectacular but for those who would say that I suspect they are slaves to GPS and a Flight Management System coupled to the autopilot.
It is hard for me to imagine flying around Alaska, and the Arctic North, using time and distance based on a ground speed that was calculated on an unknown wind aloft and flying a heading based on a crude topographical map that was normally nothing more than a hand drawn sketch. Skill was important but I think luck was an essential part of the equation; however, I am certain that most of us don’t want to be confronted with the challenges that Noel Wien, and other earlier Aviators, faced so from all of us who have benefited from your talent—- thank you sir for paving the way. I suspect that your induction in to the “National Aviation Hall of Fame” shows that your contributions to aviation are unquestionable and your place as an aviation pioneer is secure alongside Lindy, Amelia, Wiley and others.
Now, who better to give us the facts on Noel Wien, and his airline, than Noel Wien so I have four videos below that will give you a firsthand account of Mr. Wien’s accomplishments. This four part series was produced by the University of Alaska at Fairbanks and will take about thirty minutes of your time.
<a href="_wp_link_placeholder" data-wplink-edit="true">Part 1 – Noel Wien </a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzV8p0oATwM" data-wplink-edit="true">Part 2-Noel Wien </a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3TNb4exlNo" data-wplink-edit="true">Part 3-Noel Wien </a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awkeP3FoyXI&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL">Part 4-Noel Wien</a>
I wish the best to you and yours and want to remind you that tomorrow morning when you wake up your life is one day shorter. Keep the people you love close to you and move ahead; in also, the road map for your future success does not have to follow the road map from your past. Take care, fly safe, and have a good weekend.
Robert Novell
April 4, 2024
<img decoding="async" style="width: 500px; height: 285px;" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/files/images/nwa_feb2_b.jpg" alt="" />
On July 15, 1924, Noel Wien (1899-1977) made the first flight from Anchorage to Fairbanks in this Hisso Standard J-1, which he affectionately called “Jenny.” The inscription on the reverse of this 1925 image from the Wien Collection reads, “The boots and caps were modish and efficient attire in 1925 for both aviators and mechanics on planes such as this.” Anchorage Museum of History and Art, Library and Archives. <a href="http://www.litsite.org/index.cfm">www.litsite.org/index.cfm.</a>
<img decoding="async" style="width: 500px; height: 370px;" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/files/images/nwa_feb2_c.jpg" alt="" />
Noel Wien made the first commercial flight to Nome on June 5, 1925, for the Fairbanks Airplane Company, flying a Fokker FIII six-place cabin monoplane. Wien was transporting three passengers, Norman C. Stines and two secretaries, who were on their way to Nome to buy out the Hammond Company. Archives, University of Alaska Fairbanks–<a href="http://www.litsite.org/index.cfm">www.litsite.org/index.cfm</a>
<img decoding="async" style="width: 501px; height: 366px;" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/files/images/nwa_feb2_d.jpg" alt="" />
Wien Airlines, the first airline in Alaska, also was the first to operate in the Nome and Seward Peninsula area. Noel Wien, who took the picture on July 27, 1927, noted on the back: “Notice spare prop. Tied on side of fuselage on wing. N. Wien.” Archives, University of Alaska Fairbanks– <a href="http://www.litsite.org/index.cfm">www.litsite.org/index.cfm</a>
<img decoding="async" style="width: 501px; height: 316px;" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/files/images/nwa_feb2_e.jpg" alt="" />
The first flight across the Arctic Circle in Alaska occurred in 1927, when Noel Wien flew his Hisso Standard J-1, which he called “Jenny,” landing in Wiseman on the southern flanks of the Brooks Range. Wien is standing in front of the propeller. Anchorage Museum of History and Art, Library and Archives– <a href="http://www.litsite.org/index.cfm">www.litsite.org/index.cfm</a>
<img decoding="async" style="width: 500px; height: 340px;" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/files/images/nwa_feb2_f.jpg" alt="" />
Photograph of Noel Wien standing in front of his Ford Tri-Motor. The photo is from the “Wien Family Papers Collection,” and the caption under the photo reads—“Noel-1939.”—<a href="http://vilda.alaska.edu/">http://vilda.alaska.edu/</a>
<img decoding="async" style="width: 498px; height: 335px;" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/files/images/nwa_feb2_g.jpg" alt="" />
This photo is from the Noel Wien Collection and the caption underneath the photo reads—“Harding Lake 1938. Would take off in Spring Fairbanks Field on wheels and change to skis on Harding Lake and then fly to Seward Peninsula points.”—<a href="http://vilda.alaska.edu/">www. vilda.alaska.edu/</a>
 <img decoding="async" style="width: 501px; height: 405px;" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/files/images/nwa_feb2_h.jpg" alt="" />
<a href="http://www.%20vilda.alaska.edu/">www. vilda.alaska.edu/</a>
 <img decoding="async" style="width: 500px; height: 405px;" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/files/images/nwa_feb2_i.jpg" alt="" />
Wien Alaska operated a number of lodges and hotels much the same as Pan American Airways did. The lodge pictured above was located in Bettles, Alaska.
<a href="http://vilda.alaska.edu/">vilda.alaska.edu/</a>
<img decoding="async" style="width: 500px; height: 340px;" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/files/images/nwa_feb2_j.jpg" alt="" />
Northern Consolidated Airlines was created in 1945 by a merger of seven bush airlines. In 1968 NCA merged with Wien Alaska Airlines to form Wien Consolidated Airlines which became Wien Air Alaska in 1973.
<a href="http://vilda.alaska.edu/">vilda.alaska.edu/</a>
<img decoding="async" style="width: 500px; height: 780px;" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/files/images/nwa_feb2_k.jpg" alt="" />
<a href="http://vilda.alaska.edu/">vilda.alaska.edu/</a>

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<title>The Mile High Club and Lawrence Sperry – March 29, 2024</title>
<link>https://www.robertnovell.com/blognasa-developed-supercritical-wing-1960s-no-one-was-interested-march-29-2013/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 29 Mar 2024 01:22:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false"></guid>
<description><![CDATA[RN3DB March 29, 2024 Good Morning, I hope everyone had a little time to enjoy life, family, and friends this past week. My week was busy […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 align="center">RN3DB</h1>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">March 29, 2024</h4>

Good Morning,
I hope everyone had a little time to enjoy life, family, and friends this past week. My week was busy and I can’t believe it is Friday already; however, better Friday than a Monday. The mile high club….who started it and how. Let’s talk about that.
Enjoy……
<h2 style="text-align: center;">The Mile High Club</h2>
“There are countless milestones and record breaking performances throughout aviation history; altitude and speed, distance and endurance, and so forth. Perhaps the most highly prized and sought after is the entry into the Mile-High Club – that fraternal order of pilots, both male and female, who have achieved orgasm aloft. There are no official numbers, but evidently those who manage copulation in the air are far fewer than those making claim.”
“If it is a major aeronautical achievement as everyone claims, then proper recognition should be given to the first person to attempt the sacred act at altitude. That honor can only be bestowed upon Lawrence Sperry, a daredevil pilot, mechanical genius, and of course, inventor of the automatic pilot. Born on December 22, 1892, Sperry lived only a scant 31 years. But in that short lifespan his accomplishments were great. At the age of 18, he built a full scale glider that flew. Wild in the sky, he made his first parachute jump in 1918 and flew loops under the Brooklyn Bridge. He would be the first person to fly a woman over New York City. As a mechanical visionary he invented the turn and bank indicator, retractable landing gear, and perfected the aerial torpedo. During his short remarkable life he held 24 patents.”
“Besides intellect, Sperry was also handsome and rich, a combination that led to a succession of women, and according to biographer William Davenport, oftentimes multiple partners. The tabloids liked him, and had a field day with the stories about drinking and wild parties. You have to remember this was during a time when it was unlawful for women to display bare arms in public.”
<div class="x-text">
It was during November of 1916, when Sperry began giving flying lessons to a New York socialite by the name of Mrs. Waldo Polk. Polk’s husband was off in France driving an ambulance at the time. The couple were aloft in a Curtis flying boat over Babylon, New York one day, evidently engaging in carnal pleasure through the benefit of Sperry’s recently devised autopilot. Suddenly something went wrong, and the plane plunged 500 feet into great South Bay.”
“Two duck hunters paddled to the wreck and rescued, much to their amazement, the naked couple. Apparently Sperry stated the crash “divested” them of their clothing. The couple was brought to Southside Hospital, with Sperry walking, and Polk alongside in a stretcher.”
“Local papers glossed over the fact that the duo lacked any clothes, but the New York tabloid Mirror & Evening Graphic, headlined their front page with:
<h3 style="text-align: center;">AERIAL PETTING – ENDS IN WETTING</h3>
“Both instructor and student survived their ordeal and Sperry later told a friend that he bumped the gyro platform during their aerial maneuvering. Sperry would crash his Sperry Messenger biplane in the English Channel seven years later, ending his life.”
“And Mrs. Polk…well, she continued taking flying lessons and did obtain her pilot’s license.”
<a href="https://milehighclub.com/founding-member/">Source Document</a>
Have a good weekend, take care, and fly safe.
</div>
Robert Novell
March 29, 2024
<hr class="x-gap" />
<h2 class="rtecenter" style="text-align: center;"> </h2>
<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125556173987086009.html?mod=googlenews_wsj">Source Document</a>
Robert Novell
March 15, 2024

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<title>The Honolulu Clipper – March 22, 2024</title>
<link>https://www.robertnovell.com/bloghonolulu-clipper-may-24-2013/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 22 Mar 2024 01:32:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false"></guid>
<description><![CDATA[ RN3DB March 22, 2024 Good Morning and welcome back, This week I will be talking about my favorite airline – Pan Am. I have written a […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 class="rtecenter" style="text-align: center;"> RN3DB</h1>
<h3 class="rtecenter" style="text-align: center;">March 22, 2024 
</h3>


Good Morning and welcome back,
This week I will be talking about my favorite airline – Pan Am. I have written a number of articles on Pan Am as well as provided a few contradictions to some of their claims; however, they are still my favorite. Pan Am provided a solid footing for commercial aviation in the US, and of course they brought us the giant Clippers that tamed the oceans of the world.
This week I want to talk about the Honolulu Clipper but before I do I want to give you a few blog articles to review if you need to refresh your memory on some of the specifics of Pan Am.
A brief over view of the Clippers produced can be found here: <a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/blog/golden-years-and-technology-part-three-clippers-pan-am-june-19-2009" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">“The Clippers of Pan Am.”</a>
In 2010 I wrote a four part series on Pan Am. The links are below:
<a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/blog/juan-trippe-and-pan-am-part-one-february-5-2010" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Part 1</a>
<a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/blog/juan-trippe-and-pan-am-part-two-february-12-2010" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Part 2</a>
<a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/blog/juan-trippe-and-pan-am-part-three-february-19-2010" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Part 3</a>
<a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/blog/juan-trippe-and-pan-am-part-four-february-26-2010" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Part 4</a>
In addition we visited a company called “Aeromarine” and Pan Am’s first Chief Pilot – Captain Mucick – who was the pilot who flew Key West to Havana for Aeromarine.
<a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/blog/captain-mucick-rest-story-pan-ams-beginning-and-great-aviator-who-made-it-all-possible-april-20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Captain Mucick</a>
There are many more articles on the blog, including the story of the Clipper stranded in the Pacific after Pearl Harbor was attacked, but today I want to talk about a Clipper that was buried at sea.
<h2 class="rtecenter" style="text-align: center;">The Honolulu Clipper</h2>
<a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/index.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-6659 aligncenter" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/index.jpg" alt="" width="536" height="417" /></a>
The Honolulu Clipper departed Hawaii on 3 November 1945 carrying 26 military personnel returning to the United States after service in the Pacific. The aircraft lost power in both starboard engines after five hours of flying, and successfully landed 650 miles east of Oahu shortly before midnight. The merchant tanker Englewood Hills maintained radio contact, found the aircraft and removed the passengers on the morning of 4 November.
The escort carrier Manila Bay arrived and sent over aircraft mechanics who were unable to repair the engines at sea. Manila Bay then attempted to tow the aircraft, but the tow line parted as weather deteriorated. The seaplane tender San Pablo was assigned to tow the flying boat into port, but the Honolulu Clipper was damaged in a collision with the tender on 7 November and intentionally sunk on 14 November by perforating the hull with 1200 20mm shells after salvage was deemed impractical.
A sad ending but wait……….There is a effort underway to recover her from the 17,000 foot deep watery grave, and for that story, as well as more pictures and a detailed account of her fate, please click on the following link………………….. <a href="http://rbogash.com/B314.html">The Honolulu Clipper’s Last Flight</a>
Now, for those of you who have never seen the video “The Long Way Home – The Flight of the Pacific Clipper” I have the video below.
<h4 style="text-align: center;"><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ms84WfJwalI" width="600" height="400" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></h4>
I hope everyone had a good week and will have an even better weekend. Take care, fly safe, and keep friends and family close.
Robert Novell 
March 22, 2024
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<title>Imperial Airways – The Piggy Back Airmail Venture – March 15, 2024</title>
<link>https://www.robertnovell.com/blogimperial-airways-piggy-back-airmail-venture-january-25-2013/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 15 Mar 2024 01:24:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false"></guid>
<description><![CDATA[RN3DB March 15, 2024 Good Morning and Happy Friday I hope everyone had a good week and the weekend will provide a little rest and relaxation. […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 align="center">RN3DB</h1>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">March 15, 2024</h4>

Good Morning and Happy Friday
I hope everyone had a good week and the weekend will provide a little rest and relaxation. Today I want to about a concept for mail delivery across the Atlantic involved two airplanes. The issue with this is that second airplane was sitting on top of the first…….
Enjoy………………………
The North Atlantic was an almost insurmountable barrier as the British Government, and Imperial Airways, contemplated service to Canada and the US. So, Imperial Airways came up with two proposals. The first was assisted take-off, and the second was in-flight refueling. The in-flight refueling is straight forward enough, considering our knowledge of the concept today, but assisted take-off was not being done with the use of JATO bottles. The concept employed was that of a smaller airplane being deployed from the back of a larger airplane much the same way the space shuttle was deployed from the back of a Boeing-747 during the initial proof of concept phase. Below is a portion of an article I found on the web:
<h3 align="center">“Short Mayo Composite”</h3>
The assisted take-off came in the form of the Short-Mayo composite aircraft, which was a large four-engine flying boat similar to the Empire design called ‘Maia’, with a smaller seaplane ‘ Mercury’ mounted on top. The ‘Mercury’ was designed to carry mail over long distances but when fully laden with fuel and mail, could not take off unassisted. Therefore the sole purpose of ‘Maia’ was to take-off with ‘Mercury’ on its back (all engines on both aircraft would be used for take-off), and when they got to a suitable height they separated and ‘Maia’ would return to base, while ‘Mercury’ set off on its journey.
The first trial of ‘Mercury’ was on 21st July 1938, when it left ‘Maia’ near Foynes and flew non-stop to Montreal. A distance of 2,930 miles and a flight time of twenty hours and twenty minutes. After unloading cargo, ‘Mercury’ flew to New York with newspapers and news photographs, making a total time of twenty-five hours and eight minutes. These flights had set three new records: the first commercial flight across the North Atlantic by a ‘heavier-than-air’ machine, the first east to west crossing from the British Isles to Montreal and the fastest east to west crossing of the North Atlantic. The time taken from Foynes to the Newfoundland coast was thirteen hours and twenty-nine minutes
So, when you think about the Space Shuttle being deployed from the 747, and other similar tests, I want you to remember what President Harry Truman said: “The only news is the history you haven’t read.”
Enjoy the weekend, be safe, and thanks for letting me be a part of your week.
Robert Novell
March 15, 2024

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<title>The First Pressurized Airliner To Enter Commercial Service – March 8, 2024</title>
<link>https://www.robertnovell.com/blogfirst-pressurized-airliner-enter-commercial-service-march-1-2013/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 08 Mar 2024 01:15:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false"></guid>
<description><![CDATA[RN3DB March 8, 2024 Happy Friday and Good Morning, I hope everyone had a productive week, perhaps enjoyed some time off, and maybe even managed some […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 align="center">RN3DB</h1>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">March 8, 2024</h4>

Happy Friday and Good Morning,
I hope everyone had a productive week, perhaps enjoyed some time off, and maybe even managed some time with friends and family which is what I call “Life After Aviation.”
I want to talk about Boeing again this week and go back to the first pressurized airliner ever built. The model designation was the 307 but before we talk about this airplane let’s talk about the airplane that made this plane possible – the B-17 and the race to provide the airlines, and the US Government, with a high altitude pressurized platform.
Boeing, Curtiss, and Douglas responded with designs for a high altitude pressurized airplane; however first in the air was the Abrams Explorer, built by a private US company, which was designed as a photo-mapping airplane. The Explorer first flew in 1937 but was put on hold as a result of WWII. The Explorer now resides in the National Air & Space Museum collection in Washington D.C., but a you can see this wasn’t exactly what Boeing, and others, had in mind when they began their design programs.
Boeing was first to the table with a useable product for the airlines. Wellwood Beall, famed 314 Clipper flying boat designer, led a talented team that in December 1935 began development of the 307 as an airliner derivative of the model Flying Fortress, but before the Stratoliner took to the air a confident Boeing designed a huge pressurized two-deck flying boat in response to a 1937 PAA requirement for a flying ocean liner capable of crossing the Atlantic non-stop.
Boeing’s model 326 was headline news on June 22, 1938, its announcement coming just 15 days after the 314 Clipper flew. However, Boeing built none of the model 326s, nor were any of the competing designs ever built but all of the designs were for double-deck, pressurized clippers, that were capable of non-stop crossings and all but one employed six engines for the job.
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_gfjbgVk8kaw/TCzZLXJEhSI/AAAAAAAAAwo/SdqOkTVcMGk/s1600/Clipper.JPG" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter" style="width: 400px; height: 370px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_gfjbgVk8kaw/TC9QlB2KbgI/AAAAAAAAAws/38qNmgKLrcc/s400/Boeing_326_x00.jpg" alt="" /></a>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_gfjbgVk8kaw/TCzZLXJEhSI/AAAAAAAAAwo/SdqOkTVcMGk/s1600/Clipper.JPG" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter" style="width: 400px; height: 540px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_gfjbgVk8kaw/TC9RvZlxYaI/AAAAAAAAAww/EIfxdW40GfQ/s1600/Consolidated_SuperClipper_x00.jpg" alt="" /></a>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_gfjbgVk8kaw/TCzZLXJEhSI/AAAAAAAAAwo/SdqOkTVcMGk/s1600/Clipper.JPG" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter" style="width: 400px; height: 248px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_gfjbgVk8kaw/TCzZLXJEhSI/AAAAAAAAAwo/SdqOkTVcMGk/s1600/Clipper.JPG" alt="" /></a>
Sikorsky S-62 Giant Clipper (Proposed)
Initially the 307 design was based on the model Flying Fortress with the wings (over three feet wider), tail, and landing gear joined to a new circular section pressurized fuselage. Production aircraft had wing slots, a dorsal fin, and a large vertical fin.
<h3 align="center">Stratoliner Facts</h3>
<ul>
<li>First operational airplane with hydraulically boosted control surfaces — elevators and rudder;</li>
<li>Fastest scheduled long range airline service</li>
<li>First airliner (SA-307B) with geared two speed engine superchargers able to cruise at high altitude with passengers in complete comfort beginning in 1940;</li>
<li>First four-engine landplane airliner in U.S. scheduled long-range service;</li>
<li>Wide body fuselage at 138 inches/11.5 feet overall which is wider than its turbojet powered namesake, the 707 prototype tanker/airliner at 132 inches/11.0 feet.</li>
</ul>
PAA’s Flying Cloud flew the first operational pressurized service from Miami, Florida, to Latin America beginning on July 4, 1940. The Stratoliner offered unmatched comfort, speed and range advantages over its Douglas DC-3 and Lockheed Electra twin-engine competitors. A wide body airliner, its fuselage was more than three feet wider than the DC-3, and featured a luxurious 33-passenger cabin which was pressurized, air conditioned, and heated. Passenger compartments had optional sleeping berths with windows, or ample-size individual reclining sleeper seats, and men’s and women’s lavatories with skylights.
During World War II, TWA’s 307’s were taken into AAF service as the camouflaged C-75. PAA aircraft were retained by the airline with their crews flying under charter for the AAF Air Transport Command. All eight aircraft survived their wartime service.
Postwar Stratoliner airline service began in late 1945 when TWA resumed coast-to-coast flights with its upgraded SA-307B-1 aircraft, and PAA flew the New York City to Bermuda route. PAA Stratoliner service ended in 1948 when its three aircraft were sold, and TWA flew its five SA-307B-1’s until 1951 after which they were sold off.
This article would not be complete unless we talked about the Stratoliner built for Howard Hughes which he named the “Flying Penthouse.”
<a href="http://www.planeboats.com/Other%20Pages/Photos/art/Plane/hughes-allen.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter" style="width: 400px; height: 206px;" src="http://www.planeboats.com/Other%20Pages/Photos/art/Plane/hughes-allen.jpg" alt="" /></a>
A special model SB-307B for Howard Hughes was built with more powerful engines and extra fuel tanks for an around-the-world flight that was cancelled due to the start of World War II. The flight was never made. The Stratoliner was fitted with a luxury interior, including a bedroom, but saw little use by Hughes and was sold to oil-baron Glenn McCarthy in 1949; however, the most unique turn in events for the Hughes Stratoliner was when it was converted into a charter boat. Click on the photo below for the complete story.
<a href="http://www.planeboats.com/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter" style="width: 400px; height: 182px;" src="http://www.air-and-space.com/Boeing%20307/Cosmic%20Muffin%20right%20front%20l.jpg" alt="" width="740" height="336" /></a>
That’s all for this week and I hope you enjoyed this look back. Enjoy the video below, and hopefully events will allow you to have some more time with family and friends. Take care/fly safe, and always stay focused on the phrase “Gatekeeper of the Third Dimension.”
Robert Novell
March 8, 2024

