Congratulations!

[Valid RSS] This is a valid RSS feed.

Recommendations

This feed is valid, but interoperability with the widest range of feed readers could be improved by implementing the following recommendations.

Source: https://www.robertnovell.com/feed/

  1. <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0"
  2. xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
  3. xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
  4. xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
  5. xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
  6. xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
  7. xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
  8. >
  9.  
  10. <channel>
  11. <title>Robert Novell</title>
  12. <atom:link href="https://www.robertnovell.com/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
  13. <link>https://www.robertnovell.com</link>
  14. <description>My Efforts At Bringing Aviation History Alive Are Meaningless Unless You  Share What You Know With Those Who Will Follow In Your Footsteps.</description>
  15. <lastBuildDate>Sat, 05 Jul 2025 23:34:38 +0000</lastBuildDate>
  16. <language>en-US</language>
  17. <sy:updatePeriod>
  18. hourly </sy:updatePeriod>
  19. <sy:updateFrequency>
  20. 1 </sy:updateFrequency>
  21. <generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.1</generator>
  22.  
  23. <image>
  24. <url>https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FAVICONRN-50x50.png</url>
  25. <title>Robert Novell</title>
  26. <link>https://www.robertnovell.com</link>
  27. <width>32</width>
  28. <height>32</height>
  29. </image>
  30. <item>
  31. <title>The Man Who Rode The Thunder &#8211; July 5, 2025</title>
  32. <link>https://www.robertnovell.com/the-man-who-rode-the-thunder-june-12-2020/</link>
  33. <comments>https://www.robertnovell.com/the-man-who-rode-the-thunder-june-12-2020/#respond</comments>
  35. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
  36. <pubDate>Sat, 05 Jul 2025 13:42:00 +0000</pubDate>
  37. <category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
  38. <category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
  39. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/?p=6616</guid>
  40.  
  41. <description><![CDATA[RN3DB July 5, 2025 Good Morning, Happy Friday and welcome back to the 3DB. Today I want to share with you a video sent to me<span class="excerpt-hellip"> […]</span>]]></description>
  42. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><!--StartFragment--></p>
  43. <p><!--EndFragment--></p>
  44. <h1 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>RN3DB</strong></em></h1>
  45. <h4 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>July 5, 2025</strong></em></h4>
  46. <p><span id="more-6616"></span></p>
  47. <p>Good Morning,</p>
  48. <p>Happy Friday and welcome back to the 3DB. Today I want to share with you a video sent to me by an aviation history enthusiast in California who I  recently had the pleasure of working with at FSI in Long Beach. </p>
  49. <p>Enjoy and thank you Don for sharing.</p>
  50. <p>Regards,</p>
  51. <p>Robert Novell</p>
  52. <p>July 5, 2025</p>
  53. <h1 style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0cqQzcChFG0" width="600" height="400" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></h1>
  54.  
  55. <p></p><!-- /wp:post-content -->]]></content:encoded>
  57. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.robertnovell.com/the-man-who-rode-the-thunder-june-12-2020/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  58. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  61. </item>
  62. <item>
  63. <title>Betty Skelton…..Aviation’s Sweetheart – June 27, 2025</title>
  64. <link>https://www.robertnovell.com/betty-skelton-aviations-sweetheart-july-7-2017/</link>
  65. <comments>https://www.robertnovell.com/betty-skelton-aviations-sweetheart-july-7-2017/#respond</comments>
  67. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
  68. <pubDate>Fri, 27 Jun 2025 01:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
  69. <category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
  70. <category><![CDATA[Aviators Mindset]]></category>
  71. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/?p=5216</guid>
  72.  