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<title>The Day The Japanese Bombed Oregon – March 1, 2024</title>
<link>https://www.robertnovell.com/blogday-japanese-bombed-oregon-january-28-2013/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 01 Mar 2024 13:15:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false"></guid>
<description><![CDATA[RN3DB March 1, 2024 Good Morning, Interesting story from WWII that you might enjoy. Take a look and pass it around…..a slice of history mostly unknown. […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2 class="rtecenter" style="text-align: center;">RN3DB</h2>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">March 1, 2024</h4>

<img decoding="async" class="aligncenter" style="width: 300px; height: 163px;" src="http://www.eugeneleeslover.com/Images/Oregon/oregon-2.jpg" alt="" />
Good Morning,
Interesting story from WWII that you might enjoy. Take a look and pass it around…..a slice of history mostly unknown.
Enjoy…….
<h3 align="center">The Day a Japanese Plane Bombed Oregon </h3>
Thanks to Jack Lehman, Navy Diver (Ret.), for bringing this to my attention. Authored by Norm Goyer, it was found on Aircraft Market Place Blog.
September 9, 1942, the I-25 B1 type Japanese submarine was cruising in an easterly direction raising its periscope occasionally as it neared the United States Coastline. The B1 type was the most numerous class of Japanese submarines. They were fast, long-ranged, and carried a seaplane behind watertight doors, which could be launched on a forward catapult.
Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor less than a year ago and the Captain of the attack submarine knew that Americans were watching their coast line for ships and aircraft that might attack our country. Dawn was approaching; the first rays of the sun were flickering off the periscopes lens. Their mission; attack the west coast with incendiary bombs in hopes of starting a devastating forest fire. If this test run were successful, Japan had hopes of using their huge submarine fleet to attack the eastern end of the Panama Canal to slow down shipping from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The Japanese Navy had a large number of I-400 submarines under construction. Each capable of carrying three aircraft. Pilot Chief Warrant Officer Nobuo Fujita and his crewman Petty Officer Shoji Okuda were making last minute checks of their charts making sure they matched those of the submarine’s navigator.
September 9, 1942: Nebraska forestry student Keith V. Johnson was on duty atop a forest fire lookout tower between Gold’s Beach and Brookings Oregon. Keith had memorized the silhouettes of Japanese long distance bombers and those of our own aircraft. He felt confident that he could spot and identify, friend or foe, almost immediately. It was cold on the coast this September morning , and quiet. The residents of the area were still in bed or preparing to head for work. Lumber was a large part of the industry in Brookings, just a few miles north of the California Oregon state lines.
Aboard the submarine the Captain’s voice boomed over the PA system, “Prepare to surface, aircrew report to your stations, wait for the open hatch signal” During training runs several subs were lost when hangar door were opened too soon and sea water rushed into the hangars and sank the boat with all hands lost. You could hear the change of sound as the bow of the I-25 broke from the depths, nosed over for its run on the surface. A loud bell signaled the “All Clear.” The crew assigned to the single engine Yokosuki E14Ys float equipped observation and light attack aircraft sprang into action. They rolled the plane out its hangar built next to the conning tower. The wings and tail were unfolded, and several 176 pound incendiary bombs were attached to the hard points under the wings. This was a small two passenger float plane with a nine cylinder 340 hp radial engine. It was full daylight when the Captain ordered the aircraft to be placed on the catapult. Warrant Officer Fujita started the engine, let it warm up, checked the magnetos and oil pressure. There was a slight breeze blowing and the seas were calm. A perfect day to attack the United States of America. When the gauges were in the green the pilot signaled and the catapult launched the aircraft. After a short climb to altitude the pilot turned on a heading for the Oregon coast.
Johnson was sweeping the horizon but could see nothing, he went back to his duties as a forestry agent which was searching for any signs of a forest fire. The morning moved on. Every few minutes he would scan low, medium and high but nothing caught his eye. 
The small Japanese float plane had climbed to several thousand feet of altitude for better visibility and to get above the coastal fog. The pilot had calculated land fall in a few minutes and right on schedule he could see the breakers flashing white as they hit the Oregon shores.
Johnson was about to put his binoculars down when something flashed in the sun just above the fog bank. It was unusual because in the past all air traffic had been flying up and down the coast, not aiming into the coast.
The pilot of the aircraft checked his course and alerted his observer to be on the lookout for a fire tower which was on the edge of the wooded area where they were supposed to drop their bombs. These airplanes carried very little fuel and all flights were in and out without any loitering. The plane reached the shore line and the pilot made a course correction 20 degrees to the north. The huge trees were easy to spot and certainly easy to hit with the bombs. The fog was very wispy by this time.
Johnson watched in awe as the small float plane with a red meat ball on the wings flew overhead, the plane was not a bomber and there was no way that it could have flown across the Pacific, Johnson could not understand what was happening. He locked onto the plane and followed it as it headed inland.
The pilot activated the release locks so that when he could pickled the bombs they would release. His instructions were simple, fly at 500 feet, drop the bombs into the trees and circle once to see if they had started any fires and then head back to the submarine.
Johnson could see the two bombs under the wing of the plane and knew that they would be dropped. He grabbed his communications radio and called the Forest Fire Headquarters informing them of what he was watching unfold.
The bombs tumbled from the small seaplane and impacted the forests, the pilot circled once and spotted fire around the impact point. He executed an 180 degree turn and headed back to the submarine. There was no air activity, the skies were clear. The small float plane lined up with the surfaced submarine and landed gently on the ocean, then taxied to the sub. A long boom swung out from the stern. His crewman caught the cable and hooked it into the pickup attached to the roll over cage between the cockpits. The plane was swung onto the deck, The plane’s crew folded the wings and tail, pushed it into its hangar and secured the water tight doors. The I-25 submerged and headed back to Japan. Destroyer USS Patterson sank I-25 off the New Hebrides on 3 September 1943, almost exactly one year after the Oregon bombing.
This event ,which caused no damage, marked the only time during World War II that an enemy plane had dropped bombs on the United States mainland. What the Japanese did not count on was coastal fog, mist and heavy doses of rain, which made the forests so wet they simply would not catch fire.
<img decoding="async" class="aligncenter" style="width: 279px; height: 413px;" src="http://www.eugeneleeslover.com/Images/Oregon/Oregon-5.jpg" alt="" />
<h4 class="rtecenter" style="text-align: center;">This Memorial Plaque is located in Brookings, Oregon at the site of the 1942 bombing</h4>
Fifty years later the Japanese pilot, who survived the war, would return to Oregon to help dedicate a historical plaque at the exact spot where his two bombs had impacted. The elderly pilot then donated his ceremonial sword as a gesture of peace and closure of the bombing of Oregon in 1942.
<a href="http://www.eugeneleeslover.com/Japanese_bomb_Oregon.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source Document</a>
Hope you enjoyed this look back and you have a good week. Take care, be safe, and enjoy some quiet time during each day so that you can keep things in perspective. Life is short – too short.
Robert Novell
March 1, 2024
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<title>Rumrunners, Pappy Chalk, and a Miami Airline – February 23, 2024</title>
<link>https://www.robertnovell.com/the-rum-runners-airline-of-miami-july-10-2015/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 23 Feb 2024 06:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/?p=2936</guid>
<description><![CDATA[RN3DB February 23, 2024 Good Morning, Today I want to talk about a company called Chalks and how a man named Arthur Burns Chalk became a […]]]></description>
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<h1 style="text-align: center;">RN3DB</h1>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">February 23, 2024 
</h3>

Good Morning,
</div>
Today I want to talk about a company called Chalks and how a man named Arthur Burns Chalk became a seaplane pilot and owner of an airline.
Arthur Burns Chalk, who I will call Pappy Chalk from this point forward, was working as a mechanic in Paducah, Kentucky in 1911 when a chance encounter with a man named Tony Janus would change his life forever. Tony Janus had made a landing on the Ohio River, after developing engine trouble, outside town and was in need of repairs. Pappy Chalks agreed to fix the engine if Mr. Janus would teach him to fly and a deal was struck. I have talked about Tony Janus before, <a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/blogst-petersburg-tampa-airboat-line-november-8-2013/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CLICK HERE</a>, in a previous blog but to refresh your memory Mr. Janus started the first scheduled airline service in America operating from Tampa to St. Petersburg, Florida and his bio can be found here…<a href="http://firstflight.org/tony-jannus/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TONY JANUS.</a>
In 1917 Pappy Chalk went south and initially he made his living as a barnstormer, but in 1917 he founded the Red Arrow Flying Service on the dock of the Royal Palm Hotel in Miami. His office was a small table under a beach umbrella, and his reservation system was a single crank telephone hanging from a pole. Because neither Miami nor the Bahamian islands had airports Pappy Chalk equipped his three-seat Stinson Voyager with floats so that he could take off and land the aircraft on water.
In 1919, the operation, by then named Chalk’s Flying Service, inaugurated a regular schedule to Bimini, a Bahamian island 50 miles off the southern Florida coast; however, remember that in the US the prohibition era was in full swing and rum runners, and their pursuing lawmen, formed much of Chalk’s clientele. Wealthy big game hunters and fisherman, typified by Ernest Hemingway, also became regular customers after the repeal of prohibition in 1933.
Pappy Chalk, and his airline, had many accomplishments to his credit including rescuing deposed Cuban President Gerardo Machado amid of volley of bullets and operating submarine patrols during World War II; however, my space is limited here but I encourage you to do some research on your own.
Pappy Chalk retired in 1964 after the death of his wife, Lillie Mae Chalk, who had helped run the operation since their marriage in 1932. Dean Franklin, Chalk’s long-time friend, bought the airline in 1966, adding service to Key West and Fort Jefferson the following year.
Now I have a brief profile of Chalk’s history in the 70s, 80s, and 90s from an article on the web:
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Chalks in the 70s/80s</h3>
In the late 1970s, Chalk’s began using 30-passenger G-111 Albatross seaplanes, a modification of the venerable HU-16, which had been produced as a military aircraft between 1949 and the mid-1960s. At the time, Chalk’s was flying about 45,000 passengers a year, and demand was increasing. No aircraft companies were then making commercial amphibious airplanes, so Chalk’s upgraded its own. Antilles Air Boats was acquired in 1979. Service between Miami, Paradise Island, and West Palm Beach began in 1981. The company upgraded the fleet of five 13-place Grumman G-73 Mallard aircraft to turboprop engines in the early 1980s, at a cost of $4 million. The TV show Miami Vice, a symbol of both Miami and the 1980s, featured a Chalk’s seaplane in its opening credits.
Chalk’s fleet was as high-maintenance as it was glamorous. It was a unique carrier, its Watson Island base being the smallest port of entry in the United States. Chalk’s revenues were about $7.5 million in 1986, when it carried 130,000 passengers. Most were staying at Resorts International properties, although island residents used the airline for shopping trips to Miami. Resorts International owner Jim Crosby was an enthusiastic supporter of the airline and began to expand its fleet with 13 thoroughly upgraded, 30-passenger Grumman G-111 seaplanes. After Crosby’s death, these planes went into storage in Arizona.
Donald Trump acquired Resorts International in 1987. He owned it for a year before selling it to Merv Griffin Enterprises. Chalk’s signature seaplanes were restricted to daylight operations due to the difficulty of ascertaining landing conditions on water at night. In March 1989, Resorts launched another airline, Paradise Island Airways, to handle increased vacation traffic from Florida to the Bahamas. Its three 50-seat, STOL (short take-off and landing) Dash-7 planes were operated by Chalk’s personnel to land-based airstrips. The two brands were carrying more than 60,000 passengers a year, only a quarter of them on Chalk’s seaplanes. A handful of other small South Florida airlines, like Aero Coach, plied the skies between Miami or Fort Lauderdale and Nassau or Freeport.
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Crossing Stormy Seas in the 1990s</h3>
The 1990s began with the near-closing of the airline and its sale in early 1991 to United Capital Corporation of Rockford, Illinois. This venture capital group was owned by Seth and Connie Atwood, two seaplane enthusiasts. The legal entity was called Flying Boat, Inc., but the airline continued to do business under the Chalks name. Chalk’s passed an interesting milestone on June 28, 1991, when it flew its first scheduled domestic flight, connecting Miami directly to the Florida Keys. The company had nearly 30,000 passengers in 1991.
Chalks became licensed to perform maintenance for other seaplane operators in 1993. After 75 years of flying, Chalk’s experienced its first fatal accident in March 1994 when one of its seaplanes crashed upon take-off from the Florida Keys. Two crewmembers were killed. A group of investors then acquired Chalk’s–known as Chalk’s International Airlines at the time–for about $5 million in January 1996. The partners included Miami developer Craig Robins; Chuck Slagle, owner of Alaska’s Seaborne Aviation; and Chuck Cobb, who held rights to the Pan Am name.
Chalk’s began operating as Pan Am Air Bridge on March 1, 1996. However, the airline was not a feeder airline for the new Pan Am, which had returned to operations along the East Coast. The legendary trademark evoked the massive Clipper flying boats that the original Pan American had flown to exotic destinations. Pan Am Air Bridge was then operating a fleet of five Grumman seaplanes. The former Chalk’s was up for sale again by September 1997. By this time, it was breaking even. Aircraft leasing company Air Alaska acquired a 70 percent share in the company from Craig Robins in January 1998 for $2 million, at the same time signing notes for another $8 million for five of the company’s planes. Pan Am Corp., through its Pan American World Airways unit, retained a 30 percent holding in Pan Am Air Bridge. Air Alaska also acquired land rights to its Watson Island base. A few months later, Guilford Transportation Industries acquired a 30 percent holding in Pan Am Air Bridge via its purchase of Pan American World Airways.
An involuntary bankruptcy temporarily grounded Pan Am Air Bridge in February 1999. It soon restarted operations under its former name, Chalk’s International Airlines. Chalk’s was rebranded again in December 1999, as Chalk’s Ocean Airways. That month, the company relaunched service, opening a new route to Paradise Island, in the Bahamas, whose airport had been closed and was directly accessible only by seaplane. Chalk’s planes were refurbished and repainted for the opening; the company’s terminals were also being upgraded. Paradise Island Airways, Chalk’s land-based air service, closed in May 1999. Miami entrepreneur and former Eastern Airlines pilot Jim Confalone acquired Chalk’s out of bankruptcy on August 2, 1999, for $925,000. By this time, it was operating just two leased aircraft and had only 35 employees. After buying the airline, Confalone agreed to buy 14 30-seat Grumman G-111 seaplanes from Chalk’s former owner, Seth Atwood of Chicago.
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Hope on the Horizon in 2000 and Beyond</h3>
The tremendous growth of the Bahamas as a tourist destination, particularly among the affluent, boded well for Chalk’s niche, a blend of transportation, convenience, and entertainment. In 2000, Chalk’s began flying from Fort Lauderdale to a Freeport resort, called “Our Lucaya,” which was being overhauled by Hong Kong developer Hutchinson & Whampoa Ltd. Like most airlines, Chalk’s was affected by the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. It cut schedules by up to 25 percent, and reduced its operations from four full-time aircraft to three flying part-time. The schedule was soon restored, however. While major carriers such as United and American Airlines were dealing with bankruptcy issues, Chalk’s was beginning to grow again, though the 2003 war in Iraq prompted another temporary slowdown. Confalone described his “CEO” business model to the Miami Herald: “Customer is first, the Employee is second, and the Owner is last.” To ensure the promptest service, employees were discouraged from talking to each other on duty, a practice Confalone borrowed from The Car Wash, one of his successful service-driven enterprises. In 2003, some industry analysts speculated that Chalk’s might return to profitability in the coming year. With its long history of weathering financial turbulence, Flying Boat and Chalk’s seemed likely to remain a leader in its niche market.
<a href="http://www.fundinguniverse.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source Document</a>
In 2005 a Chalk’s Turbine Mallard snapped a wing leaving Miami killing all eighteen on board. The NTSB report is on the web for those of you who are interested, but this accident marked the beginning of the end for Chalks. The FAA revoked their certificate in September of 2007 and the airline ceased operations before year’s end.
Chalks International Airline was a good company, with good people, and a loyal clientele that made them a unique entity in the history of US aviation.
That’s it for this week, enjoy the photos/video below, enjoy your weekend with family and friends, and from all of us at the 3DB we wish you, and yours, the best that life has to offer in the coming weeks, months, and years.
Robert Novell 
February 23, 2024