  73. <description><![CDATA[RN3DB June 27, 2025 Good Morning, I hope all is well, after a busy work week, for everyone and hopefully the weekend will provide sufficient time<span class="excerpt-hellip"> […]</span>]]></description>
  74. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>RN3DB</em></strong></h1>
  75. <h3 style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>June 27, 2025</em></strong></h3>
  76. <p><span id="more-5216"></span></p>
  77. <p style="text-align: justify;">Good Morning,</p>
  78. <p style="text-align: justify;">I hope all is well, after a busy work week, for everyone and hopefully the weekend will provide sufficient time for everyone to recover from the hustle and bustle. Today I want to introduce you to one of my favorite people in aviation&#8230;.Betty Skelton.</p>
  79. <p style="text-align: justify;">I first became familiar with Betty’s accomplishments through the National Corvette Museum. I am a Corvette guy, always have been, and always will be. As a matter of fact, I like Corvettes more than I like airplanes now that I think about it but this article is about Betty and not Robert Novell so let me get back to the business of telling my story.</p>
  80. <p style="text-align: justify;">Betty was the first woman inducted in to the Corvette Hall of Fame as a result of her accomplishments behind the wheel of a Corvette. Betty established a number of speed records on NASCAR’s measured mile at Daytona Beach, Florida, and also represented GM at major auto shows, in TV commercials, and national radio ads. Harley Earl at the GM Tech Center, along with Bill Mitchell, designed a special Corvette for Betty, in 1956-57, which was a translucent gold, and Betty drove the Corvette to Daytona for Speed Week and then paced all the NASCAR races with it in 1957.</p>
  81. <p style="text-align: justify;">A really interesting fact, that is not well known, is that in 1959 she was invited by NASA to become the first woman to undergo the same physical and psychological testing as the first seven astronauts and because she was actively promoting the Corvette line she had GM give all of the original astronauts new Corvettes – A very savvy PR move on her part.</p>
  82. <p style="text-align: justify;">OK, let’s move beyond Corvettes and talk about Betty’s accomplishment as an aviator, and I am going to do that by posting an article, in its entirety, on Betty from the “Women in Aviation Resource Center.”</p>
  83. <p style="text-align: justify;">Enjoy……………………………..</p>
  84. <p><a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/SkeltonBetty.jpg"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-3363" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/SkeltonBetty-300x225.jpg" alt="SkeltonBetty" width="464" height="348" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/SkeltonBetty-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/SkeltonBetty-195x146.jpg 195w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/SkeltonBetty-50x38.jpg 50w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/SkeltonBetty-100x75.jpg 100w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/SkeltonBetty.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 464px) 100vw, 464px" /></a></p>
  85. <h1 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Betty Skelton – Aviation’s Sweetheart</strong></em></h1>
  86. <p style="text-align: justify;">In aviation circles there are few people who are considered “living legends.” Legends are those who have blazed trails and whose glorious exploits, impressive accomplishments and immeasurable popularity has spanned generations.<br />
  87. In an era where heroes were race pilots, jet jocks and movie stars, Betty Skelton was an aviation sweetheart, an international celebrity and a flying sensation. Her career and success could be pages right out of a storybook but even Hollywood couldn’t produce a picture as grand as the real life that Betty Skelton has led.</p>
  88. <p style="text-align: justify;">Betty’s enviable record is still recognized today by pilots, and competitors, and she is frequently referred to as, The First Lady of Firsts. She was the first woman to cut a ribbon while flying inverted and she piloted the smallest plane ever to cross the Irish Sea. Twice she set the world light-plane altitude record (29,050 feet in a Piper Cub, in 1951). The first time Betty broke the record established in 1913 in Germany. She also unofficially set the world speed record for engine aircraft in 1949. Today Betty Skelton holds more combined aviation and automotive records that anyone in history. “I have always been interested in speed,” she said. “It’s pretty fortunate when you can find something you love to do so much and it is also your occupation.” Besides winning the International Feminine Aerobatic Championship for three consecutive years, 1948 – 1950, she received honorary wings from the United States Navy and held the rank of Major in the Civil Air Patrol. She flew helicopters, jets, blimps and gliders, and participated in all U.S. major air events in the forties. Today the very spirit of Betty Skelton and her love and devotion to aviation and aerobatics is bestowed upon the top female in the field with the presentation of the coveted “Betty Skelton First Lady of Aerobatics” trophy.</p>
  89. <p style="text-align: justify;">As a young girl in Pensacola, Florida, Betty watched the Navy Stearmans fly their aerobatic routines from her back yard. She dreamed of someday flying too. Her parents co-owned a fixed base operation in Tampa, Florida so she literally grew up in airplanes. Betty recalls playing with model airplanes instead of dolls and soloed illegally at the age of twelve. She was a commercial pilot at eighteen and a flight instructor by the time she was twenty.</p>
  90. <p style="text-align: justify;">Betty’s real desire was to fly military planes as a ferry pilot in the WASP program. Her flight experience ranked among the best but she was “shot down” because of her age. The minimum was 18 1/2 and at 17 she couldn’t get a waiver. The WASP program would end four months before she reached the appropriate age. In the years while she waited, Clem Whittenbeck, the famous aerobatic pilot of the 1930’s, taught Betty how to do loops and rolls and for her, aerobatics was love at first flight.</p>
  91. <p style="text-align: justify;">“My first aerobatic plane was a real crate!” says Betty, “It was a 1929 Great Lakes that was sluggish and not nearly as responsive as a true aerobatic plane should be.” Its Kinner engine was usually “sick” and she had her share of serious mishaps and narrow escapes flying the old “Lakes.” She even crashed it once.</p>
  92. <p style="text-align: justify;">In 1948 she purchased the one and only Pitts Special, an experimental biplane hand-built, and carefully designed by Curtis Pitts himself. It was a single seat, open cockpit aircraft weighing only 544 pounds. Little did she know at the time that she and the Pitts would become a famous team that would soar to new heights. Her plane would become the most famous aerobatic aircraft in the world. Betty would teach the little Pitts a lot of new maneuvers, but not before the airplane taught Betty a thing or two.</p>
  93. <p style="text-align: justify;">With one Feminine Aerobatic Trophy already to her credit, Betty flew her new Pitts Special back to her home base at Tampa’s Peter O’Knight airport. A large crowd of friends and well-wishers gathered to welcome Betty and her new flying machine, and it was on that day she found a suitable name for her new partner.</p>
  94. <p style="text-align: justify;">Upon purchasing the Pitts, the former owner quickly checked Betty out in the plane but neglected to mention a few things about the landing characteristics. Betty made her approach into Tampa and landed nicely. Suddenly, as she brought the Pitts to a stop, it went out of control. She could not have known that at low speeds the plane’s rudder was ineffective and only the brakes would keep her going straight. As she clamored to bring the plane under control she said under her breath: “You little stinker!” The Pitts resented that rejoinder and ground-looped in front of the entire crowd. Nothing but Betty’s pride was hurt but the name stuck. From that moment on they would live forever as Betty Skelton and her Little Stinker.</p>
  95. <p style="text-align: justify;">Betty would practice for hours, sometimes on just one maneuver. She disciplined herself and never strayed from the hard and fast rules that she imposed. One rule was to build an extra margin of safety into all her low level maneuvers. She would compromise for nothing less than an extra ten percent of airspeed or altitude. If she had both, so much the better. This extra margin of safety would keep her out of trouble in the future. With Betty safety always came first. She routinely practiced at an altitude of 3,000 feet unless she was practicing her ribbon cutting, in which case she always had a spot picked out below in case she ran into trouble and needed to make a forced landing.</p>
  96. <p style="text-align: justify;">Betty had two safety belts built into the airplane at different locations in the event one broke loose during a violent maneuver. During practice she placed towels between herself and the safety harness to act like shock absorbers, but they never eliminated all the pressure. As a result, Betty was always bruised. When she worked intensely on her outside maneuvers, the forced pressure of blood to her face would cause Betty to go for weeks with black eyes and splotches on her face. During other maneuvers when the blood would drain from her body, she would experience momentary “red-out.” She slowly built up her tolerance and always knew how far she could push a maneuver and still stay in control.</p>
  97. <p style="text-align: justify;">Soon Betty and Little Stinker worked as one. Her movements telegraphed calm and confidence and her little friend, listening to her thoughts, reacted as an extension of Betty’s body, diving and looping to her every command.</p>
  98. <p style="text-align: justify;">The maneuver Betty is best known for is the inverted ribbon cut. This involves cutting a ribbon strung between two poles, ten feet from the ground, upside down. You could count the number of men on one hand that could do the stunt, and being the best meant that Betty had to learn how too. Her friends tried to talk her out of attempting the stunt because it was a dangerous maneuver that allowed for no margin of error, but Betty was determined. She would be successful at becoming the first woman to complete the feat but with near fatal results.</p>
  99. <p style="text-align: justify;">Betty promised her friends she would attempt the stunt scientifically, making many practice runs until she felt comfortable. She would start with a high altitude, line up the poles, roll upside down and go lower and lower until she got a feel for it. Betty’s first pass was deliberately high but right on target. Feeling confident, she set up to cut the ribbon on her second attempt, only on this try the Pitts’ engine quit just as she rolled upside down. She was only a few feet above the pavement.</p>
  100. <p style="text-align: justify;">Betty’s ten percent rule saved her life that day. The extra ten percent in airspeed enabled her to execute a half outside snap-roll and bring the plane and herself down to safety. An inspection of the fuel injection system found that the engine’s injector jets were clogged with dirt. After a simple cleaning her Little Stinker was as good as new.</p>
  101. <p style="text-align: justify;">Being number one meant Betty had to work twice as hard as everyone else. Perfecting the artistry of aerobatics and taking her routines to the level of flawless perfection was a skill Betty worked at constantly. Betty attributes her success in the sport to having had the coolness of a champion bullfighter, the fighting spirit of a cornered cobra and the dedication of a priest.</p>