<a href="https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQH-ulGcaQvnaACtl-2sLvW7ue63fjKfGxT5Rq_Mka7zd_86DIC"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQH-ulGcaQvnaACtl-2sLvW7ue63fjKfGxT5Rq_Mka7zd_86DIC" alt="" width="631" height="300" /></a>


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<title>The Hercules…..The Four Horseman…..Fat Albert – February 16, 2024</title>
<link>https://www.robertnovell.com/the-hercules-the-four-horseman-fat-albert-october-3-2014/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 16 Feb 2024 04:14:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/?p=1774</guid>
<description><![CDATA[RN3DB February 16, 2024 Good Morning, Welcome back to the 3DB and thanks for allowing us to be a part of your week. Today I want […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="stcpDiv">
<h1 class="rtecenter" style="text-align: center;">RN3DB</h1>
<h4 class="rtecenter" style="text-align: center;">February 16, 2024 
</h4>

Good Morning,
Welcome back to the 3DB and thanks for allowing us to be a part of your week. Today I want to talk about an airplane that I had the pleasure to fly for 5 years when I worked a State Department contract flying in to Eastern Europe after the wall fell. Great airplane, even if it is the world’s nosiest airplane, with lots of capabilities.
Enjoy……….
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Willis Hawkins</h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">The Man Who Brought The Hercules To Life</h2>
 <a href="http://www.codeonemagazine.com/thumbnail.php?img=media/02_V29N3_2014_Hawkins_portrait2_1267828237_2931.jpg&size=gallery" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1776" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/thumbnail.php_1-234x300.jpg" alt="thumbnail.php" width="234" height="300" /></a>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">(Willis Hawkins headed the design team for the Hercules)</h5>
If this design is really as terrible as Kelly Johnson says it is, the Air Force will think that, too, and they’ll give the contract to somebody else. I think we ought to submit the proposal.” With those words, Willis Hawkins convinced his boss, Hall Hibbard, then the vice president and chief engineer of Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, to submit the proposal for the aircraft that would become the C-130 Hercules. It was 10 April 1951.
Hawkins was thirty-seven years old at the time and in charge of the Advanced Design department for Lockheed. He led the team that in a little over two months had come up with the design for what was being called the Model 82 in response to a US Air Force request for proposal for a new transport.
The idea for this new transport came at the end of a hastily called budget meeting a week after the Korean War broke out in June 1950. Participants at the meeting formulated ideas for spending additional research and development money. An Air Force colonel, whose name is lost to history, remarked that the service needed an extremely rugged medium transport that could land on unprepared airstrips. The aircraft, to be used primarily for freight transport, needed to carry about 30,000 pounds to a range of 1,500 miles. It also needed the capability to carry troops.
The additional funds stayed in the budget, as did most of that colonel’s proposed requirements. The Air Force issued a general operational requirement on 2 February 1951 to Boeing, Douglas, Fairchild, and Lockheed for a transport able to: (1) carry ninety-two infantrymen or sixty-four paratroopers on a mission with a combat radius of 1,100 nautical miles or, alternatively, a 30,000-pound cargo more than 960 miles; (2) operate from short, unprepared airstrips of clay, sand, or humus soil; (3) slow down to 125 knots for paradrops and even slower for assault landings; (4) have both a rear ramp operable in flight for heavy equipment drops and side doors for paratroop drops; (5) handle bulky and heavy equipment including bulldozers, artillery pieces, and trucks; and (6) fly with one engine out.
Hawkins, ninety years old and still mentally sharp and physically active at the time of this interview in 2004, recalls that the Air Force’s request for proposal contained only seven pages. “We got the RFP and set up teams to look at performance, develop a description of the aircraft, and determine weight. We also had to estimate development cost.
<h4 style="text-align: center;">A Short Meeting</h4>
“Our proposal was bigger than the Air Force’s seven-page RFP, but still only about 130 pages and maybe three-quarters of an inch thick. We took it to Hibbard so he could sign a letter that committed the company to our estimates. We also brought a design model, which had a wingspan of about fifteen inches. Hall looked at the model, thumbed through the proposal, and asked a few questions. Then he asked, ‘Has Kelly seen this?’ We said, no, we haven’t seen Johnson for a couple of months. He’s working on something secret [which turned out to be the F-104] and hasn’t been around. Hibbard said, ‘Well, Kelly ought to look at it.’
“Hibbard was Johnson’s boss. So when Hall called, Kelly had to come. Kelly looked at the model and thumbed through the performance part of the proposal. He then said, ‘Hibbard, if you sign that letter, you will destroy the Lockheed Company.’ And with that he walked out of the office.
“Kelly wasn’t much interested in the transport. It didn’t carry bombs, didn’t have machine guns, and didn’t fly Mach 3. After an awkward pause, Hibbard finally said, ‘Well, Willy, that model has a lovely finish.’ I went back to work on Hibbard. I said, look, the Air Force expects us to submit a proposal. We told them we would, and we have to get it in the mail today.”
Hibbard signed the letter and Johnson did, in the end, sign off on the proposal. Lockheed was informed that the company had won the competition on 2 July 1951. Nine days later, the Air Force awarded the formal contract for two prototypes to be designated YC-130.
<h4 style="text-align: center;">A Long Association</h4>
That encounter in Hall Hibbard’s office was probably the biggest disagreement between Willis Hawkins and Kelly Johnson. But it was not the first time the two engineering geniuses hadn’t quite seen eye to eye.
“In the late 1930s, Kelly knew that the P-38 needed counter-rotating propellers,” Hawkins recalls. “But he was convinced they needed to rotate toward the pilot with the blades coming over the top. Several of us had to convince him they needed to rotate away from the pilot with the blades coming up from the bottom. We tried it both ways in flight test and our choice better counteracted the torque and was a little safer for the pilot. The P-38 became a more docile, pilot-friendly flying machine after that.”
The two men first met in 1933, when Johnson, then assistant to Hibbard, brought the Lockheed Model 10 to the wind tunnel at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Hawkins, then an undergraduate, ran the wind tunnel.
“The original Electra design had a single vertical tail, which didn’t have enough area. So the aircraft had stability and dead engine control problems,” Hawkins notes. “Kelly came up with the idea of putting endplates on the horizontal tail. The plates not only provided enough area, they put the tails into the slipstream behind the engine, which made for better control.” Johnson and Hawkins fabricated the new verticals for the model in the tunnel shop and the design change worked. The Electra was a huge success; 148 aircraft were built. The Electra became a direct ancestor to the storied Hudson patrol bomber in World War II.
“We faced a similar stability problem with the Constellation a decade later,” Hawkins adds. “The original design had two tails, but they didn’t provide enough stability for the big airliner. We couldn’t make the twin tails taller because then the design wouldn’t fit in TWA’s hangars. We couldn’t extend them from the bottom of the stabilizer, because they would scrape the runway when it landed. I came up with the idea of the third vertical.” The triple tail became the Constellation’s most notable design feature.
<h4 style="text-align: center;">Hail To The Victors</h4>
Hawkins, the only child of a divorced mother, attended an experimental high school established by the head of a summer camp where he had worked. “Five of us were in the school’s first graduating class,” Hawkins recalls. “Unfortunately, the school was not accredited anywhere in the world.
“I decided to go to the University of Michigan, but I was told I had to take fifteen exams and then I still might not get in. Well, I didn’t want to do that. I enrolled in a little college in Illinois that had about 1,200 students. I took all the math and physics courses there I could. Then I transferred to Michigan.
“I had taken years of advanced physics courses at Michigan and passed them all. But I hadn’t taken one particular transfer student physics course. The physics department wasn’t going to let me graduate because I hadn’t taken the course. I left and took a job in industry. After a year, I came to my senses, went back to school, and took some graduate courses. Only then did I get special dispensation to finally get my degree.” Decades later, Hawkins received an honorary doctorate, but only after the university chancellor had smoothed things over with the physics department about that Physics 101 course missing from his transcript.
Hawkins, his college roommate, and a mutual friend all received telegrams from Lockheed Aircraft in 1937. “I was probably hired on the basis of Kelly’s recommendation,” Hawkins says. “That telegram noted my starting salary of $1,500 a year. All three of us lived out our professional lives at Lockheed, and we were all quite successful.”
Coincidentally, after Hawkins moved to California, he would later buy a house from Allan Lockheed, one of the brothers who had started the company in 1913. After Lockheed Aircraft had gone into receivership for a week in 1932, Allan became so disgusted with the airplane business, he took up real estate as a career.
<h4 style="text-align: center;">Designing The Hercules</h4>
A number of Lockheed legacy aircraft carry Hawkins’ fingerprints. He was a structural component designer on the P-38, the Hudson, and Lodestar. In 1947, he organized and headed the team that developed the X-7 ramjet test vehicle. He was the head of the preliminary design group that produced the Constellation, P-80, XF-90, F-94, and F-104. Then came the C-130.
“Doing things for the US government is always little bit complicated,” Hawkins observes. “The C-130 program was a little simpler. The RFP had a list of payloads the Air Force needed to carry in the new plane. That set the height and weight of the cargo compartment. It is a great compliment to the Air Force that the people who wrote the requirement did it right the first time. They had no predisposition to what the aircraft should look like. The Tactical Air Command guys who were going to get the airplane knew what the requirements were, and how it looked was up to us.
“We basically took the dimensions of the biggest piece of equipment the Air Force had specified, drew a circle around its cross section, and turned the circle into a tube about the length of a railroad boxcar. We put wings, a nose and a tail on it, and we had the design,” Hawkins adds. “We put the aircraft low to the ground so we could use the ramp to get cargo on and off easily.”
The design team recognized that this was the first tactical cargo aircraft the Air Force had designed from scratch. “Even though Kelly didn’t agree, we thought the C-130 might have a good span of production for the Air Force,” Hawkins notes. “As soon as the Air Force started flying the aircraft, other air forces came to us and started asking questions about it.”
Lockheed built a full-scale mockup of the complete fuselage, one engine, and a section of wing. The government held its first mockup board review session in the mockup itself. “We put the tables and projectors on the cargo floor,” Hawkins says. “After the review, the Air Force didn’t change much with the design aside from some detail changes in the cockpit. We didn’t mind making those changes since we had not built the prototypes.”
In the days when the C-130 was conceived, all the commercial transports — DC 4, DC 5, Stratoliner, and Constellation — had a flight engineer. “Pilots thought the aircraft had too many engines to keep track of, so the planes couldn’t have a two-pilot operation,” observes Hawkins. “The copilot and the flight engineer ran the aircraft, and the pilot flew it. The C-130 came at a transition time. Nobody was used to turbine engines, and the Allison T56 engine was complicated for its day. No one was certain how much equipment to put in the flight engineer’s station to keep those engines running.”
Dick Pulver, who had been a project engineer on the P-38 and Constellation, was chosen to be the lead engineer on the C-130. “We set up a separate organization for those two prototypes and set aside a piece of the factory for production. Dick Pulver did a beautiful job of running it,” Hawkins adds. “The two aircraft were delivered on schedule and on cost. The test pilots gave the aircraft a good wringing out. The performance matched our estimates.”
<h4 style="text-align: center;">Into The Air; Into Production</h4>
The first flight of the YC-130, which was actually the second aircraft built, came on 23 August 1954 with company test pilots Stan Beltz, who was later killed in an F-94 mishap, and Roy Wimmer at the controls. Dick Stanton was the flight engineer, and Jack Real was the flight test engineer. During the sixty-one minute flight, the aircraft was flown from Burbank to the Air Force Flight Test Station at nearby Edwards AFB. Johnson, whose thinking on the C-130 had changed dramatically as the aircraft was being built, flew in the chase aircraft, a P2V Neptune.
The second YC-130 prototype, the first aircraft off the line, was used in the ground-based static test program, and was finally flown for the first time on 21 January 1955.
With production of the T-33, Constellation, and Neptune in full swing, Burbank facilities had no space for an additional production line. Shortly after Lockheed won the contract for the YC-130s, officials decided to move the program to the company’s new factory in Georgia if the C-130 went into production.
“We had just reopened Air Force Plant 6 in Marietta, mainly for license production of the B-47 Stratojet,” notes Hawkins. “Lockheed and Douglas had won the right to be the second-source producers for the bomber. We were already cleaning up the Marietta plant and decided it had plenty of room for C-130 production.
“We sent the whole design team to Georgia, as they were in charge of working up the production proposal to the Air Force,” recalls Hawkins. “Most of them went kicking and screaming, because they didn’t want to have anything to do with Georgia. Two years later, we tried to bring them back to California and they were kicking and screaming again because they liked Georgia so much that they didn’t want to come back. The Hercules has been in Georgia ever since.
“The design team changed some things to make the C-130 cheaper to produce, but not too much. The visual differences between the production aircraft and the prototypes are not noticeable,” Hawkins notes. “What has happened with the C-130 since those early days has been absolutely remarkable.”
<h4 style="text-align: center;">On To Other Things</h4>
After working on the XFV experimental vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, Hawkins was tapped to start the new Lockheed Missiles and Space Division in Sunnyvale, California, near San Francisco.
“I was one of the founders of Missiles and Space and eventually ended up running the space half,” Hawkins recalls. Among other things, he headed the X-17 reentry test vehicle and the UGM-27 Polaris sea-launched ballistic missile program — the US Navy’s first SLBM — for which he was awarded the Navy’s Distinguished Public Service Medal.
“One of my projects while at Missiles and Space was declassified around 2001,” Hawkins notes. “We were taking pictures of Russia from space, and if you don’t think the Corona satellite program had some adventures….” Some of those adventures included having one entire satellite crash in Antarctica and another one lost in Finland.
The first successful Corona mission came on the thirteenth try, but the canister containing the film that was ejected was lost when it came down 1,200 miles from where it was expected.
After the fourteenth launch, the film canister, known as a bucket, was recovered. “A presidential aide mentioned to Eisenhower that it was the first object to have ever been recovered from space. The president picked up on that and insisted that the bucket be presented to the Smithsonian,” Hawkins recalls. “So there was Eisenhower, Gen. Bernard Schriever [the architect of the Air Force’s ballistic missile program], and half a dozen Washington big wheels at the Smithsonian for a formal ceremony. I have never figured out what story they told to explain how that bucket got to the museum.”
A JC-130, a Hercules modified for testing, was used for midair recovery of the photographic buckets from later Corona missions.
Hawkins served as assistant secretary for research and development for the Army from 1962 to 1965, where he was instrumental in starting development of the M1 Abrams main battle tank. He then returned to Lockheed and took Hibbard’s spot on the board of directors, and retired from day-to-day activity in the early 1980s. Lockheed chairman Roy Anderson brought Hawkins back to run the Lockheed California Company on an interim basis in the 1980s. Hawkins retired for good in 1986.
<h4 style="text-align: center;">Back To Lockheed</h4>
Even in retirement, Hawkins was called on as a consultant. During flight test on the C-130J, test crews got the aircraft down to what should have been the stall speed, but it kept on flying. “At that point, the crew started wondering what the actual stall speed was,” notes Hawkins. “They slowed down and slowed down some more and nothing. Suddenly, at a very slow speed, the C-130 did a snap roll and it scared the hell out of the crew. It looked like we had a problem. The aircraft wouldn’t stall.
Engineers determined that the new six-bladed propellers on the C-130J cleaned the boundary layer of air off the root of the wing. I spent a couple of months in Georgia helping them work that out. A better boundary layer control system could not be designed intentionally,” Hawkins adds. “We tried vortex generators, rakes, fences, and leading edge stall strips, but could not get it to stall. We ended up installing a stick pusher, just like in a fighter, that takes over and pushes the nose down. You still can’t stall that aircraft.”
He views the C-130 as one of his greatest successes: “The C-130 is not exactly an attractive aircraft. It is still in production and still doing the job it was designed for. Originally, some questioned who would want to buy such an aircraft. Irv Culver, one of our engineers, said that if we make it right the first time, we could sell it to anybody. I think we must have done it exactly right.”
Willis Hawkins died at his home in Woodland Hills, California, on 28 September 2004, at age ninety, shortly after this interview was first published.
<a href="http://www.codeonemagazine.com/article.html?item_id=144" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source Document</a>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">C-130 Carrier Landing Trials</h2>
In early March 2005, a crew from Marine Refueler Transport Squadron 352 (VMGR-352) at MCAS Miramar, California, picked up a new KC-130J—the fourth new aircraft for the squadron—from the Lockheed Martin facility in Marietta, Georgia. The unit’s ongoing conversion meant that the time had come to retire one the squadron’s older aircraft.
Like nearly every other tanker in the US Marine Corps fleet, Bureau Number 149798 had seen its share of action in Vietnam, Iraq in Operation Desert Storm, Afghanistan, and Iraq again in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Unlike most other aircraft that had served out its career, the final destination for this specific tanker was not to be the aircraft Boneyard in Arizona. This aircraft was a little different. When the VMGR-352 crew shut this KC-130F’s engines down for the last time on 1 March 2005, the aircraft was parked at Forrest Sherman Field, NAS Pensacola, Florida, where it was to be enshrined in what was then known as the National Museum of Naval Aviation.
“The fact that aircraft was finally retired in 2005 is proof that I didn’t bang it up too badly,” joked retired Rear Adm. Jim Flatley. In the fall of 1963, Flatley was the pilot who first landed this particular Hercules on an aircraft carrier.
<h4 style="text-align: center;">This Idea Won’t Go Anywhere</h4>
“There were engineers taking measurements on a Hercules and saying a C-130 was going to land on an aircraft carrier,” recalled Ed Brennan in a 1998 interview. “I didn’t believe them. Later my commanding officer came around and said the same thing. I still didn’t believe it, but I raised my hand to volunteer anyway. I had no idea what I was getting into.”
Brennan, then an Aviation Machinist Mate First Class (ADR-1), attached to Transport Squadron One (VR-1) at the Naval Air Test Center at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, when his commanding officer made that startling announcement—the Test Center was indeed developing a program to land a Hercules on an aircraft carrier. And Brennan, along with ADR-1 Al Sieve, was going to be the two flight engineers assigned to the project.
The idea of taking a big aircraft with a 132-foot wingspan and landing it on what is frequently described as a postage stamp did seem farfetched. However, there was a legitimate operational requirement to test the carrier suitability of the Hercules.
The was an emergency need to resupply a carrier operating in the middle of the Indian Ocean, a common operation today but an unanticipated requirement forty decades ago. The Grumman C-1 Trader, then the Navy’s carrier onboard delivery, or COD, transport, did not have the required range nor could it carry an oversize payload like a General Electric J79 jet engine, which powered both the North American A-5/RA-5 Vigilante attack/reconnaissance aircraft and the McDonnell Douglas F-4 fighter bomber populating flight decks at the time. The C-130 had both range and cargo-carrying ability so the idea of a Super COD was born.
Once the project went forward, the Test Center staff had to decide whether to have pilots with multi-engine experience learn to land on a carrier or to have test pilots with carrier landing experience learn to fly multi-engine aircraft. Carrier experience won out.
“Either I was in the right part of the line or the other pilots said, ‘Give this one to Flatley. It isn’t going to go anywhere,'” said then-lieutenant Flatley, the newly minted test pilot chosen to lead the project. “In flight test, you have to earn your spurs. I had just reported to the Carrier Suitability Branch at Pax River and this was my first project as a test pilot. It was a rather unique assignment.”
Lt. Cmdr. W. W. “Smokey” Stovall, the lead test pilot on another project at the time, volunteered to be copilot on the C-130 trials.
The trials aircraft, 9798, was in service at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina, and was chosen at random. The aircraft was flown back to what was then known as the Lockheed-Georgia Company in Marietta on 8 October.
Only minor modifications were made to the aircraft: the wing refueling pods were removed, a precision airspeed indicator was installed in the cockpit, and the antiskid system was replaced with the type used on commercial 727s. The aircraft was also fitted with a smaller nose landing gear orifice, which allowed for slower metering of the hydraulic fluid and made for smoother touchdowns.
“The most critical guy on the crew was the flight engineer because he knew far more about the airplane than the two fighter pilots assigned to this short-term project ever would,” Flatley noted. “That sounds a little cavalier for a test pilot, but, at that point, we were not required to learn the aircraft, just to learn to fly it.”
<h4 style="text-align: center;">Practice, Practice</h4>
Lockheed test pilot Ted Limmer monitored Flatley and Stovall as they made their first flight from Marietta to check out the modifications. Limmer then gave the Navy pilots their check ride on the way back to Pax River. “The aircraft is so beautiful to fly and so simple to operate and it handles so well,” Flatley recalled. “Checkout was a piece of cake, especially with Petty Officers Brennan and Sieve doing all the work and worrying.”
Flatley and Stovall paid a lot of attention to the ground handling characteristics of the C-130 and then focused on the slow-speed maneuvering characteristics of the aircraft in its landing configuration. The crew began practicing landings at Pax River almost immediately. Engineers from the Carrier Suitability Branch set up multiple cameras and came out to observe the first practices and take extensive measurements. “For most of the next fifty-five flight hours, all we did was go around the field practicing short field landings and takeoffs,” Flatley said.
High on the list of things to be accomplished during the practice landings was to determine the optimum carrier approach speed for the C-130. While the normal approach speed for a Hercules is 115 to 120 knots, a determination was made to fly the carrier approaches at five to six knots above stall speed for the planned landing gross weight.
A second landing parameter that concerned the pilots was the aircraft’s sink rate at touchdown. Flatley and Stovall were used to flying carrier-based fighters that have a sink rate of about fifteen to twenty feet per second, so they were apprehensive about the C-130’s design limit of eleven feet per second. Even though the test data collected during the field trials indicated that sink rate was not going to be a problem, the pilots would not be convinced until they actually made the test flights to the carrier.
One of the major challenges in the final stage of a carrier approach is mastering the so called rooster tail, the turbulent air that is the carrier equivalent of the ground effect encountered when an aircraft crosses the approach end of a runway. “If the rooster tail is not handled well, more often than not, your aircraft feels like it is being sucked into a hole right at the deck rounddown,” added Flatley. “So being able to fly the desired glidescope, right to touchdown, is critical.”
The crew found they could easily fly the required 3.5- to 4.0-degree glidescope on a standard approach. “It became evident very quickly that landing a C-130 on a carrier was not going to be a problem. Even the engineers stopping coming out to watch us practice,” Flatley recalled.
A side trip to the Naval Air Rework Facility in Norfolk, Virginia, was made so engineers there could figure out how to get the Hercules off the ship if, for some reason, it got stranded aboard the ship during the trials. It was determined that the most practical solution would be to run a steel I-beam through the crew door and punch a hole on the other side of the fuselage and run another I-beam through the paratroop doors in the back. Those two I beams would then be connected to a third I-beam suspended over the fuselage and a crane would be used to lift the aircraft off the deck if the carrier could make port conveniently.
“If we had broken down at sea, the deck hands would have lifted the plane up with the deck crane and tossed it overboard,” Brennan mused. “Hopefully, they would have let us get out first.”
<h4 style="text-align: center;">To The Boat</h4>
On 30 October, the USS Forrestal (CVA-59) was steaming off the Florida coast near Jacksonville. One wag at Pax River had painted, “Look Ma, No Hook,” under the copilot windows of the KC-130 because there wasn’t one. An arresting hook, a normal piece of equipment for a carrier landing, wouldn’t have helped either because the Forrestal’s flight deck had been cleared—the arresting wires had been removed to save wear and tear on the tires of the Hercules. The deck was completely empty as the air wing’s aircraft were either flown ashore or parked on the hangar deck.
“It was a blustery, squally day with a forty-knot wind gusting to sixty knots and huge ocean swells. The deck was heaving twenty feet up and down,” Flatley recalls. “Here is where a carrier pilot with knowledge comes in handy. Every two and one-half minutes or so, no matter what the sea state, the ship will steady out. Because of the excessive wind and sea state, we did forty-two approaches to ship just to get nineteen touch-and-go landings.” Those touch-and-goes revealed that there were no sink rates in excess of five feet per second, a fact that amazed even the Lockheed engineers.
The Hercules crew first made touch-and-goes on the ship’s 682-foot-long angled deck and then went down the 1,017-foot-long axial deck, where, on the next trip, the actual landings would be made. The first flight lasted five and one-half hours, two of which were spent in the Forrestal’s landing pattern. Cameras placed all around the flight deck recorded the touch-and-goes from every angle.
“We had a skull session the next day with the flight test engineers back a Pax River, and all the data looked good,” Flatley notes. “It was then just a matter of rescheduling the ship.”
On 8 November, Flatley, Stovall, Brennan, Sieve, and Limmer approached the Forrestal underway off Cape Cod, Massachusetts. A broad dotted white line painted down the middle of the axial deck greeted them on their first approach. The Forrestal’s skipper put the carrier into the wind and added ten knots, which gave the flight crew a forty- to fifty-knot headwind over the bow.
After making the three warm-up touch-and-go landings, Flatley was cleared for the first full stop landing. The first approach was made at seventy-nine knots indicated airspeed.
The Forrestal’s landing signal officer gave Flatley the traditional “cut” signal as the aircraft crossed the rounddown at ten to fifteen feet in the air. Flatley lifted the throttles over the gate and put the propellers into reverse pitch as he settled down on the deck. At the same time, he and Stovall stood on the aircraft’s brakes so that, when the aircraft touched down, the KC-130 was in full reverse with full braking applied. It stopped in 275 feet, actually short of where the number four arresting cable would have been lying.
“We stopped so short it kind of startled me,” said Brennan. “It was like landing on a normal runway, but that big metal island on the side of the ship just beyond the wingtip was a bit scary.” It was the first time he had ever been on an aircraft carrier.
“Normally on a carrier, sailors and tractors move aircraft,” Flatley says. “We simply backed up with reverse thrust to set up for takeoff. You should have seen the looks on the faces of the deck hands.”
<h4 style="text-align: center;"><iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ar-poc38C84?si=9feABCRCXP0kbC97" width="600" height="400" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></h4>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">Heavyweight Landings</h4>
In addition to testing the basic feasibility of landing a Hercules on an aircraft carrier, the project was also designed to make landings at increasingly heavier weights to determine how large a payload a C-130 might safely bring aboard. Because the aircraft was a tanker, simply adding additional fuel increased the gross weight of the aircraft.
After taking on more JP-4 to go to the next higher gross weight, the crew revved up the aircraft’s engines, set the flaps at seventy-five percent, and took off. There were only fifteen feet clearance between the KC-130’s wingtip and the island.
The only restriction placed on the crew during takeoff was not to rotate the aircraft until the wingtip passed the forward end of the ship’s island. “Otherwise we could have been looking down on the captain on his bridge when we took off,” Flatley adds.
Three more full stop landings were made the first day, followed by ten landings on 21 November and seven more the next day. Stovall made three of the landings on the last day. A total of twenty-nine touch-and-goes were made on the four trips to the carrier.
The KC-130 weighed 85,000 pounds on the first landing. Thereafter, landings were made in progression up to a gross weight of 121,000 pounds. At maximum weight, which set the record for the largest and heaviest aircraft landing on a US Navy aircraft carrier, Flatley and Stovall used only 745 feet for takeoff and 460 feet for landing. One landing at a weight of 109,000 pounds required 495 feet to stop and that was in a heavy squall. On the last takeoffs, the crew didn’t even back up — they simply took off from the point on the deck where the aircraft stopped.
The crew completed the carrier qualification tests around noon on 22 November. “We got back to Pax River and started writing the final report and collecting the statistical data. We wrote the recommended procedures so anyone else wanting to land on a carrier had the information available. We went about our business and were told not to talk about it,” noted Flatley. The project remained classified officially for a year, although word got out quickly to the flying community.
The feasibility of landing a C-130 with a useful payload on a carrier was clearly demonstrated, but in the end, it simply was not practical. “A carrier with no tactical aircraft on deck makes a skipper antsy,” Brennan noted. “The captain of the Forrestal gave us two hours — to the minute — each trip and then we had to go home.” The Grumman C-2 Greyhound, a more practical COD aircraft, entered fleet service in 1966.
<h4 style="text-align: center;">The Rest Of The Story</h4>
Stovall was later awarded the Air Medal for his work on the project. He went on to command a carrier fighter unit during Vietnam and attained the rank of captain. He died of leukemia in 1973.
Brennan was also awarded the Air Medal. He went on to become a flight engineer on P-3 Orions, accumulating nearly 7,000 hours flight time. He retired in 1976 as a chief petty officer after twenty-two years in the Navy. Four hours after his retirement ceremony, he was on a plane to Iran to work as a Lockheed field service representative on the P-3F program. He later went back to working with C-130s, this time with Coast Guard HC-130Hs as a Lockheed field service representative at CGAS Elizabeth City, North Carolina. He retired in 1998 and passed away a short time later.
Sieve shipped out immediately after the program concluded to fly Lockheed WV-1s—a.k.a. Willie Victors—Warning Star airborne early warning aircraft in Argentia, Newfoundland. Flatley lobbied for years to recognize Sieve’s contribution to the carrier landing and Secretary of the Navy Gordon England approved the Air Medal for Sieve in the summer of 2004. It was presented by the Vice Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Mike Mullins in Sieve’s hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. A crew from VMGR-352 flew 9798 to the ceremony.
Flatley was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, a difficult award to earn anytime but especially in peacetime. He spent the rest of his Navy career in fighters. Even though he didn’t have a tail hook on the KC-130F, he counts his eighteen landings in a Hercules among his 1,608 traps, which puts him in the top ten of the Navy’s all-time carrier landing list. He retired as a rear admiral in 1987. He served as the chief executive officer of the Patriot’s Point Naval and Maritime Museum in Charleston, South Carolina, the state’s most popular tourist attraction, for seven years before retiring again. Between his twenty-one grandkids and his work charity work in Charleston, he stays active. “I stay busier than I can stand to be,” he noted.
After a thirty-eight-year career, the Forrestal was decommissioned 11 September 1993 and was stricken from the Navy Register the same day. In February 2014, she was towed from Philadelphia to Brownsville, Texas, for scrapping. The Navy sold the carrier to All Star Metals, a ship and oil rig recycler, for one cent.
KC-130F BuNo 149798 went on to a full career, receiving a service life extension upgrade and a new center wing box in the late 1970s. It spent most of its career with VMGR-352, first at MCAS El Toro, California, and later at Miramar after El Toro was closed and the Raiders, as the squadron calls itself, moved. In November 2001, 9798 was the first aircraft to land at Expeditionary Air Field Rhino during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. It was used on a low-altitude night helicopter refueling mission and to insert elements of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s battalion landing team near the Pakistan border. A little over a year old during the carrier qualifications, 9798 was retired to what is now called the National Naval Aviation Museum forty-two years later and right at 26,220 flight hours.
Basically relegated to the status of a footnote to aviation history, the Hercules-on-a-carrier idea came back to the forefront in 2004. The CBS television series JAG featured an episode in which Cmdr. Harmon Rabb (David James Elliot) quit his position as a Navy lawyer to fly missions for the CIA. He rescues an agent and his family in a C-130 and then, after being attacked by Libyan MiGs, makes an emergency landing on the deck of the fictitious USS Seahawk. As the credits roll, real footage of Flatley’s landing in the KC-130 (which can be found <a href="http://www.codeonemagazine.com/gallery_video.html?&?lid=1270238634&item_id=127&utm_source=Code+One+Magazine&utm_campaign=01d233142c-Code_One_V29N04_20140814&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_a634c22da7-01d233142c-127631793">here</a>) is shown along with a brief summary of the feat.
At that same time, the joint Army-Navy-Marine Corps concept of Sea Basing, or pre-positioning supplies and equipment near potential areas of operation around the world, was being discussed. One idea involved a movable facility the size of a small island with a 3,000-foot flight deck. Lockheed Martin actually received a government contract to study the concept of C-130J operations from this floating runway. But, the Sea Basing concept was later shelved.
<a href="http://www.codeonemagazine.com/article.html?item_id=148" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source Document</a>
Hope you enjoyed this look back at the history of the C-130 and be sure and watch the video at the end of the article on Fat Albert. Have a good weekend, enjoy time with family and friends, and be sure to take some time to enjoy the world around you.
Robert Novell
February 16, 2024
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Note – For nearly thirty years, almost every airshow presented by the Blue Angels, the US Navy’s Flight Demonstration Squadron, began with the team’s C-130 Hercules support aircraft making a fiery, smoky, noisy jet-assisted takeoff. That era came to an end on 14 November 2009 as the crew of Fat Albert, the affectionate nickname given to the team’s C-130, carried out the last-ever JATO blastoff.
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<title>Civilian Pilot Training Program – February 9, 2024</title>
<link>https://www.robertnovell.com/civilian-pilot-training-program-december-05-2014/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 09 Feb 2024 01:15:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Aviators Mindset]]></category>
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<description><![CDATA[RN3DB February 9, 2024 Good Morning Hopefully everyone had a good week, work was not too taxing on the spirit, and you are ready for a […]]]></description>
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<h1 style="text-align: center;">RN3DB</h1>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">February 9, 2024 
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Good Morning
Hopefully everyone had a good week, work was not too taxing on the spirit, and you are ready for a weekend with family and friends. Today I want to share with you a slice of aviation history called the Civilian Pilot Training Program. This program was brought to life by President Roosevelt in 1938 as he prepared the country for war.
Enjoy……….
<h3 style="text-align: center;">The CAA Helps America Prepare for World War II</h3>
<a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/POF2010_347-600x183.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-2051" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/POF2010_347-600x183-300x91.jpg" alt="POF2010_347-600x183" width="300" height="91" /></a>
In the 1930s several European nations built up their air forces in part by training civilians as pilots in anticipation of possible conflict. In the United States, a similar program, known as the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP) began in 1938. President Franklin D. Roosevelt supported the CPTP’s plan to train 20,000 civilian pilots a year because this would create a pool of potential military pilots that he believed the country would need soon.
In 1939 the Army had a total of only 4,502 pilots, including 2,007 active-duty officers, 2,187 reserve officers and 308 national guard officers. The number of new Army-trained pilots grew rapidly each year as war seemed more likely, from 982 in 1939, to about 8,000 in 1940, to more than 27,000 in 1941 — but many more were needed, and the Army by itself could not train the huge numbers of cadets desperately required. The U.S. Army Air Forces drew additional fliers from the CPTP and a separate network of civilian schools under contract to the USAAF, as well as conducting training in its own schools.
The CPTP eventually operated at 1,132 colleges and universities and 1,460 flight schools, and CPTP-trained pilots did well in further training at USAAF schools. Recording nearly 12 million flying hours, the CPTP trained 435,165 pilots from 1939 to 1944.
The CPTP gave African Americans and women unprecedented opportunities in aviation. Pioneering black fliers campaigned hard for public awareness of their abilities, and their efforts paid off with an anti-discrimination rule within the CPTP — a landmark in racial equality for blacks in aviation. Though training remained mostly segregated, instruction for black students began at six schools: the West Virginia State College for Negroes, Howard University in Washington, D.C., Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, Hampton Institute in Virginia, Delaware State College for Colored Students, and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College. The program soon expanded to several more schools.
The best known was the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, where the first black USAAF combat pilots were trained. The CPTP graduated around 2,000 black pilots overall.
<a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/george-hardy-tuskegee.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-2049 " src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/george-hardy-tuskegee.jpg" alt="george-hardy-tuskegee" width="447" height="262" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/george-hardy-tuskegee.jpg 512w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/george-hardy-tuskegee-300x176.jpg 300w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/george-hardy-tuskegee-249x146.jpg 249w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/george-hardy-tuskegee-50x29.jpg 50w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/george-hardy-tuskegee-128x75.jpg 128w" sizes="(max-width: 447px) 100vw, 447px" /></a>
Women also found new opportunities in the CPTP, but these were unfortunately ended before the U.S. entry into World War II. Four women’s colleges initially participated, and women were enrolled at other schools at a ratio of one woman for every 10 men. When war preparation needs demanded that all graduates enlist, women were automatically excluded because they were not allowed to fly in the military at that time. Nonetheless, the CPTP trained around 2,500 women by mid-1941, and many of them became Women Air force Service Pilots or WASPs.
<a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/images.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-2047 aligncenter" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/images.jpg" alt="images" width="438" height="339" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/images.jpg 255w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/images-189x146.jpg 189w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/images-50x39.jpg 50w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/images-97x75.jpg 97w" sizes="(max-width: 438px) 100vw, 438px" /></a>
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the CPTP’s name changed to the War Training Service (WTS). From 1942 until the program ended in the summer of 1944, trainees still attended college courses and took private flight training, but they also signed agreements to enter military service after graduation.
<a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Civil_Aeronautics_Association_Pilot_Hat_Badge.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-2041" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Civil_Aeronautics_Association_Pilot_Hat_Badge-300x272.jpg" alt="Civil_Aeronautics_Association_Pilot_Hat_Badge" width="300" height="272" /></a>
Trainees from the CPTP entered the Army Air Forces Enlisted Reserve. Many went on to further instruction and commissioned service as combat pilots. Others became service, liaison, ferry and glider pilots, instructors, or commercial pilots in the Air Transport Command. As it became clear that Axis forces would eventually be defeated and fewer pilots would be required in the future, the services ended their agreement with the CPTP/WTS in early 1944. The program itself was abolished in 1946.
The Civilian Pilot Training Program and War Training Service served the nation and the USAAF well before and during WWII. The program created a much-needed pool of civilian fliers who were ready for further military instruction to fly a fast-growing armada of U.S. aircraft. The CPTP/WTS and its graduates significantly contributed to the strength in numbers that American air power needed to help defeat the Axis powers.
<a href="http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=8475" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source Document</a>
Have a good weekend, keep friends and family close, and protect your profession as you would your family.
Robert Novell
February 9, 2024
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<title>Antoine de Saint-Exupéry – February 2, 2024</title>
<link>https://www.robertnovell.com/antoine-de-saint-exupery-april-3-2015/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 02 Feb 2024 01:15:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/?p=2527</guid>
<description><![CDATA[RN3DB February 2, 2024 Good Morning, Welcome back to the 3DB and thanks for letting me share time with you this week. During the course of […]]]></description>
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<h1 style="text-align: center;">RN3DB</h1>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">February 2, 2024 
</h3>

Good Morning,
Welcome back to the 3DB and thanks for letting me share time with you this week. During the course of this year/last year I have not had a specific script to follow with the blogs. I have talked about airplanes, aviation history in the US, and abroad, as well as the aviation pioneers from Europe, South America, and elsewhere. This week I want to open a new window into the past and talk about a man whose skills as an aviator, and with a pen, are similar to those of Ernest Gann.
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Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is the man I speak of and it is his life that we will talk about today. A few years ago I wrote a blog titled, <a href="http://https://www.robertnovell.com/blog/frances-lindbergh-march-30-2012" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“Jean Mermoz – France’s Lindbergh”</a> , where I talked about the beginnings of the airline “Aéropostale.” While my focus was primarily on the accomplishments of Jean Mermoz I did mention Saint-Exupery and the fact that he and Mermoz were the best of friends; however, this week it is all about Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. The article that I am using for this was copied from the web and while I am not sure of its origins based on the facts, as I know them, it appears to be accurate. I have revised some of the wording to make it easier to read but the link below the article is available should you desire to consult the source. I will have a few closing comments and two videos for you to see – but for now let’s get on with the story.
Enjoy…………………………………. 
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6tG-Aj5pNkk/TGT4pxha4OI/AAAAAAAAABY/ZQTaODNRcG0/s1600/Antoine_de_Saint_Exupery_by_KrueltyKlown.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6tG-Aj5pNkk/TGT4pxha4OI/AAAAAAAAABY/ZQTaODNRcG0/s1600/Antoine_de_Saint_Exupery_by_KrueltyKlown.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="278" /></a>
 Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 
French aviator, writer, and real life hero who looked at adventure, and danger, with a poet’s eyes and sometimes from the viewpoint of a child. Saint-Exupéry’s most famous work is The Little Prince (1943), which he also illustrated, has become one of the classics of children’s literature of the 20th century. 

“Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.” 
<h2 style="text-align: center;">The Little Prince</h2>
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was born in Lyons, France into an old family of provincial nobility. His father was an insurance company executive, who died of a stroke in 1904, and his artistic talented widow, Marie de (Fonscolombe) Exupéry (1875-1972), then moved with her children to Le Mans in 1909. Saint-Exupéry spent his childhood years at the castle of Saint-Maurice-de-Rémens, surrounded by sisters, aunts, cousins, nurses, and fräuleins. He was educated at a Jesuit school in Montgré and Le Mans, and in Switzerland at a Catholic boarding school (1915-1917), run by the Marianist Fathers in Fribourg. After failing his final examination at a university preparatory school, he entered the École des Beaux-Arts to study architecture.
The turning point in Saint-Exupéry’s life came in 1921 when he started his military service in the 2ND Regiment of Chasseurs, and was sent to Strasbourg for training as a pilot. He had flown, with a pilot, for the first time in 1912. On July 9, 1921, he made his first flight alone in a Sopwith (F-CTEE). During the next year Saint-Exupéry obtained his pilot’s license, and was offered a transfer to the air force. However, when his fiancée’s family objected, he settled in Paris where he took an office job and started to write.
The following years were unlucky. His engagement with Louise de Vilmorin broke off, and he had no success in his work and business. He had several jobs, including that of bookkeeper and automobile salesman, and Saint-Exupéry’s first story, ‘L’Aviateur’, was published in 1926 in the literary magazine Le Navire d’argent. 
Saint-Exupéry’s true calling was then found in flying the mail for the commercial airline company Aéropostale. He flew the mail over North Africa for three years, escaping death several times, and in 1928 he became the director of the remote Camp Juby airfield in Rio de Oro, Sahara. His house was a wooden shack and he slept on a thin straw mattress. “I have never loved my house more than when I lived in the desert,” he recalled.
In this isolation Saint-Exupéry learned to love the desert, and used its harsh beauty as the background for his books The Little Prince and The Wisdom of the Sands (1948). During these years Saint-Exupéry wrote his first novel, Southern Mail (1929), which celebrated the courage of the early pilots flying at the limits of safety to speed on the mail and win a commercial advantage over rail and steamship rivals.
In 1929 Saint-Exupéry moved to South America, where he was appointed director of the Aéropostale Argentina Company. Saint-Exupéry flew post through the Andes and it was this experience that formed the basis for his second novel, “Night Flight,” which became an international bestseller, won the Prix Femina, and was adapted for screen in 1933, starring Clark Gable and Lionel Barrymore. In the story Rivière, the hard-bitten airport chief, has left behind all thoughts of retirement and sees the work of flying the mail as his fate.
“We don’t ask to be eternal’, he thought,’ what we ask is not to see acts and objects abruptly lose their meaning. The void surrounding us then suddenly yawns on every side.” 
Saint-Exupéry was married in 1931 to Consuelo Gómez Carillo, a widow, whose other literary friends included Maurice Maeterlinck and Gabriele D’Annunzio. “He wasn’t like other people,” she wrote later, in Mémoires de la rose, “but like a child or an angel who has fallen down from the sky.” The marriage was stormy.
After the air mail business in Argentina was closed down, Saint-Exupéry started to fly mail between Casablanca and Port-Étienne and then he served as a test pilot for Air France and other airline companies. He wrote for Paris-Soir, covered the May Day events in Moscow in 1936, and wrote a series of articles on the Spanish Civil War. Saint-Exupéry lived a traveling, adventurous life: he persuaded Air-France to let him fly a Caudron Simoun (F-ANRY), and had an accident in 1935 in North Africa. He walked in the desert for days before being saved by a caravan. In 1937, he bought another Caudron Simoun, and was severely injured in Guatemala in a plane crash.
Encouraged by his friend, André Gide, Saint-Exupéry wrote during his convalescence a book about the pilot’s profession. Wind, Sand and Stars, which appeared in 1939, won the French Academy’s 1939 Grand Prix du Roman and the National Book Award in the United States. The director Jean Renoir (1894-1979) wanted to shoot the film and had conversations with the author, mostly about literary subjects which he recorded. At that time Renoir worked in Hollywood where everyone shot on sets. Renoir’s idea was to make the film at the locations described in the text. The book had been successful in the U.S. but nobody wanted to produce its film version.
After the fall of France in World War II Saint-Exupéry joined the army, and made several daring flights into his occupied homeland. In June he went to live with his sister in the Unoccupied Zone of France, and then he escaped to the United States. Saint-Exupéry was criticized by his countrymen for not supporting de Gaulle’s Free France forces in London. Flight to Arras (1942), published in New York, and depicts his hopeless flight over the enemy lines, when France was already beaten. The book was banned in France by the German authorities.
In 1943 he rejoined the French air force in North Africa. Also in Algiers he continued his lifelong habit of writing in the air but after a bad landing his commanding officer decided that he was too old to go on flying. However, after a pause he was allowed to rejoin his unit. In 1943 Saint-Exupéry published his best-known work, The Little Prince (1943), a children’s fable for adults, which has been translated into over 150 languages. It has been claimed that The Little Prince is the best-selling book after the Bible and Karl Marx’s Das Kapital.
<a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/images.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-2525 aligncenter" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/images.jpg" alt="images" width="418" height="251" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/images.jpg 290w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/images-243x146.jpg 243w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/images-50x30.jpg 50w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/images-125x75.jpg 125w" sizes="(max-width: 418px) 100vw, 418px" /></a>
Saint-Exupéry dedicated the book to his friend Léon Werth. Its narrator is a pilot who has crash-landed in a desert and he meets a boy, who turns out to be a prince from another planet. The prince tells about his adventures on Earth and about his precious rose from his planet. He is disappointed when he discovers that roses are common on Earth. A desert fox convinces him that the prince should love his own rare rose and finding thus meaning to his life, the prince returns back home. The rare rose is usually interpreted as Consuelo his estranged wife.
On July 31, 1944 Saint-Exupéry took off from an airstrip in Sardinia on a flight over southern France. His plane disappeared. It is believed he was shot down over the Mediterranean, but perhaps there was an accident, or it was suicide. Saint-Exupéry left behind the unfinished manuscript of La Citadelle (Wisdom of the Sands) and some notebooks, which were published posthumously. “Freedom and constraint are two aspects of the same necessity, which is to be what one is and no other.” (From La Citadelle, 1948) The book reflects Saint-Exupéry’s increasing interest in politics, and his later ideals.
 In 1998 a fisherman recovered Saint-Exupéry’s bracelet from the sea about 150 kilometers west from Marseilles. His and Conzuela Gomez Castillo’s name were recognized from it. However, later news revealed, that the bracelet was probably a forgery. Eventually, Saint-Exupéry Lockheed Lightning P-38 was found in May 2000. 
<a href="http://(http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/exupery.htm)" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source Document</a>
Sant-Exupery was indeed an accomplished author, like Gann and others, and I think you can see similarities between him, Lindbergh, and others. His book “The Little Prince” is available on the web for reading and most of his other backs are available at Amazon. Take some time to get to know our friend Saint-Exupery because his writings will open a window to the past that has been forgotten, or ignored, by most Aviators of the 21st Century.
Enjoy your time with family and friends, and remember, “Job security, as a Professional Pilot, is a Myth in even in the Best of times.” 

Robert Novell 
February 2, 2024 

<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vP5AgzBVGcs?si=uEcnKp-94CA5onMx" width="600" height="400" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
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<title>Airline Advertising Campaigns From Days Past – January 26, 2024</title>
<link>https://www.robertnovell.com/blogunited-part-two-ads-tell-story-january-14-2011/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 26 Jan 2024 00:15:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Legacy Carriers]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false"></guid>
<description><![CDATA[RN3DB January 26, 2024 Good Morning, I have found that the ads used by airlines, and other large corporations, tell a unique story about our culture […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<h1 style="text-align: center;">RN3DB</h1>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">January 26, 2024</h3>

Good Morning,
I have found that the ads used by airlines, and other large corporations, tell a unique story about our culture and mind set of the period. Below you will find a few ads used by United as they grew the airline, and fought to grab market share from competitors.
Enjoy………………….
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/files/images/ad-1.jpg" alt="" width="711" height="760" />
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/files/images/ad-2.jpg" alt="" width="784" height="1009" />
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/files/images/ad-3.jpg" alt="" width="784" height="1067" />
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/files/images/ad-4.jpg" alt="" width="784" height="949" />
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/files/images/ad-5.jpg" alt="" width="784" height="1092" />
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/files/images/ad-6.jpg" alt="" width="738" height="1060" />
Have a good weekend, enjoy time with family and friends, and remember that the preceding ads are presented for educational purposes and cannot be reproduced or used for any other purpose.
Robert Novell 
January 26, 2024
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<title>Shorts 330/360 – A Regional Airliner Becomes an Army Workhorse – January 19, 2024</title>
<link>https://www.robertnovell.com/shorts-330360-a-regional-airliner-becomes-an-army-workhorse-june-22-2018-2-3/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 19 Jan 2024 01:15:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/?p=6718</guid>
<description><![CDATA[RN3DB January 19, 2024 Good Morning and Happy Friday, We are all aware that manufacturers such as Boeing, Lockheed, and others provide aircraft to the military; […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 style="text-align: center;">RN3DB 
</h1>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">January 19, 2024 
</h3>

Good Morning and Happy Friday,
We are all aware that manufacturers such as Boeing, Lockheed, and others provide aircraft to the military; however, there is a company that manufactured regional airliners that also became a supplier to the U.S. Military and that company is Shorts Brothers out of Belfast, Ireland and today we will talk about those airplanes – the Shorts 330 and 360.
I had the pleasure of talking with the Army Aviator who took the first 360 to Iraq and brought the last one home when we abandoned Iraq. Joe had a number of stories to tell, that I will pass on to you sometime in the not so distant future, but for now I think it reasonable to say that the airplane earned it’s keep and the men who flew them got the most of their airplane and did it safely.
However, before we talk about the 330/360 I want to mention that the Short Brothers airplanes replaced a STOL aircraft called the Caribou. This airplane was widely used in Vietnam and in the not so distant future I will be devoting a blog to this legendary airplane and its short field/airdrop capabilities.
<a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/4594918866_98143fc789.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-2706 aligncenter" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/4594918866_98143fc789-300x225.jpg" alt="4594918866_98143fc789" width="518" height="388" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/4594918866_98143fc789-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/4594918866_98143fc789-195x146.jpg 195w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/4594918866_98143fc789-50x38.jpg 50w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/4594918866_98143fc789-100x75.jpg 100w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/4594918866_98143fc789-480x360.jpg 480w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/4594918866_98143fc789.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 518px) 100vw, 518px" /></a>
(Army DHC-4 Caribou)
Now, back to Short Brothers aircraft……….
Short Brothers was founded in London, circa 1908, and has played a major role in the development of aviation worldwide. I wrote an article last year on <a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/blogpan-am-was-chosen-instrument-us-and-imperial-airways-was-chosen-instrument-britain-november-1-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Imperial Airways</a>, which tells the story of an airline which ultimately turned in to British Airways, whose success in connecting England to the rest of the world was made possible as a result of the Short Brothers flying boats. This story is very similar to the Pan Am saga, except Imperial Airways was the first to undertake the challenge, but today we will not talk about the British Clippers but instead fast forward to the 1980s when Short Brothers entered the military market with a regional airliner built to the specifications outlined by the USAF.
Short Brothers originally entered the commercial market with the SC.7 Skyvan, then the 330, and finally the 360; however, it was the 330 that caught the eye of the USAF.
<a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/800px-Short_SC.7_Skyvan_C-FQSL_TOR_27.07.75_edited-2.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-2681 aligncenter" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/800px-Short_SC.7_Skyvan_C-FQSL_TOR_27.07.75_edited-2-300x213.jpg" alt="800px-Short_SC.7_Skyvan_C-FQSL_TOR_27.07.75_edited-2" width="520" height="369" /></a>
(SC.3 Skyvan)
<a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Henson_Airlines_Shorts_330_at_Baltimore_-_11_September_1983.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-2683" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Henson_Airlines_Shorts_330_at_Baltimore_-_11_September_1983-300x194.jpg" alt="Henson_Airlines_Shorts_330_at_Baltimore_-_11_September_1983" width="520" height="336" /></a>
(Short-330)
<a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Shorts360airsey.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-2684" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Shorts360airsey-300x199.jpg" alt="Shorts360airsey" width="521" height="345" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Shorts360airsey-300x199.jpg 300w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Shorts360airsey-768x510.jpg 768w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Shorts360airsey-220x146.jpg 220w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Shorts360airsey-50x33.jpg 50w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Shorts360airsey-113x75.jpg 113w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Shorts360airsey.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 521px) 100vw, 521px" /></a>
(Short-360)
The Short Sherpa (modified Short-330) was a freighter, fitted with a full width rear cargo door/ramp, which first flew on 23 December 1982 with the first order for 18 aircraft being placed by the United States Air Force in March 1983. These aircraft were assigned to Military Airlift Command (MAC) for the European Distribution System Aircraft role flying cargo, and personnel, between US Air Forces in Europe.
The Short 330 was designated the C-23A Sherpa and the C-23B Sherpa was similar to the C-23A but with cabin windows. All the Sherpas were returned to the United States; three aircraft were passed on to the USAF Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB, eight aircraft were passed to the US Army and the remaining seven to the United States Forest Service.
The C-23B designation was used to recognize Sherpas handed down from the USAF to the Army National Guard. The Army National Guard also accepted 10 new-build units for a grand total of 16. While essentially similar to the C-23A before it, the Army National Guard version incorporated a span of rectangular windows along the fuselage sides. Some twenty-eight preowned Short 360 models were procured by the United States Army and promptly converted to a new C-23B+ / C-23C “Super Sherpa” standard in line with the C-23A and C-23B before it. The US Army contracted West Virginia Air Center to modify the airframes from their original single vertical tailfin state to the C-23A/B-style twin-rudder configuration. Now, here is where the story gets interesting……
The tails were cut off of the used 360 aircraft, a thirty inch section of the fuselage was removed forward of the wing, and Dehaviland of Canada built new tails. The replacement of the tails also incorporated a cargo ramp which would open downward, when the aircraft was on the ground, and then when the aircraft was in flight the door opened upward so that the airplane could drop jumpers and cargo. A nice job of engineering by Dehaviland and in addition to the mod center in West Virginia the Army also built a training center, with full motion simulators, at the same location.
Now, here is an article off of the Army’s web site that details the life and times of the C-23.
<h1 style="text-align: center;">C-23 Sherpa Makes Final Flight</h1>
<h1 style="text-align: center;">as the Army Guard Retires Their </h1>
<h1 style="text-align: center;">Remaining Aircraft</h1>
<a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/size0.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-2692 aligncenter" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/size0-300x215.jpg" alt="size0" width="525" height="376" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/size0-300x215.jpg 300w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/size0-203x146.jpg 203w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/size0-50x36.jpg 50w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/size0-104x75.jpg 104w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/size0.jpg 606w" sizes="(max-width: 525px) 100vw, 525px" /></a>
WASHINGTON (Jan. 9, 2014) — The sounds of the C-23 Sherpa are now a thing of the past as the Army National Guard bids farewell to the venerable aircraft after two decades of service.
The box-shaped aircraft described by many as a “work horse” is now heading into retirement.
Throughout its operations in the Army Guard, the Sherpa has been used in response to natural disasters and war missions, said Maj. Matthew Moore, chief of future operations with the Operational Support Airlift Agency, or OSAA, adding that it was also a widely used aircraft to support parachute-drop training missions for all components of the Army and special operations organizations.
The Sherpa, a fixed wing aircraft, was introduced to the Army Guard in the early 1990’s, and has been flown in countless missions in both stateside and overseas operations, including the 1991 Gulf War and more recently during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“The C-23 provided limited rear support during the Persian Gulf War,” said Moore. “However, it saw continued action from 2003 through 2011, in Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn, often moving half-a-million pounds of cargo a month.”
The aircraft has seen continued use in other missions as well, including in Egypt as part of the Multinational Force and Observers’ peacekeeping mission.
“I was fortunate enough to ferry the first C-23 through Israel to El Gorah, Egypt,” said Chief Warrant Officer 5 Clarence Shockley, an instructor pilot and instrument examiner for the OSAA. He said the mission was two-fold: first to use the C-23 as an observation platform for the Multinational Force and Observers, to monitor military activity on the Sinai to ensure compliance with the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, and, second, to provide transportation to personnel and cargo from different locations throughout the region.
The Sherpa was no stranger to disaster response or providing assistance to other countries around the world.
“The C-23 provided disaster relief during hurricanes, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, forest fires, flooding, blizzards and the earthquake in Haiti, and was also used during the (2010) Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia,” Shockley said.
The Sherpa was a versatile aircraft and was used to do things other cargo aircraft could not do, Shockley said.
“A C-130 (Hercules aircraft) simply cannot land at every location,” he said. “Sometimes a CH-47 (Chinook helicopter) is too expensive to operate for a light load. It was another tool that was cost-effective in homeland defense, disaster preparedness and the Global War on Terrorism.”
But for Shockley, one of the best things about flying the Sherpa was that, “it was a very stable instrument platform,” and the crew stations were comfortable.
Now with the aircraft at its final destination and set to be retired, Shockley said he has many personal memories about the aircraft.
“My first deployment, in 1999, was to Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras, for disaster relief after Hurricane Mitch devastated much of the coastal regions of Central America,” Shockley said. During his time in Honduras, he flew the Sherpa to haul disaster relief supplies, medical personnel, engineers and construction equipment throughout Central America.
Other moments stand out as well. Shockley recalled a flight in 2009 from Greenland to Iceland when a cockpit side window blew out.
“It was a little noisy and cold, but where are you going to land when you are over the North Atlantic? We landed in Keflavik, Iceland, without any problem,” Shockley said.
Being a pilot of the Sherpa also sparked an interest in the aircraft in Shockley’s son Conor.
“You see, the first time Conor was in a C-23 he was barely one year old,” said Shockley. “He was bundled up in a snow suit at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, and sitting on my lap. He would reach up to the yoke and try to move it.”
Throughout the years, Shockley continued spending “Sherpa time” with Conor and Erin, Shockley’s wife, adding that the “toddler grew into the small boy and each visit to the Sherpa was not complete without a thousand questions that only a young boy could ask.”
Sixteen years after first introducing the aircraft to his son, Shockley and his son recently had their final “Sherpa moment” together.
“As Conor sat in the cockpit one last time, he looked around with a smile on his face and I realized that the little boy had grown into a young man, but the enjoyment he once had for sitting in dad’s airplane was still there,” Shockley said.
The last Sherpa’s journey to its final destination to the United States was not easy.
Shockley, who was part of the crew that flew the final Sherpa in the inventory on its final mission, said that electrical issues and inclement weather caused several delays in getting the aircraft home from Egypt.
Still, Shockley said was glad to have flown the Sherpa this last time.
“It was a privilege to have had the opportunity to fly the last Sherpa into retirement and the greater privilege was to have served as a crewmember with those hard-working quiet professionals,” said Shockley.
<a href="http://www.army.mil/article/118054/C_23_Sherpa_makes_final_flight_as_Army_Guard_retires_aircraft/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Source Document</a>
Now you would think that these airplanes were destined for the scrap heap…yes? Well, not exactly…..
<h1 style="text-align: center;">Sherpas Transferred to the U.S. Forest Service</h1>
The 15 Sherpa C-23B aircraft that were transferred from the U.S. Army to the U.S. Forest Service are still in limbo. The expectation is that they will be used by smokejumpers and for transporting cargo, paracargo, and possibly firefighters.
The aircraft are still at Fort Sill, Oklahoma after being transferred in February, but some of them will be moved to Tucson in the next month or two where they will be evaluated and tested by the Smokejumper Aircraft Screening and Evaluation Board (SASEB), an organization much like the Interagency AirTanker Board.
The SASEB is the “focal point for all interagency smokejumper/paracargo aircraft and related aircraft accessories, initiatives, proposals and issues. SASEB will provide guidance for standardization, when evaluating new interagency smokejumper/paracargo aircraft and related aircraft accessories.”
Smokejumpers have used Army surplus C-23A Sherpas for years, but one of the main differences between the older C-23A and the newer C-23B is that while both have a rear cargo ramp, like a C-130, the ramp on the C-23A will not open in flight. The SASEB will evaluate and test the use of the rear ramp for paracargo and jumpers while in flight. Typically they will begin by tossing out small cargo items, moving up to human-sized dummies, and ultimately live human smokejumpers.
The Board will also evaluate the need for painting, avionics, removal of any unneeded military equipment, and will ensure conformance with the FAA Certificate, but since they will not be used as air tankers, retardant tank systems will not have to be installed.
<a href="http://fireaviation.com/tag/c-23/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Source Document</a>
<a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Redding-jumpers-Shorts-330-Sherpa1.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-2694" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Redding-jumpers-Shorts-330-Sherpa1-300x123.jpg" alt="Redding-jumpers-Shorts-330-Sherpa1" width="573" height="235" /></a>
 (USFS photo)
The obvious question at this point is what is the Army going to use as a replacement for the C-23 and the answer is the Alenia C-27J; however, things are not working out the way the Army planned and may in fact have them starting a new search for something suitable to their needs. The article below details the problems.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">C-27J Contract Cancelled</h2>
<a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/maxresdefault.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-2698 aligncenter" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/maxresdefault-300x200.jpg" alt="maxresdefault" width="574" height="382" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/maxresdefault-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/maxresdefault-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/maxresdefault-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/maxresdefault-219x146.jpg 219w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/maxresdefault-50x33.jpg 50w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/maxresdefault-113x75.jpg 113w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/maxresdefault.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 574px) 100vw, 574px" /></a>
(C-27J Spartan)
For the U.S. Air Force, ending the purchase of C-27J transport planes was just one of thousands of decisions needed to help cut Pentagon spending by nearly a half-trillion dollars over the coming decade.
But for Alenia, a Finmeccanica company, the decision is a threat to the future of the twin-engine plane and 1,000 workers at two factories that build it.
Once a nearly $6 billion Army program for 145 aircraft, the Air Force took over the effort in 2009 and capped the purchase of C-27Js at 38 planes. But in its recent 2013 budget request, it decided to end the program at 21 aircraft, 17 fewer than expected, and retire the fleet next year.
With the U.S. order capped and the aftermath of U.S. and European budget cuts, the C-27J’s prospects have dimmed. A derivative of Alenia’s G222 with new engines and avionics, 62 C-27Js have been sold worldwide: 21 to America, 12 to Italy, eight to Greece, seven to Romania, four to Mexico, four to Morocco, three to Bulgaria and three to Lithuania.
It remains unclear how much the Air Force will save by deferring the option for 17 additional aircraft, or if the service will even be required to pay Alenia a termination fee, sources said.
<a href="http://archive.defensenews.com/article/20120227/DEFREG02/302270007/Alenia-Warns-U-S-Over-C-27J-Sales" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Source Document</a>
So, at this point the Army is in a bit of quandary but I feel certain things will sort themselves out the coming years. Have a good weekend, keep family and friends close, and remember that tomorrow morning when you wake up life is one day shorter….Stay close to the ones you love and enjoy the moment.
Robert Novell
January 19, 2024