  102. <p style="text-align: justify;">One of the hardest things about flying the aerobatic circuit was enduring the pain of watching many friends die. Each fatality occurred while trying to out fly Betty or while trying to imitate maneuvers that only she could do in her Pitts. (Death was a constant reminder that all aerobatic pilots fly in the shadow of death.) “At times it felt like a waiting game,” says Betty, “wondering who would be next.” Betty looked on death as one of the risks of the business. “Learning to fear death without actually being afraid was something you had to do to make it through.”</p>
  103. <p style="text-align: justify;">Betty didn’t just “luck” into her accomplishments and achievements because of her good looks, although she was every bit the glamour gal that the press made her out to be. Betty didn’t believe in luck, good or bad, just great timing. Betty has, however, become partial to the number “2” over the years.</p>
  104. <p style="text-align: justify;">Betty first laid eyes on her little Pitts on the 2nd of the month. It was serial number two and the aircraft registration number was 22E, (a number that is still reserved for Betty today.) Even the old Taylorcraft she first soloed was NC 22203 and her Great Lakes was numbered NX 202K. Being born at 2:00 a.m. and wearing Channel No. 22 perfume is probably just a coincidence, but number “2” would have special meaning to Betty as the years and her career flew by.</p>
  105. <p style="text-align: justify;">Besides setting altitude records and flying aerobatics, Betty felt the need for speed and loved to race. “Some of my fondest memories are of the flying at the Cleveland Air Races in the late forties.” Betty remembers, “Every big name pilot in the country would be at the races, all the old gang, and it was easy to get caught up in all the excitement.”</p>
  106. <p style="text-align: justify;">Being a champion meant Betty was always in demand and maintaining the hectic schedules was physically exhausting and emotionally draining. Air shows and appearances were scheduled one after another, sometimes three in the same day and all in different cities. Betty’s life was anything but normal and she tired of her nomadic lifestyle. She realized early that it would be impossible to handle a career as well as a family. “During those years more than one engagement ring was returned.”</p>
  107. <p style="text-align: justify;">With all the accomplishments Betty had made in aerobatics, there didn’t seem much left for her to do. For all the fame and glory, there was little money to be made in the sport Betty loved so much. It was no secret, flying was an expensive undertaking and there weren’t many alternatives for women in aviation. She had been born too late to qualify for the military WASP program and too early to try for the airlines. Staying in aviation would have meant going back as a flight instructor or flying at a fixed base operation, “hardly a suitable challenge.” So on October 2, 1951, at the age of 26, Betty retired from professional aerobatic flying.</p>
  108. <p style="text-align: justify;">Although Betty would leave her first love of flying, she would be instrumental in forever changing how women were viewed in the competition level of aerobatics. She challenged the Professional Race Pilots Association and made changes that today allow women to race in closed course pylon races with the men. This set up a chain reaction that would open many doors to women at the competition level of aerobatics.</p>
  109. <p style="text-align: justify;">As for her Little Stinker, it was enshrined in the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum on August 22, 1985. “It is tremendously gratifying to know that children may see the tiny plane for decades to come and hopefully be inspired and seek a future in the sky and space.”</p>
  110. <p style="text-align: justify;">Being a person who thrived on challenges and with the open road ahead, it seemed only natural that Betty moved on to auto racing. Her records in this field would become as impressive as those in her aviation career. Betty broke the world land speed record for women four times, and became the first woman to officially drive a vehicle over 300 mph, (315.72 to be exact)! She won nine sport car records for speed and acceleration, and became the first woman test driver as well as the first woman to drive an Indianapolis race car. She toured for the National Safety Council, appeared in national advertisements and TV commercials and co-wrote and produced an award-winning motion picture movie entitled, “Challenge.”</p>
  111. <p style="text-align: justify;">Betty was inducted into the Florida Hall of Fame in 1977, The International Automotive Hall of Fame in 1983, The International Aerobatic Hall of Fame in 1988 and The Tampa Bay Walk of Fame in 1991. Betty married Donald Frankman, a TV director/producer, on New Year’s Eve in 1965. They make their home in Florida where they own a real estate business and consider themselves semi-retired. As a woman who has set more combined aviation and automotive records than anyone in history, Betty can still be found flying in her airplane or driving her red Jaguar, but now it’s purely for pleasure.</p>
  112. <p style="text-align: justify;">When Betty decided to fly Little Stinker she shared with her little friend her beliefs. “If you are to fly with me you must believe in yourself. Pay no attention to what others say, what they think, what they do. Let your free spirit take you where you will, and when it falters, let your soul demand that you not give up, but only aspire to climb higher and higher.</p>
  113. <p style="text-align: justify;">“As you soar into the heights, never forget the others or look down upon them. Remember, you were once there and needed help, understanding, and love. Direct your free spirit to helping your fellow man…and you will know heaven on Earth.</p>
  114. <p style="text-align: justify;">“Never believe your own press, nor take your accolades too seriously. It matters not what you did yesterday. Only what you do today, and tomorrow, is meaningful to your freedom and spirit.</p>
  115. <p style="text-align: justify;">“Challenge and perfection is the greatest gift of life. Embrace it and use it well. To turn your back on the challenge of perfection is to close the door on your spirit, your freedom… your very existence.</p>
  116. <p style="text-align: justify;">“It is not easy to be the best. You must have the courage to bear pain, disappointment, and heartbreak. Our dedication must help lift the other up when one of us is down. You must learn how to face danger and understand fear, yet not be afraid. You must establish your goal, and no matter what deters you along the way, in your every waking moment you must say to yourself, `I can do it.&#8217;”</p>
  117. <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.women-in-aviation.com/cgi-bin/links/detail.cgi?ID=518" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source Document</a></p>
  118. <p style="text-align: justify;">Betty died at the age of 85 and below is part of an article from the NY Times, as well as the link, should you want to read the article in its entirety:</p>
  119. <p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/dogSKELTON1-obit-articleLarge.jpg"><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-3382" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/dogSKELTON1-obit-articleLarge-300x158.jpg" alt="dogSKELTON1-obit-articleLarge" width="425" height="224" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/dogSKELTON1-obit-articleLarge-300x158.jpg 300w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/dogSKELTON1-obit-articleLarge-260x137.jpg 260w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/dogSKELTON1-obit-articleLarge-50x26.jpg 50w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/dogSKELTON1-obit-articleLarge-143x75.jpg 143w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/dogSKELTON1-obit-articleLarge.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 425px) 100vw, 425px" /></a></p>
  120. <h1 id="story-heading" class="story-heading" style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Betty Skelton, Air and Land Daredevil, </strong></em></h1>
  121. <h1 class="story-heading" style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Dies at 85</strong></em></h1>
  122. <div id="story-meta-footer" class="story-meta-footer">
  123. <p class="byline-dateline" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span class="byline">(<span class="byline-author" data-byline-name="DENNIS HEVESI">DENNIS HEVESI</span> </span><time class="dateline" datetime="2011-09-10">Sept. 10, 2011)</time></strong></p>
  124. <p id="story-continues-1" class="story-body-text story-content" style="text-align: justify;" data-para-count="267" data-total-count="267">The “inverted ribbon cut” was one of Betty Skelton’s most daring maneuvers, in which she flew her single-seat, open-cockpit biplane upside down at about 150 miles per hour, maybe 10 feet above the ground, and sliced through a ribbon stretched between two poles.</p>
  125. <p id="story-continues-2" class="story-body-text story-content" style="text-align: justify;" data-para-count="218" data-total-count="485">In a race car, Ms. Skelton set women’s land-speed records; in one 1956 event she hit 145.044 m.p.h. in her Corvette on the sand flats of Daytona Beach, Fla. (The men’s record at the time was just 3 m.p.h. faster.)</p>
  126. <p class="story-body-text story-content" style="text-align: justify;" data-para-count="384" data-total-count="869">Whether in the air or on land, Ms. Skelton, who died on Aug. 31 at the age of 85, was a celebrated daredevil who shattered speed and altitude records. She was a three-time national aerobatic women’s flight champion when she turned to race-car driving, then went on to exceed 300 m.p.h. in a jet-powered car and cross the United States in under 57 hours, breaking a record each time.</p>
  127. <p id="story-continues-3" class="story-body-text story-content" style="text-align: justify;" data-para-count="350" data-total-count="1219">“In an era when heroes were race pilots, jet jocks and movie stars, Betty Skelton was an aviation sweetheart, an international celebrity and a flying sensation,” Henry Holden wrote in his 1994 biography, “Betty Skelton: The First Lady of Firsts.” Her “enviable record,” he added, “is still recognized today by pilots and competitors.”</p>
  128. <p class="story-body-text story-content" style="text-align: justify;" data-para-count="31" data-total-count="1250">She also broke gender barriers.</p>
  129. <p class="story-body-text story-content" style="text-align: justify;" data-para-count="496" data-total-count="1746">“Betty proved that women were capable of professional aerobatic flight competition,” said Dorothy Cochrane, curator of general aviation at the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, where Ms. Skelton’s Pitts S-1C plane, Little Stinker, hangs, upside down, near the entrance. “She paved the way for women like Betty Stewart, Mary Gaffney and Patty Wagstaff, who in 1991 became the first woman to win the national championship competing against both men and women.”</p>
  130. <p class="story-body-text story-content" style="text-align: justify;" data-para-count="154" data-total-count="1900">In 1960, Ms. Skelton appeared on the cover of Look magazine, in an astronaut’s flight suit, next to the headline: “Should a Girl Be First in Space?”</p>