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<title>Lindbergh’s Success and The Forgotten Aviation Pioneer Who Made It All Possible – January 12, 2024</title>
<link>https://www.robertnovell.com/lindberghs-success-and-the-forgotten-aviation-pioneer-who-made-it-possible-november-10-2017-3/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 12 Jan 2024 01:15:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/?p=7440</guid>
<description><![CDATA[RN3DB January 12, 2024 Good Morning Another week has entered the history book of life and I hope all is well with you and yours as […]]]></description>
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<h1 id="stcpDiv" style="text-align: center;">RN3DB</h1>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">January 12, 2024 
</h4>

Good Morning
Another week has entered the history book of life and I hope all is well with you and yours as we move forward to the weekend and prepare for a new chapter in our lives. This week I want to talk about a man who was responsible for many aviation first. His name was B.F. Mahoney and he is responsible for the first scheduled airline to operate on a published schedule, the man behind the “Spirit of St. Louis,” and many other items.
Benjamin Mahoney, who died in 1951 at the age of 50, was often referred to as the mystery man behind the Spirit of St. Louis. He was continuously on the cutting edge as an aviation pioneer and his contributions have never been portrayed in a way that gave him the credit he was due. Take some time to look beyond this article and discover more about the “Mystery Man of Aviation.”
Enjoy…..
<h2 style="text-align: center;">The Mystery Man Behind the Spirit of St. Louis</h2>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">Written by Joseph D. Tekulsky</h5>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lnXYDybBs58/U3LrFI8E72I/AAAAAAAAN80/QA9-9hD9LSQ/s1600/5-20+mahoney+lindy+hall.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1831" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/5-20-mahoney-lindy-hall-292x300.png" alt="5-20 mahoney lindy hall" width="292" height="300" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/5-20-mahoney-lindy-hall-292x300.png 292w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/5-20-mahoney-lindy-hall-142x146.png 142w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/5-20-mahoney-lindy-hall-50x50.png 50w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/5-20-mahoney-lindy-hall-73x75.png 73w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/5-20-mahoney-lindy-hall.png 664w" sizes="(max-width: 292px) 100vw, 292px" /></a>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">Left to right: Ryan Aeronautical Company owner B.F. Mahoney, Col. Lindbergh 
and aircraft designer/builder David Hall</h5>
Charles A. Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis probably is the best known airplane in the world. The airplane’s transatlantic flight brought fame to T. Claude Ryan, whose name is connected to the company that built it–Ryan Airlines, the original Ryan company. But, although the names ‘Ryan and Ryan Airlines appear on the plane, history has overlooked the other name closely intertwined with the legend of Lucky Lindy and his Spirit–Benjamin Franklin Mahoney, owner of Ryan Airlines.
Mahoney was born on February 8, 1901, in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. His success spanned the Jazz Age–he drove a Stutz Bearcat and flew a Thomas-Morse Scout. Well-dressed, affable, energetic, with a quick mind but little prior business experience, he was attracted by the excitement of aviation. Mahoney had confidence in the future of commercial airlines and transoceanic flying, and he was willing to make a commitment to those goals.
Mahoney’s father, the owner of a retail store chain, died while his son was still in school. Mahoney attended Bordentown Military Institute in New Jersey and Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania. In 1919, he and his mother moved to San Diego, where he became a bond salesman.
T. Claude Ryan, a former U.S. Air Service pilot, taught Mahoney to fly. In addition to his aviation school at San Diego, Ryan ran sightseeing and charter flights. For these he used World War I Standard J-1 open-cockpit trainers he had modified by replacing the front cockpit with a four-passenger, closed cabin. He also substituted a 150-hp Hispano-Suiza engine for the original Hall-Scott.
Mahoney came up with an idea for an airline. You’ve got the airplanes here doing a lot of local flying, he said to Ryan. Did you ever think about running a schedule to Los Angeles back and forth on a daily schedule basis? Ryan had doubts. Undeterred, Mahoney pointed out that people are more ready to accept flying than you may think. And he offered to put up the money for an airline for a share of the profits.
Ryan agreed, and the Los Angeles San Diego Air Line came into being on March 1, 1925. The fare was $14.50 one way, $22.50 round trip. It was claimed to be the first airline in the United States to operate all year on a regular schedule.
<a href="http://www.timetableimages.com/i-or/pat2707.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1827" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/pat2707-300x178.jpg" alt="pat2707" width="300" height="178" /></a>
On April 19, 1925, Mahoney bought a half interest in Ryan’s operations–the airline, aviation school and the charter and sightseeing business–for $7,500. The two became partners under the name Ryan Airlines.
In the same year, the partners bought a Cloudster (for Cloud Duster), the first airplane built by Donald Douglas, for $6,000. The huge, open-cockpit, 56-foot-wingspan biplane with a 660-gallon fuel capacity had failed in an attempt to make the first nonstop transcontinental flight in 1921. Ryan and Mahoney converted it for the Los Angeles to San Diego run by building a carpeted and lighted cabin for five passengers, with plush seats on each side of a center aisle. A two-place open cockpit for a pilot and co-pilot was located in front of the cabin.
Ryan Airlines built its first airplane in the fall of 1925. It was named the M-1 (M for monoplane, 1 for first series), and was based on a sketch by Claude Ryan. The fabric-covered M-1 had a tubular-steel fuselage. Its 36-foot wood wing, set above the fuselage and supported by outside braces, resulted in an unobstructed view. Doors on the left side gave access to the open front mail-and-passenger cockpit and to the open rear cockpit for the pilot. The burnished, dappled effect of the metal cowl and covered wheels became a feature of later aircraft. The first M-1, powered by a 150-hp Hispano-Suiza engine, flew in February 1926.
Pacific Air Transport (later absorbed into United Airlines) ordered six M-1s with 200-hp Wright Whirlwind radial engines for airmail service between Los Angeles and Seattle. The partners paid $200 per month to rent part of a vacant fish cannery at the San Diego waterfront for their factory. Twenty-three M-1s were built in the first production year.
The M-1 was followed by the M-2 (a faster version of the M-1 by virtue of a lighter wing) and the Bluebird. The latter was a closed-cabin version of the M-2 that accommodated a pilot and four passengers. Powered by a 200-hp Hispano-Suiza engine, the Bluebird–the only one ever built by Ryan–closely resembled the future Spirit of St. Louis.
<a href="http://www.timetableimages.com/i-or/pat2707.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1829" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/pat28-188x300.jpg" alt="pat28" width="188" height="300" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/pat28-188x300.jpg 188w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/pat28-92x146.jpg 92w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/pat28-31x50.jpg 31w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/pat28-47x75.jpg 47w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/pat28.jpg 222w" sizes="(max-width: 188px) 100vw, 188px" /></a>
The partners discontinued the Los Angeles San Diego Airline in September 1926 after its traffic began to decline. In its 18-month existence, the airline had a perfect safety record.
Unable to agree upon a plan to raise new capital, Ryan and Mahoney terminated their partnership on November 23, 1926. Mahoney bought out Ryan for $25,000 and an M-2. For the time being, Mahoney continued to use the name Ryan Airlines.
Claude Ryan stayed on temporarily as general manager. He later formed Ryan Aeronautical Corp. (now Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical), which built the low-wing, metal, open-cockpit S-T sport trainer. Its military successors were the PT-16, -20, -21 and -22 primary trainers.
Several months after Frank Mahoney became sole owner of Ryan Airlines, in early February 1927, Lindbergh, an airmail pilot familiar with the good record of the M-1 with Pacific Air Transport, wired, Can you construct Whirlwind engine plane capable flying nonstop between New York and Paris…? Planning to compete for the Orteig Prize for the first nonstop flight between the two cities, he had approached several major aircraft manufacturers without success.
Mahoney was away from the factory, but Claude Ryan answered, Can build plane similar M-1 but larger wings…delivery about three months. Lindbergh wired back that due to competition, delivery in less than three months was essential. Many years later, Jon van der Linde, chief mechanic of Ryan Airlines, recalled, But nothing fazed B.F. Mahoney, the young sportsman who had just bought Ryan. Mahoney boldly telegraphed Lindbergh back the same day: Can complete in two months.
Lindbergh arrived in San Diego on February 23. He toured the factory with Mahoney and met factory manager Hawley Bowlus, chief engineer Donald Hall and sales manager A.J. Edwards. After further discussions between Mahoney, Hall and Lindbergh, Mahoney offered to build the plane for $10,580, restating his commitment to deliver it in 60 days.
Lindbergh was convinced: I believe in Hall’s ability; I like Mahoney’s enthusiasm. I have confidence in the character of the workmen I’ve met. He then went to the airfield to familiarize himself with a Ryan plane–either an M-1 or an M-2–then telegraphed his St. Louis backers and recommended the deal, which was quickly approved.
Mahoney lived up to his commitment. Working exclusively on the plane and closely with Lindbergh, the staff completed the Spirit of St. Louis 60 days after Lindbergh arrived in San Diego. Powered by a Wright Whirlwind J-5C 223-hp radial engine, it had a 46-foot wingspan, 10 feet longer than the M-1, to accommodate the heavy load of 425 gallons of fuel. In his 1927 book We, Lindbergh acknowledged the achievement of the builders with a photograph captioned The Men Who Made The Plane, identifying B. Franklin Mahoney, President, Ryan Airlines, Bowlus, Hall and Edwards standing with the aviator in front of the completed plane.
After test flights, Lindbergh flew the new airplane via St. Louis to Curtiss Field, Long Island, arriving on May 12. Mahoney followed by train to join him in final preparations.
Mahoney was with Lindbergh and a few friends in New York City on the evening of May 19 when they learned from the weather bureau that conditions over the Atlantic had suddenly improved. They rushed back to Long Island to watch the next morning as Lindbergh barely cleared the trees on his takeoff.
Mahoney cabled Lindbergh in Paris, Of utmost importance that I join you in Paris…before you sign any contracts…. Lindbergh cabled back, Signing no contracts before reaching America therefore useless come over. But Mahoney and sales manager Edwards favored the trip to publicize Ryan Airlines and the Mahoney name. On May 25, Mahoney sailed on the liner Mauretania and met Lindbergh in Paris. At Lindbergh’s request, the Navy Department granted Mahoney permission to accompany the flier on the cruiser Memphis that was ordered by President Calvin Coolidge to bring Lindbergh and the Spirit of St. Louis back to the United States.
On the evening before boarding Memphis, Lindbergh and Mahoney dined with Ambassador Myron T. Herrick at the U.S. Embassy in Paris. A photograph of Lindbergh’s arrival in Washington, D.C., on June 11, 1927, shows him descending the gangplank followed by his mother, Mahoney and several cabinet members.
Mahoney finally discontinued the name Ryan Airlines in July 1927, incorporating as B.F. Mahoney Aircraft Corporation. Lindbergh’s flight had created great demand for the new AB-1 Brougham developed from the M-2 and the Bluebird. The five-place (including the pilot), closed-cabin plane was equipped with the same 223-hp Wright Whirlwind J-5C engine as the Spirit. It had a 42-foot wingspan, a fuel capacity of 83 gallons and a 750-mile range. The Brougham was advertised as a sister ship of the Spirit of St. Louis with an interior completely upholstered in mohair…roomy, comfortable seats, perfect visibility and…easy access. The initial price of $9,700 was later increased to $12,200.
Racing pilot Frank Hawks flew his B-1, the first production Brougham built, in the Detroit News Air Transport Trophy competition at the National Air Races in September 1927. He finished first in speed and third in efficiency.
On December 31, 1927, Mahoney sold his company, reportedly for $1 million to a group of St. Louis investors, including some of Lindbergh’s original backers. A new company, Mahoney Aircraft Corporation, was formed, with Frank Mahoney named president and a director.
Mahoney Aircraft gave Lindbergh a custom-built Brougham to replace the Spirit he was about to donate to the Smithsonian Institution. Its Whirlwind engine was trimmed with nickel. Other special features included a 46-foot wingspan, a 115-gallon fuel capacity, landing lights in the leading edge of the wing, larger tail surfaces and ailerons, and an electric self-starter. Mahoney flew with Lindbergh on his first flight. Lindbergh’s reaction was: It’s just right. I like it.
The corporation changed its name to Mahoney-Ryan Aircraft Corporation later that year. It closed the San Diego factory where all 150 B-1 Broughams had been built and moved to St. Louis. Eventually, 78 more Broughams would be built there.
Mahoney sold his interest to a member of the St. Louis group in late 1928, ending his association with Mahoney-Ryan Aircraft. Detroit Aircraft Corporation acquired Mahoney-Ryan in June 1929, renaming it Ryan Aircraft Corporation (unconnected with Claude Ryan). Detroit Aircraft ceased business during the depression-ridden 1930s, ending the enterprise originated as Ryan Airlines.
Mahoney suffered financially in the 1929 stock market crash. He later was active in the aviation industry, but he never approached his earlier success. He died of a longtime heart ailment at the age of 50 in 1951.
One of Mahoney’s advertisements for his Ryan Airlines proclaimed the Spirit of St. Louis, The Most Famous Plane in the World. That fame continues, but Mahoney’s does not. However, if he had changed the name of his business to his own a few months earlier, he would probably be remembered today as an important aviation pioneer.
The author wishes to acknowledge the help of the Ryan Aeronautical Library at the San Diego Aero-Space Museum and the Missouri Historical Society in preparing this article.
<a href="http://www.historynet.com/bf-mahoney-the-mystery-man-behind-the-spirit-of-st-louis.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source Document</a>
I hope you enjoyed our look back at what I refer to as, the rest of the story. In addition, I have a photo taken in 1967 at the end of this post that may surprise you. Click on the photo and enjoy a look back at Delta’s history.
Enjoy time with family and friends and hopefully the weekend will allow you to recharge your spirit and prepare you for a new week as a “Gatekeeper of the Third Dimension.”
Robert Novell
January 12, 2024
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<title>Joe Sutter, Father of The Boeing 747 – January 5, 2024</title>
<link>https://www.robertnovell.com/joe-sutter-father-of-the-boeing-747-october-5-2018-3/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 05 Jan 2024 01:15:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/?p=7280</guid>
<description><![CDATA[RN3D January 5, 2024 Good Morning, Happy Friday to everyone and hopefully everyone will have a chance to kick back and enjoy time away from the […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 style="text-align: center;">RN3D</h1>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">January 5, 2024 
</h3>