  131. <p class="story-body-text story-content" style="text-align: justify;" data-para-count="154" data-total-count="1900"><a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/dogSKELTON3-obit-popup.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-3383 aligncenter" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/dogSKELTON3-obit-popup-245x300.jpg" alt="dogSKELTON3-obit-popup" width="472" height="578" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/dogSKELTON3-obit-popup-245x300.jpg 245w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/dogSKELTON3-obit-popup-119x146.jpg 119w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/dogSKELTON3-obit-popup-41x50.jpg 41w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/dogSKELTON3-obit-popup-61x75.jpg 61w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/dogSKELTON3-obit-popup.jpg 409w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 472px) 100vw, 472px" /></a></p>
  132. <div id="story-meta-footer" class="story-meta-footer" style="text-align: justify;">
  133. <p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="408" data-total-count="2308">Ms. Skelton, who never grew beyond 5-foot-3 and about 100 pounds, acquired her passion for speed as an 8-year-old redhead perched on her porch in Pensacola, Fla., finding herself riveted by the pilots from the nearby Navy base swooping overhead. Entering competitive flying, however, she was matched against only other women, winning the United States Feminine Aerobatic Championship in 1948, 1949 and 1950.</p>
  134. <p id="story-continues-4" class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="256" data-total-count="2564">While the gender divide has disappeared — men and women both compete in what are now known simply as the United States National Aerobatic Championships — the maneuvers required to win the title are essentially the same as those in Ms. Skelton’s day.</p>
  135. <p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="389" data-total-count="2953">One is the hammerhead, in which the pilot soars vertically to a certain altitude, snaps the plane 180 degrees and roars straight down before pulling up. Judges also rate precision in the triple snap roll, which requires three horizontal 360-degree rolls while maintaining altitude. Another feat is the outside loop, a circle flown around a point in the sky with the cockpit facing outward.</p>
  136. <p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="344" data-total-count="3297">“Difficult in an open-air cockpit like Betty’s Pitts,” Ms. Cochrane said. Difficult, too, on the day in 1949 when Ms. Skelton became the first woman to perform the inverted ribbon cut at an airfield in Oshkosh, Wis. In an oral history for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1999, she recalled how risky the maneuver was.</p>
  137. <p id="story-continues-5" class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="137" data-total-count="3434">The first time she tried it, she said, “I misjudged slightly and flew underneath the ribbon, which put me even closer to the ground.”</p>
  138. <p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="49" data-total-count="3483">“I never made that mistake again,” she added.</p>
  139. <p id="story-continues-6" class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="291" data-total-count="3774">During six years as a competitive pilot, Ms. Skelton set a series of women’s records for light planes, among them reaching 29,050 feet in a Piper Cub at an airfield in Tampa, Fla., in 1951. She traveled the air-show circuit around the country, performing what she declined to call stunts.</p>
  140. <p class="byline-dateline" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/11/us/11skelton.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source Document</a></p>
  141. </div>
  142. <p style="text-align: justify;">Have a good weekend, enjoy time with friends and family, protect yourself, your profession, and the “Third Dimension” for those who will follow in your footsteps.</p>
  143. <p style="text-align: justify;">Robert Novell</p>
  144. <p style="text-align: justify;">June 27, 2025</p>
  145. </div>
  146. ]]></content:encoded>
  148. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.robertnovell.com/betty-skelton-aviations-sweetheart-july-7-2017/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  149. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  152. </item>
  153. <item>
  154. <title>When Did Pressurized Cabins On Commercial Airliners Become a Reality &#8211; June 20, 2025</title>
  155. <link>https://www.robertnovell.com/when-did-pressurized-cabins-on-commercial-airliners-become-a-reality-may-25-2018-2/</link>
  157. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
  158. <pubDate>Fri, 20 Jun 2025 01:07:00 +0000</pubDate>
  159. <category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
  160. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/?p=6343</guid>
  161.  
  162. <description><![CDATA[RN3DB June 20, 2025 Good Morning, The comfort, we all enjoy now, of a pressurized cabin is a feature of modern aircraft that few people think<span class="excerpt-hellip"> […]</span>]]></description>
  163. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 class="rtecenter" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>RN3DB<br />
  164. </em></strong></h1>
  165. <h3 style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>June 20, 2025</em></strong></h3>
  166. <p><span id="more-6343"></span></p>
  167. <p style="text-align: justify;">Good Morning,</p>
  168. <p style="text-align: justify;">The comfort, we all enjoy now, of a pressurized cabin is a feature of modern aircraft that few people think about or realize how it all came about. Today, however, we will talk about how it happened, who made it happen, and which manufacturer brought this innovation to the flying public.</p>
  169. <p style="text-align: justify;">Enjoy&#8230;..</p>
  170. <h2 style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Evolution of the Pressurized Cabin</em></strong></h2>