Good Morning,
Happy Friday to everyone and hopefully everyone will have a chance to kick back and enjoy time away from the hustle, and bustle, of everyday life. Seems fitting to talk about another legendary airplane in our history so today I want to talk about the man whose career brought Boeing’s airplane to the forefront of commercial aviation with his most remembered project being the 747.
Enjoy…..
<h2 class="entry-title" style="text-align: center;">Joe Sutter – Father of the 747</h2>
The man who led the development of the aircraft that amazed a generation and opened up travel for ordinary people has died at the age of 95.
Legendary Boeing engineer Joe Sutter led the team behind the company’s iconic Boeing 747, known affectionately as the “jumbo jet’’ and was responsible for pushing the boundaries of 1960s aerospace technology.
A native of Boeing’s birthplace, the US city of Seattle, and the son of a Slovenian immigrant, Sutter was born in 1921 and grew up on a hilltop overlooking the manufacturer’s plant.
“My friends all wanted to fly airplanes but I set my heart on designing them,’’ Sutter said in his book “747’’. “The futuristic flying machines I sketched as a boy would carry passengers in safety and comfort to the far continents, conquering oceans in a single flight. Little did I know I would grow up to realize these dreams.’’
Sutter was a graduate of the University of Washington and started at the Boeing plant after serving in the US in Navy World War II and was courted by both Boeing and the Douglas Aircraft Company after the end of the war.
He initially accepted the higher Douglas offer but took what he thought was a short-term job with Boeing while his wife delivered the couple’s first child.
That job with Boeing’s small aerodynamic group working on the piston-powered Stratocruiser would be the start of a long and illustrious career that would see him work on many of the airline’s early jets.
“He personified the ingenuity and passion for excellence that made Boeing airplanes synonymous with quality the world over,’’ Boeing Commercial Airplanes President Ray Conner said in a tribute sent to staff.
“Early in Joe’s career, he had a hand in many iconic commercial airplane projects, including the Dash 80, its cousin the 707 and the 737. But it was the 747 – the world’s first jumbo jet – that secured his place in history.
Joe led the engineering team that developed the 747 in the mid-1960s, opening up affordable international travel and helping connect the world.
“His team, along with thousands of other Boeing employees involved in the project, became known as the Incredibles for producing what was then the world’s largest airplane in record time – 29 months from conception to rollout.
It remains a staggering achievement and a testament to Joe’s “incredible” determination.” 
Sutter remained active with Boeing long after his retirement and continued to serve as a consultant as well as an ambassador for the company.
“By then his hair was white and he moved a little slower, but he always had a twinkle in his eye, a sharp mind and an unwavering devotion to aerospace innovation and The Boeing Company,’’ Conner said.
Fittingly, he was on hand to celebrate our centennial at the Founders Day weekend. He was one of a kind.
“Joe was loved. He made a difference in the world. He made a difference to us. We will miss him and cherish our time with him.‘’ The 747, in fact, was not supposed to carry passengers for many years.
At the time the world was looking to supersonic travel with the Boeing SST and the Concorde as the future in aviation. But Boeing has sold well over 1500 of its 747s and the aircraft is still in production, with a new model still wowing passengers.
Giving life to the plane that changed the world was a challenge that brought Boeing, the world’s biggest aerospace company, the then-biggest engine maker Pratt and Whitney and the legendary Pan Am to their knees.
In the late 1960s, Boeing’s resources were stretched to the limit as its engineers grappled with the complexities of its US government-sponsored supersonic transport, dubbed the Boeing 2707, which was eventually scrapped by Congress on May 20, 1971, despite commitments for 115 from 25 airlines.
The 2707 was to carry three times the number of passengers as Concorde at twice the speed.
At the time, the 747 was considered only an interim solution that might carry passengers for five to 10 years until the supersonic transports took over. 
Fortunately, Boeing had appointed Sutter to the project and he was to father the classic jet.
Sutter was always was modest about his role. “I was the only qualified person available,” he said in a 2009 interview with Airline Ratings. “All the smart guys — Maynard Pennell, Bill Cook, Bob Withington and many others — were tied up on the SST while Jack Steiner was heading the 737 program.”
The 747 was from the outset designed to be converted to a freighter as the superseded model was relegated to cargo routes. “That’s what Boeing’s marketing people thought,” Sutter said. “They estimated we’d probably sell 50 or so for passenger use.”
The 747 was a mass-travel dream of Pan American World Airways founder Juan Trippe and Boeing chief Bill Allen. Trippe had started mass travel in 1948 when he introduced economy class onto 50-seat DC-4s.
But the 747 was much bigger and could carry more than 350 people — almost double the 707 — and allow the carrier to slash fares.
It is impossible to find anyone who recalls whether there was a definitive business plan for the 747. But traffic was booming for the airline industry, which had enjoyed the growth of 15 percent a year through the early 1960s as passengers flocked to jets from piston engined planes.
Trippe was a man on a mission. He wanted to make travel affordable and he believed the 747, with the high bypass turbofan engines developed for military transports, could do just that. The 747 was expected to cut operating costs by 30 percent over the 707 model.
Pan Am loved the concept but most airlines were terrified of the jumbo’s size. Regardless of the reticence of other airlines, on April 13, 1966, Pan Am ordered 25 747s at $22 million apiece. Today, they cost well over $350 million.
But the trickle of 747 orders was not the major problem. It was the weight. The jumbo was initially supposed to weigh 250,000kg at take-off but by the time it took its first flight design changes impacting range, altitude, speed and fuel burn saw it top 322,000kgs.
According to some insiders, the company threatened to cancel the 747 program unless the engine maker agreed to additional thrust to solve the problems.
A solution, to run the engines at higher temperatures to give more thrust, was found and within six months of entering service, the jumbo was performing at acceptable levels.
But it came at a price and Boeing was mired in debt from the 747 program, owing banks $1.2 billion, $7.2 billion in today’s money. Despite the many problems in its manufacture, the birth of the 747 was an amazing feat.
With the extra space on the 747s, airlines splashed out with upper- deck lounges and many also had lounges at the back of economy. Sadly, a Boeing plan for a lower- deck lounge, called the Tiger Lounge because of the fabric design, never made it.
The spacious age, however, was short-lived, with airlines responding to a demand for cheaper travel by adding more seats. In economy, that meant additional seats across the plane’s width.
Today, the 747 is still the “Queen of the Skies” to many and for billions of passengers it is the plane that allowed them to see the world.
Source Document
Enjoy the weekend, take time to smell the roses, and remember that tomorrow when you wake up your life be one day shorter. Take care and be safe.
Robert Novell
January 5, 2024
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<title>“Tis the Season” to Remember – December 29, 2023</title>
<link>https://www.robertnovell.com/tis-the-season-to-remember-december-12-2014/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 29 Dec 2023 01:15:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Aviators Mindset]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/?p=2065</guid>
<description><![CDATA[RN3DB December 29, 2023 Good Morning, Tis the Season,” and this week I want to reacquaint you with a man history calls the “Candy Bomber.” Following […]]]></description>
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">December 29, 2023 
</h3>