  171. <p style="text-align: justify;">As early as the 1700’s, scientists were hypothesizing that the air around them was not just empty space, but filled with a fluid-like substance with volume and mass. Two centuries and many scientific advances later, Léon Teisserenc de Bort, a French meteorologist, and aerologist, discovered the existence of two of the atmospheric layers, and named them&#8230;&#8230;we now know those two layers as the stratosphere and the troposphere. So, how did we decide that pressurization could work?</p>
  172. <p style="text-align: justify;">The concept of a pressurized cabin has existed in the aviation imagination as early as the 1910s when early aviators started making improvements to their aircraft designs that would allow them to climb ever higher. Within just two years, between 1910 and 1912, the world altitude record for fixed-wing aircraft spiked from 4,603’ in a Wright biplane to a then-unprecedented 18,405 feet by Roland Garros in a Blériot monoplane.</p>
  173. <p style="text-align: justify;">In 1934, Wiley Post created and demonstrated the first pressurized suit. The full-pressure suit allowed him to fly at altitudes as high as 40,000 feet comfortably. However, forcing pilots and airline passengers to wear bulky suits to travel onboard an airplane was not an alternative, and so the search for an alternative solution to the dangers of thin air continued.</p>
  174. <h2 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>The Army Air Corps and Lockheed Aircraft </strong></em></h2>
  175. <h2 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Make History</strong></em></h2>
  176. <p style="text-align: justify;">In 1935, the United States Army Air Corps (the predecessor of the US Air Force) contacted Lockheed Aircraft Corporation to request an experimental aircraft capable of extended flights above 25,000’, with a ten-hour flight endurance, for a grand total of $112,197. Two structural engineers at the Air Corps Engineering Division at Wright Field, Major Carl Greene, and John Younger, were the brains responsible for the birth of the pressurized cabin.</p>
  177. <p style="text-align: justify;">To begin their journey to a pressurized cabin, the men and their teams, modified a Lockheed Model 10 Electra, a twin-engine all metal military monoplane which would soon gain fame as Amelia Earhart’s plane flown on her attempted ‘round-the-world expedition in 1937. The Electra was fitted with a circular cross-section fuselage that could withstand up to 10psi of atmospheric pressure, small, thick windows that wouldn’t blow out dealing with high-pressure differentials, and two turbo supercharged Pratt &amp; Whitney XR-1340-43 engines with 550 horsepower each.</p>
  178. <p style="text-align: justify;">The fuselage was separated into two sections; a forward pressurized compartment that could hold two pilots, a flight engineer, and even a couple of passengers, and an aft compartment (not pressurized) that provided additional accommodation at lower altitudes.</p>
  179. <p style="text-align: justify;">The cabin pressurization system created by Major Green and Younger paved the way for the system most airliners still use today. The cabin was pressurized using air rerouted from the engine’s turbo supercharger, which was then pushed through a compressor outlet, controlled manually in-flight by the onboard engineer. All this provided the flight crew and passengers with a cabin altitude of about 12,000 feet, which was outstanding for the time<strong>.</strong></p>
  180. <p style="text-align: justify;">After these extensive modifications the Electra was transformed into the XC-35 and after flight-testing at the Lockheed plant in Burbank, CA, the plane was delivered to Wright Field in Ohio to complete its first performance flight.</p>
  181. <p style="text-align: justify;">The Lockheed XC-35 met and exceeded each expectation placed in front of it, earning the Army Air Corps the Collier Trophy. The presentation of this award is an annual aviation event, administered by the US National Aeronautic Association, and awarded to those who have made the greatest achievement in aeronautics, or astronautics, in America. This award takes in to consideration, the improving the performance, efficiency, and safety of air or space vehicles, the value of which has been thoroughly demonstrated by actual use during the preceding year.</p>
  182. <p style="text-align: justify;">With this award and the confidence that goes with it, the Army Air Corps allowed the XC-35 to become the executive transport of Louis Johnson, the assistant secretary of war at the time, and future Secretary of Defense. Nowadays, the Lockheed XC-35 is hidden away in the Smithsonian and the engineering feat this airplane represents has long been forgotten.</p>
  183. <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="ttps://disciplesofflight.com/lockheed-xc-35-pressurized-cabin/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><strong>Source Document</strong></em></a></p>
  184. <p style="text-align: left;">Now, let&#8217;s talk about the manufacturer, Boeing, that first brought pressurized flight to the flying public.</p>
  185. <h2 class="heading-lg" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Stratoliner 75th Anniversary</em></strong></h2>
  186. <p style="text-align: justify;">It was introduced 75 years ago, and only 10 were built. Hollywood movie producer and aviation pioneer Howard Hughes bought one of them. But Boeing’s Stratoliner changed commercial aviation.</p>
  187. <p style="text-align: justify;">For the first time, passengers could “fly above the weather” at high altitudes because of the airplane’s pressurized cabin. The Stratoliner, the world’s first pressurized commercial airplane, was born in the 1930s, during a time of rapid evolution in the science and technology of flight, beginning with dramatic advancements in aircraft structures. Wood and fabric gave way to metal, monoplanes replaced biplanes and, before the decade was out, another great innovation would revolutionize flight—cabin pressurization.</p>