Good Morning,
Tis the Season,” and this week I want to reacquaint you with a man history calls the “Candy Bomber.” Following German’s surrender after WWII the country was divided between the allies. The city of Berlin, which was in the Russian sector, was also divided into sectors with the eastern part controlled by the Russians and western part of the city controlled by the the US, Britain, and France.
In June 1948, the Soviet Union attempted to control all of Berlin by cutting surface traffic to and from the city of West Berlin. Starving out the population and cutting off their business was their method of gaining control. The Truman administration reacted with a continual daily airlift which brought much needed food and supplies into the city of West Berlin. This airlift into Berlin lasted until the end of September of 1949, when the Russians conceded and opened the the roads; however, that which occurred, although deadly serious for the Berliners, brought the best out in one man who tried to ease the pain of the children involved.
 Enjoy……….
<h1 style="text-align: center;">The Candy Bomber</h1>
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Gail-halvorsen-wiggly-wings.jpg/640px-Gail-halvorsen-wiggly-wings.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-2068" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Gail-halvorsen-wiggly-wings-237x300.jpg" alt="Gail-halvorsen-wiggly-wings" width="563" height="713" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Gail-halvorsen-wiggly-wings-237x300.jpg 237w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Gail-halvorsen-wiggly-wings-809x1024.jpg 809w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Gail-halvorsen-wiggly-wings-768x972.jpg 768w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Gail-halvorsen-wiggly-wings-1214x1536.jpg 1214w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Gail-halvorsen-wiggly-wings-1619x2048.jpg 1619w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Gail-halvorsen-wiggly-wings-115x146.jpg 115w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Gail-halvorsen-wiggly-wings-40x50.jpg 40w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Gail-halvorsen-wiggly-wings-59x75.jpg 59w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Gail-halvorsen-wiggly-wings-scaled.jpg 2023w" sizes="(max-width: 563px) 100vw, 563px" /></a>
(First Lt. “Hal” Halvorsen connects candies to make shift parachutes)
It’s been 65 years since the children of Berlin gazed into the sky in anticipation of seeing chocolate bars tied to parachutes dropping from pilot Gail Halvorsens’ plane.
The 92-year-old Halvorsen, better known as the “Candy Bomber,” was on hand Wednesday at the Berlin Airlift Memorial on the former Rhein-Main Air Base to remember the most ambitious humanitarian airlift operation in history. “The children were the heroes,” said Halvorsen about the gratitude of the German youth at the time. “They would not ask for more than freedom.”
As Germany was attempting to heal from its World War II wounds, West Berlin was under the control of U.S., British and French forces as the Soviet Union held watch over East Germany and East Berlin. In 1948, the Soviets instituted a land and water blockade of war-ravaged West Berlin in an attempt to starve the more than 2 million residents of the city and thousands of Allied troops. On June 26 of that year, the first relief flight left for Berlin.
For more than a year, American, British and French planes — flying from airfields in Wiesbaden, Rhein-Main near Frankfurt am Main, Celle, Fassberg and other northern German cities — would deliver about 2.3 million tons of food, coal, medicine and other supplies in the operation known as the Berlin Airlift.
It was a big change for some pilots who first served in Germany during WWII. “It’s a whole lot better to feed them than to kill them,” Halvorsen recalled one pilot saying about the Berlin Airlift. More than 70 airlift personnel died during the missions.
Halvorsens’ efforts to bring joy and sustenance to the children of Berlin are the most remembered from the operation to this day. On Wednesday, adults and children scrambled to get a photo with the “Candy Bomber,” who himself has 24 grandchildren and 41 great-grandchildren.
“We could not be prouder of him,” said President Barack Obama of Halvorsen during a speech last week in Berlin that was attended by the veteran pilot.
It’s also obvious that Halvorsens’ love for children is something that has stuck with him through the years. During the ceremony on Wednesday, Halvorsens’ smile lit up the most when a group of German schoolchildren performed a medley of American, German and Russian songs.
During an interview, Halvorsen relayed a story of speaking with someone who had benefited from the airlift. “It wasn’t the chocolate that was important, it was that somebody cared,” Halvorsen recalled being told. The “Candy Bomber” also shared insight into being happy that goes beyond a sweet tooth. Service outside yourself, expressing gratitude and having hope are what Halvorsen says are the true ways to happiness.
Shortly before placing a wreath in memory of the fallen and living members of the Berlin Airlift, Halvorsens’ last words to the crowd at the Berlin Airlift Memorial couldn’t have been more appropriate. “God bless the children,” Halvorsen said.
<a href="http://www.stripes.com/news/candy-bomber-featured-guest-at-65th-berlin-airlift-anniversary-1.227687" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source Document</a>
Have a good weekend, and enjoy your time with family and friends……………..HAPPY NEW YEAR from the RN3DB to everyone.
Robert Novell
December 29,2023
<h1 style="text-align: center;"><iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Hjz8yu5MWC0?si=9vl2MF8XTTqrldu4" width="600" height="400" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></h1>
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<title>How Boeing Made The Douglas DC-3 a Success – December 22, 2023</title>
<link>https://www.robertnovell.com/how-boeing-made-the-douglas-dc-3-a-success-june-26-2015/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 22 Dec 2023 01:15:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/?p=2839</guid>
<description><![CDATA[RN3DB December 22, 2023 Good Morning and Happy Friday, I hope the week was good for you and you will have some time to kick back […]]]></description>
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">December 22, 2023 
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Good Morning and Happy Friday,
I hope the week was good for you and you will have some time to kick back and relax this weekend. This week I want to talk about the airplane that made the DC-3 the standard of the day. I know you are thinking that the DC-3 stood alone as a giant in aviation history because of its design, technical improvements, overall flexibility, and passenger appeal.
This is all true but do you know why this happened?
The Boeing Company introduced the B-247 in the early 1930s and it was this airplane that was considered, by most, to be the first true airliner because it was a clean cantilever low-wing monoplane of all-metal construction with twin-engine power plants, retractable landing gear, and accommodation for a pilot, copilot, stewardess, and 10 passengers; however, United Airlines, part of the holding company United Airlines and Technology Corporation (UATC), purchased 60 of the planes and this one order took up all of Boeing’s manufacturing capacity and sent other airlines searching for alternatives.
TWA wrote specifications for a new airplane and submitted those to the major aircraft manufacturers. Donald Douglas accepted the assignment and the result was the DC-1, DC-2, and finally the DC-3. So, United had the B-247, which they soon replaced with DC-3s, and TWA was the launch customer for the DC-3 and the rest of the airlines played catch up.
So, if you didn’t know already, now you know the rest of the story.
Below is a reprint of the blog article I wrote in 2009 on the 247 as well as I would like you to take a look at the additional link embedded below, in the article on the 247, that I added to this blog – I think you will find this to be interesting reading.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">The Boeing 247 Airliner</h2>
<a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/1934B247.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-2850 aligncenter" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/1934B247-300x154.jpg" alt="1934B247" width="300" height="154" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/1934B247-300x154.jpg 300w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/1934B247-260x134.jpg 260w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/1934B247-50x26.jpg 50w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/1934B247-146x75.jpg 146w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/1934B247.jpg 440w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>
In 1930, the traveling public was more likely to take the train for long journeys than fly. The current airliners were uncomfortable, noisy, and not much faster than the new streamliner trains. Boeing, as part of the United Aircraft and Transport Company, decided to develop a new airliner based on its previous single-engine Monomail. The result was the Model 247, which carried 10 passengers at 155 mph in a new level of comfort. A revolutionary aircraft, the Boeing 247 has since become regarded as a prototype for the modern airliner because it was a clean cantilever low-wing monoplane of all-metal construction with twin-engine power plant, retractable landing gear, and accommodation for a pilot, copilot, stewardess and 10 passengers. With one engine inoperative, it could climb and maintain altitude with a full load, and the new Boeing also introduced a new feature for a civil transport aircraft— pneumatic de-icing boots.
Company conflict accompanied the development of this aircraft. Boeing’s chief engineer had called for a plane no larger than the planes in current production, claiming that pilots liked smaller planes and a larger plane would create problems such as the need for larger hangars. Fred Rentschler of Pratt & Whitney Engine Company, a member of the UATC, as well as Igor Sikorsky, who had been building large planes for years and also a member of UATC, favored a larger plane and claimed that it would offer more comfort to their passengers on long flights. Those in favor of the smaller plane won, and performance prevailed over comfort.
Disagreements also ensued over whether to have a co-pilot, which would increase passenger safety and comfort but would also add to the weight. The co-pilot was added. The propeller was also a source of controversy. Frank Caldwell’s two-position variable-pitch propeller had already been perfected in 1932. But Boeing argued that the device weighed too much, and decided to use a fixed-pitch propeller. Nevertheless, with some foresight, the plane was designed so that there would be sufficient propeller clearance if a variable-pitch propeller was added later. This turned out to be a smart decision, since the 247D switched to the newer propeller.
The twin-engine Boeing 247 made the three-engine airplane obsolete and gave the U.S. airline industry an enormous boost. United Airlines, a member of the holding company United Airlines and Technology Corporation (UATC), purchased 60 of the planes and soon outdistanced all of its competitors.
It appeared that the Model 247 had a bright future in airline service but the large order took up all of Boeing’s manufacturing capacity and sent other airlines searching for alternatives. TWA went to Douglas and the DC-2—the DC-2 had a greater seating capacity and a higher speed— and soon most US airlines were ordering DC-2’s. A good website that details the DC-1, DC-2, and the DC-3 can be found <a href="http://www.twaspirit.com/html/1930s.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HERE</a>.
United Airlines had great success with its sixty planes for the relatively short time that it flew them, and many of United’s aircraft were later purchased by Western Airlines.
Have a good weekend, enjoy time with friends, and remember that tomorrow may not be the first day of the rest of your life – it may be your last. Keep your loved ones close, stay true to your dreams, and true to your profession.
Robert Novell 
December 22, 2023
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<title>The Wright Brothers and the Forgotten Aviation Pioneer – December 15, 2023</title>
<link>https://www.robertnovell.com/the-wright-brothers-and-the-forgotten-aviation-pioneer-july-1-2016/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 15 Dec 2023 13:14:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Aviation and Congress]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/?p=3925</guid>
<description><![CDATA[RN3DB December 15, 2023 Good Morning, Happy Friday and welcome back. Today we are going to talk about the man who made the Wright Brothers a […]]]></description>
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<h4 style="text-align: center;">December 15, 2023 
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Good Morning,
Happy Friday and welcome back. Today we are going to talk about the man who made the Wright Brothers a success and then drifted into obscurity. The man – Charles E. Taylor – designed and built the engine for the Wright Flyer, helped develop the first wind tunnel, and contributed 10 years of his life to their success; however, he never sought notoriety for his work with the Wrights and few ever recognized his contributions.
This article is a reprint from last year but the story of Charley needs to be kept alive. Here at the 3DB we will do our part to preserve his memory by reminding you at least once, if not twice, a year of the man who the Wright Brothers forgot to tell the world about.
Enjoy……………………
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<h2 style="text-align: center;" align="center">Charles “Charley” Taylor</h2>
(Aviation’s First Mechanic of Powered Flight)
<a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/taylor.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1921" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/taylor-156x300.jpg" alt="taylor" width="156" height="300" /></a>
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When we think of the first powered flight we automatically think of Wilbur and Orville Wright; however, there was a third person involved whose skills were an essential part of the Wright’s success. Charles “Charley” Taylor was that man and without his help the Wright Brothers may have lost their place in history.
Charley was born in Illinois in 1868 and at the age of twelve quit school to find his place in life. He quickly learned that his hands, and tools, were almost one in the same, and America’s first aviation mechanic for powered flight started down a path in life that would have him working for the Wright brothers and building the first engine for the Wright Flyer.
Charley started to work for the Wright brothers on June 15, 1901, doing routine repairs on bicycles, so that the Wright brothers could pursue their experiments with gliders which included many trips to Kitty Hawk. After one of these trips, the brothers decided they needed more accurate information and decided they needed to build a small wind tunnel. With this, they would measure the amount, and direction, of air pressures on plane and curved surfaces operating at various angles and improve their theories based on their gliding experiences.
Building the wind tunnel was the first job that Charley Taylor did for the Wright brothers that had any connection with aeronautics. The wind tunnel was a rectangular box with a fan at one end driven by a natural gas engine. The Wright brothers did many experiments in their wind tunnel and from this data they began to make their 1902 glider with Charlie machining many of the parts.
On August 13, 1902, the brothers shipped the glider to Kitty Hawk. They did several flights with the glider and on October 31, 1902, the Wrights returned to Dayton to make plans for a powered airplane. Through their experiments, the Wrights were able to accurately predict the horsepower which was needed to produce and achieve powered flight. The next problem was where to get a light engine that would produce eight horsepower. The Wrights knew that a steam engine might suit their purpose, but a gasoline engine would be safer and more efficient.
In December of 1902, the Wrights sent letters to almost a dozen automobile companies, and gasoline engine manufacturers, asking if they could produce or modify an engine that would develop eight to nine brake horsepower, weigh no more than 180 pounds, and be free from vibration. Most companies replied that they were too busy to undertake building such a special engine. Falling back on their own mechanical experience, the Wright brothers decided to design and build their own engine.
They estimated they could build a four cylinders engine, with four inch stroke and four inch bore weighing no more than 200 pounds with accessories included, and by their calculations it would develop the horsepower necessary to power the glider in flight. Now the problem was who was going to build the engine; however, that problem was quickly solved when the brothers decided to give the task to Charley.
Charley was excited about his new challenge, and from his knowledge of mechanics, and design, he knew that the engine design was basic, straight forward, and simple. Charley had very limited knowledge about gasoline engines, but he used his craftsmanship, genius, and enthusiasm to tackle the task. Without any formal drawings available it was necessary for each part to be crudely sketched out by the Wrights, or Charlie, on a piece of paper, and after a thorough discussion with the brothers, Charley would pin the drawing above his workbench and go to work. Using these sketches, and specifications, he finished the engine in six weeks.
Now, you would think that Charlies accomplishments up to this point would be sufficient to satisfy most aviation pioneers but it wasn’t to be. After the successful flight of 1903 Wilbur and Orville decided to have Charley build a more powerful engine and they started work on an improved airframe. When the new Flyer was ready they received permission to fly it at a pasture near Dayton called Huffman Prairie. The flying was more difficult there and the Wrights crashed numerous times and Charley was heard to say, “Every time one of the brothers goes up I expect it to be the last time I’ll see him alive.” However, because Charley devoted most of his time to maintaining the airplanes and facilities at Huffman Prairie Charley actually became the first Airport Manager in US aviation history.
There were several other major accomplishments in Charlies career that I will notate at the conclusion of my story but for now I want tell you how this forgotten pioneer of aviation faded into obscurity and died a lonely man.
After Wilbur died in May of 1912, of Typhoid fever, the pioneering days of the Wright Brothers were finished. Charley traveled to California to look for work, during the Great Depression, and found a job as a factory mechanic. He invested what money he had in a few hundred acres of land near the Salton Sea and waited to make his fortune – nothing happened and he lost everything.
In 1937 he went to Greenfield Village and restored the Wrights’ bicycle shop, and home, to their 1903 condition and built a replica of the first engine. He later returned to California during the war and at the age of 73 went to work making cartridge shells but in 1945 Charley suffered a heart attack and was never able to work again. Now, all alone, the last of the original three men who had built the first successful airplane, he was almost destitute.
In November 1955, a reporter discovered Charlie in a Los Angles General Hospital’s charity ward. His income was his Social Security check and an $800 a year annuity fund belatedly established by Orville Wright before his death in 1948. The aviation community immediately started a campaign to raise funds for Charlie and he was moved to a private sanitarium where he died a few months later on January 30, 1956 at the age of 88. Having no close relatives Charles E. Taylor was buried in the Portal of Folded Wings Mausoleum dedicated to aviation pioneers, located in Valhalla Memorial Park, Los Angeles.
<h2 class="rtecenter" style="text-align: center;">Portal of the Folded Wings</h2>
<a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/7413579_1052100414.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1920" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/7413579_1052100414.jpg" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" width="250" height="188" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/7413579_1052100414.jpg 250w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/7413579_1052100414-194x146.jpg 194w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/7413579_1052100414-50x38.jpg 50w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/7413579_1052100414-100x75.jpg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px" /></a>
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The Portal of the Folded Wings is located just south of the Burbank airport in beautiful Valhalla Memorial Park. Originally built in 1924, (6 years before United Airport/Burbank was built) it was once the grand entrance to the memorial park.
On December 17, 1953 (the 50th anniversary of powered flight) the Portal was dedicated as a “Shrine to Aviation” and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
<h3 align="center">24 Aviation Pioneers are laid to rest in the</h3>
<h3 align="center">Portal of the Folded Wings</h3>
<h3 align="center">Shrine to Aviation</h3>
Bertrand B. Acosta, co-pilot with Admiral Richard Byrd in 1927
Walter R. Brookins, flew for the Wright brothers.
Mark M. Campbell, stunt pilot and aircraft designer.
Col. Warren S. Eaton, early pilot who also built airplanes for Lincoln Beachy.
W. Bertrum Kinner, built ‘Kinner’ airplanes. Amelia Earhart flew a Kinner.
A. Roy Knabenshue, balloon and dirigible pilot who flew in the Dominguez Air Meet in 1910.
Elizabeth L. McQueen, one of Los Angeles’s first women pilots.
John B. Moisant, won the Statue of Liberty Race in 1910; first to carry a passenger across the English Channel.
Matilde J. Moisant, the second licensed female pilot in the United States in 1911.
J. Floyd Smith, test pilot and instructor for Glenn Martin and manufacturer of parachutes.
Hilder F. Smith, aerial acrobat and parachute jumper.
Carl B. Squier, WWI aviator, barnstormer, test pilot, and salesman. As Vice President of Lockheed Aircraft he sold Charles and Anne Lindbergh their Sirius airplane in 1931.
Charles E. Taylor, machinist for the Wright brothers who helped design and build the first engine for the Wright Flyer flown at Kitty Hawk.
<a href="http://www.godickson.com/bam1.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source Document</a>
So, what were Charlies major accomplishments?
<ol>
<li>He was one of the three men responsible for the “First Powered Flight.”</li>
<li>He was the first aviation mechanic in powered flight.</li>
<li>He was Calbraith Perry Rodgers’ mechanic on his monumental transcontinental flight in 1911.</li>
<li>He was the first man to fill the position of “Airport Manager.”</li>
<li>He was one of the first men to be actively involved in accident investigation and as a result he improved his skills/product as well as the design of the Wright Brother’s future craft.</li>
</ol>
Charlie never sought notoriety from his work with the Wrights and few ever recognized his contributions. He was never a part of aviation’s inner circle nor was he ever invited to attend any of the big celebrations held in honor of the Wrights. It seems that if anyone had ever thought much about Charley they didn’t take the time to find him. Gone but not forgotten – Happy Friday Charley and thanks for making my world of aviation possible.
Have a good weekend, enjoy time with friends and family, and protect yourself as you would your profession.
Robert Novell
December 15, 2023
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<title>The Legendary Connie – December 8, 2023</title>
<link>https://www.robertnovell.com/the-legendary-connie-september-14-2015/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 08 Dec 2023 01:15:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Legacy Carriers]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/?p=3155</guid>
<description><![CDATA[RN3DB December 8, 2023 Good Morning, Good Morning, Welcome back to the 3DB where today I want to reprint an updated article from a couple of […]]]></description>
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<h1 class="rtecenter" style="text-align: center;">RN3DB</h1>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">December 8, 2023</h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"></h3>
Good Morning,
Good Morning,
Welcome back to the 3DB where today I want to reprint an updated article from a couple of years ago that told the story of the Lockheed Constellation. When this airplane was introduced it was configured with all of the latest upgrades and technology that existed at the time. The only problem TWA had with the Connie was they continued to fly the Connie when Pan AM had already begun service with the Boeing 707……….Big mistake by Howard Hughes.
Enjoy……….
<h2 style="text-align: center;">The Lockheed Constellation</h2>
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The Connie that was not the commercial success it should have been, in terms of numbers produced and profitability, but remains a legendary airplane for most aviators and is loved by aviation enthusiast around the world; however, first let’s look at a few myths about the Connie:
1. The Connie was designed by Howard Hughes – Yes or No? No, but he did give Lockheed the specifications and the performance parameters. The airplane was designed by Lockheed’s chief research engineer Kelly Johnson and his team.
2. The Constellation’s fuselage is shaped like an airfoil to add lift – Yes or No? No, it curves upward at the rear to raise the triple tail out of the prop wash and slightly downward at the front so the nosegear strut didn’t have to be impossibly long. Lockheed decided that the airplane’s admittedly large propellers needed even more ground clearance, than did Douglas or Boeing on their competing transports, which resulted in the Connie’s long, spindly gear legs.
3. It was known as the world’s best trimotor because of the many engine failures that forced the crew to continue on three – Yes or No? No, the Boeing 377 Stratocruisers had far more failures in airline service.
4.The Constellation was the first pressurized airliner – Yes or No? No, the Boeing 307 Stratoliner was the first pressurized airliner.
5. The Constellation was the first tricycle-gear airliner – Yes or No? No, the Douglas DC-4 was.
6. There were pressurization problems/airframe failures that resulted in people being sucked out – Yes or No? Yes, this one is true. The first occurrence was a navigator trying to determine his flights position when the astrodome, that is the small glass bubble on top of the early airliners that navigators would use for their sextants, separated from the airplane and took him with it, and the second was an Air France passenger that was lost when a passenger window failed and explosive decompression occurred taking her as a victim. However, there was a pressurization problem, that did not result in the loss of life. The Constellation passenger got glued to a toilet seat when cabin pressurization failed, and this occurred when the valve that emptied the toilet into the unpressurized reservoir failed on one airline flight, and the poor lady who happened to be in the blue room at the time, became the cork that maintained cabin pressure. She was freed from her predicament when the crew depressurized the airplane.
Now that we have talked about a few of the myths, and there are many more, let see how Lockheed records the beginnings:
In 1939, the top brass of the Lockheed Corporation, president Robert Gross, chief engineer Hall Hibbard, and chief research engineer Kelly Johnson, scheduled a key meeting with a VIP, a man with deep pockets who had recently shown an interest in buying not just one, or a handful of new planes, but a fleet of them.
The customer’s request had been ambitious. He hoped to hire Lockheed to design a revolutionary aircraft capable of comfortably shuttling 20 passengers and 6,000 pounds of cargo across the United States, offering commercial aviation’s first coast-to-coast, non-stop service.
But the Lockheed team had come to express even grander ambitions. “They wanted to build the company’s first large transport, one that would carry more people farther and faster than ever before and economically enough, to broaden the acceptance of flying as an alternative to train, ship and automobile,” said Johnson.
In the years to come, the plane would be named the Constellation—Connie for short—and be flown by airlines around the world, as well as the U.S. military over the ensuing three decades. Eventually, it would be remembered as an enduring symbol, the epitome of grace in propeller-driven aircraft. But at that moment in 1939 in Los Angeles, the Lockheed Corporation was focused on winning over one customer and one customer only. His name was Howard Hughes.
<a href="http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/100years/stories/constellation.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source Document</a>
When the Constellation was conceived, Lockheed was not a player in the air transport business. The company made some large single-engine airliners based on the Vega, as well as the Lockheed 10, 12 and 14 twins, all of which were blown away by the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. Douglas, the industry leader, was already at work on its own four-engine, triple-tail design, the DC-4E. Boeing had a substantial background in large four-engine transports—the huge 314 Pan Am Clipper flying boats and the 307 Stratoliner under development—and even Martin and Sikorsky had more experience with big multi-motors, with their own four-engine flying boats.
Lockheed was developing the P-38 Lightning and the Hudson patrol bomber, a military refinement of the Model 14, when company officials decided they needed to get in on the mini-boom in domestic airline travel that took place in the mid- to late 1930s. The obvious answer was a four-engine 14, and Lockheed called it the Model 44 Excalibur. No thanks, the airlines said—not big enough, not fast enough, not enough of a leap forward.
So in the summer of 1939, Lockheed began on its own to develop the Model 49 Excalibur A, soon to be designated the L-049 Constellation. It had the iconic fishy fuselage shape; a scaled-up P-38 wing; nacelles intended to hold four of the most awesome power plants of the time, Wright R-3350 supercharged twin-row radials; and an array of Fowler flaps borrowed directly from the Lockheed 14. The flaps were as precedential at the time as a 747’s array of fully extended flaps would be in the 1960s: 10 complex slotted sections on the wings plus a pair of center-section flaps under the fuselage.
An early Constellation proposal had the big radials cooled by reverse flow: cooling air went in via leading-edge wing scoops, blew through the engines from rear to front and exited between each engine’s prop spinner and the cowling ring. It looked cool, no pun, with bullet-shaped nacelle/spinner units that resembled the turboprop designs of the 1950s, but it turned out there was no significant cooling-drag reduction.
Another Lockheed brainstorm was a canard Constellation, a tail-first design. Not surprisingly, the airlines were entirely unreceptive to such a radical airframe. But in any case, the L-049 was going nowhere. The winds of war were beginning to blow, and airline traffic was down. Douglas gave up on its DC-4E project—a complex and expensive-to-build prototype that had little to do with the actual DC-4/C-54 that would follow—and sold the plane to the Japanese. It would soon re-emerge briefly as the basis of the Nakajima G5N, Japan’s only long-range, four-engine bomber of World War II, an airplane that was built but never used.
It looked like the second iteration of Lockheed’s four-engine transport wouldn’t get off the drawing board either, but along came Howard Hughes with a secret order for 40 airliners, if Lockheed could meet his performance requirements. Hughes wanted to get a jump on his competition—mainly United and American—and not only demanded that the project remain quiet but stipulated that no other transcontinental airline be allowed to buy a Constellation for two years after Hughes’ TWA put them into service. American Airlines was so infuriated by being shut out that they vowed to never again buy a Lockheed airliner. Their pique lasted only until Lockheed’s next airliner, the turboprop Electra, was proposed in 1954 and American, after reconsidering their position, ordered 40 the following year.
<a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/twacockpit.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-3147 aligncenter" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/twacockpit-300x189.jpg" alt="twacockpit" width="578" height="364" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/twacockpit-300x189.jpg 300w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/twacockpit-232x146.jpg 232w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/twacockpit-50x31.jpg 50w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/twacockpit-119x75.jpg 119w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/twacockpit.jpg 520w" sizes="(max-width: 578px) 100vw, 578px" /></a>
Now a little bit about the man named Hughes. Howard Hughes has been portrayed as a crazed perfectionist and while there is some truth to this consider the following:
Much is made in some Constellation histories of Howard Hughes being a whack job, a crazy man, a weirdo. This is an exaggeration. The multimillionaire aviator’s true goofiness began with his addiction to painkillers as the result of the injuries he suffered while crash-landing the prototype Hughes XF-11 four-engine reconnaissance plane in July 1946. But he’d had his bell rung twice before in bad crashes during the late 1920s and mid-’30s, and they may well have done neurological damage that led to a case of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Nobody knew what OCD was in those days, but if anything, it made Hughes a detail-oriented perfectionist.
In fact, Hughes was sharp enough to borrow the number-two prototype Constellation, a C-69 owned by the U.S. Army Air Forces, and he quickly repainted it in TWA colors and used it to set a west-to-east transcontinental record in April 1944 from Burbank, Calif., to over Washington National in six hours and 58 minutes. His co-pilot was Jack Frye, TWA’s president, and Lockheed designer Kelly Johnson was along for the ride. (So was actress Ava Gardner, Howard’s girlfriend at the time.) Whether on this trip, or another test flight, Johnson never developed any admiration for Hughes’ piloting skills. “He damned near killed us both,” Johnson once admitted.
On the return leg back to Burbank, Hughes stopped at Wright Field, outside Dayton, Ohio, today Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and in a typically brilliant piece of PR, picked up Orville Wright for Wright’s last-ever flight. Orville had been the pilot on the first true powered flight in history, and now he was given the right-seat chance to handle the controls of an airplane that, four decades later, represented some of the most advanced technology available to civil aviation at the time. (at this early point in the Connie’s life a 313-mph cruise, 2,850-mile range, 8,800 horsepower, hydraulically boosted controls and cabin pressurization was high tech and cutting edge)
<a href="http://www.historynet.com/the-legendary-lockheed-constellation.htm">Source Document</a>
The ultimate Constellation is popularly considered to be the Model 1649A, though the Starliner (which is what Lockheed named it) was in fact a new design, with an entirely different, far longer wing than the true Constellation/Super Constellation line had. Oddly, the new straight-taper, high-aspect-ratio wing had not a modern laminar-flow airfoil but a thin NACA airfoil like the one on Boeing’s B-17s and 314 Clipper flying boats. The Starliner (TWA called theirs Jetstreams, perhaps to suggest it had something in common with the already-proliferating Boeing 707) was the largest American piston airliner ever produced and the fastest by far at long-range cruise power settings, but it was a failure. Just 44 were manufactured, including Lockheed’s own prototype. It was the company’s only unprofitable series in the Constellation/C-121/Starliner evolution.
By 1961, even the newest Constellations were beginning to move to second-tier airlines and then to the likes of Royal Air Burundi, Slick Airways, Flying Tiger, Pakistan International and Britair East Africa. Because many Connies were low-time airframes when they were retired by the big airlines in favor of 707s and DC-8s, they were particularly desirable to a variety of users. Many Constellations became freighters, crop sprayers, travel club ships, charter birds, fire-bombers and smugglers. One was even specially equipped to airdrop bundles of marijuana and was openly tested in Arizona with hay bales, after being given a dispensation by the FAA for “agricultural flights.” The Rolling Stones used an ex-Eastern 749 for part of their famous 1972 U.S. tour emblazoned with big tongue-and-lips which was the Stones logo.
<a href="http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/100years/stories/constellation.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source Document-1</a> – <a href="http://www.historynet.com/the-legendary-lockheed-constellation.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source Document-2</a> – <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Constellation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source Document-3</a>
That is it for this week except to mention that I did write an eight part series on TWA a few years ago, should you have an interest, and I have a video of the Connie from the 1950s below. Have a good weekend, take care, and enjoy some time away from work/aviation. Life is short and at age 64 I speak from experience – there is never enough time for all that we think we need to do.
Robert Novell
December 8, 2023
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