  188. <p style="text-align: justify;">Throughout the 1930s, pressurization experiments were taking place in Europe as well as the United States, where the U.S. Army was testing cabin pressurization with a modified Lockheed Electra designated XC-45. Boeing researchers were also experimenting with the technology and made it workable with the innovation of a cabin pressure regulator.</p>
  189. <p style="text-align: justify;">In 1932, Boeing had introduced the fast, all-metal Model 247, considered the first modern commercial airliner. It was a leap ahead of the competition, but its success was brief, as Douglas Aircraft quickly developed a challenger with the DC-2 and followed with the legendary DC-3. Faced with being shut out of the commercial airplane market, Boeing had to design the next leap in air travel.</p>
  190. <p style="text-align: justify;">Fortunately, Boeing had already developed the Model 299, a giant four-engine bomber that would become the B-17 Flying Fortress. The successful design of the B-17 became the basis for a new commercial airplane that would be that great leap: the Model 307.The new airplane combined the wings and tail surfaces from the B-17 with a cigar-shaped fuselage purposely designed to be a pressure vessel. Not only would its size, four engines, and long range be a market advantage, but the addition of cabin pressurization would allow Boeing to market an airplane that could fly passengers higher than 20,000 feet (6,100 meters)—“above the weather.” To reflect this capability Boeing named the Model 307 the Stratoliner.</p>
  191. <p style="text-align: justify;">Orders for the plane came in from Pan American Airways and TWA. Hughes also ordered a Stratoliner for his attempt at a world speed record. On New Year’s Eve in 1938, the Stratoliner prototype took off from Boeing Field near Seattle on its inaugural flight. Tragically, that prototype and a crew of 10 would later be lost in an airline demonstration flight.</p>
  192. <p style="text-align: justify;">But the Stratoliner’s success was short-lived. With the outbreak of war, Boeing turned to a maximum effort to build bombers and ended production after just 10 airplanes. During the war, Stratoliners were drafted into military service and made thousands of accident-free crossings of the Atlantic serving as VIP transports.</p>
  193. <p style="text-align: justify;">Only two Stratoliners remain: Howard Hughes’ personal Stratoliner is now a houseboat and continues to be a popular attraction in Florida; the last flyable 307, Pan Am’s Clipper Flying Cloud, was fully restored by Boeing and delivered in August 2003 to the National Air and Space Museum, where it is on display at the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va.</p>
  194. <p style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><a href="http://It was introduced 75 years ago, and only 10 were built. Hollywood movie producer and aviation pioneer Howard Hughes bought one of them. But Boeing’s Stratoliner changed commercial aviation. For the first time, passengers could “fly above the weather” at high altitudes because of the airplane’s pressurized cabin. The Stratoliner, the world’s first pressurized commercial airplane, was born in the 1930s, during a time of rapid evolution in the science and technology of flight, beginning with dramatic advancements in aircraft structures. Wood and fabric gave way to metal, monoplanes replaced biplanes and, before the decade was out, another great innovation would revolutionize flight—cabin pressurization. Throughout the 1930s, pressurization experiments were taking place in Europe as well as the United States, where the U.S. Army was testing cabin pressurization with a modified Lockheed Electra designated XC-45. Boeing researchers were also experimenting with the technology and made it workable with the innovation of a cabin pressure regulator. In 1932, Boeing had introduced the fast, all-metal Model 247, considered the first modern commercial airliner. It was a leap ahead of the competition, but its success was brief, as Douglas Aircraft quickly developed a challenger with the DC-2 and followed with the legendary DC-3. Faced with being shut out of the commercial airplane market, Boeing had to design the next leap in air travel. Fortunately, Boeing had already developed the Model 299, a giant four-engine bomber that would become the B-17 Flying Fortress. The successful design of the B-17 became the basis for a new commercial airplane that would be that great leap: the Model 307.The new airplane combined the wings and tail surfaces from the B-17 with a cigar-shaped fuselage purposely designed to be a pressure vessel. Not only would its size, four engines, and long range be a market advantage, but the addition of cabin pressurization would allow Boeing to market an airplane that could fly passengers higher than 20,000 feet (6,100 meters)—“above the weather.” To reflect this capability Boeing named the Model 307 the Stratoliner. Orders for the plane came in from Pan American Airways and TWA. Hughes also ordered a Stratoliner for his attempt at a world speed record. On New Year’s Eve in 1938, the Stratoliner prototype took off from Boeing Field near Seattle on its inaugural flight. Tragically, that prototype and a crew of 10 would later be lost in an airline demonstration flight. But the Stratoliner’s success was short-lived. With the outbreak of war, Boeing turned to a maximum effort to build bombers and ended production after just 10 airplanes. During the war, Stratoliners were drafted into military service and made thousands of accident-free crossings of the Atlantic serving as VIP transports. Only two Stratoliners remain: Howard Hughes’ personal Stratoliner is now a houseboat and continues to be a popular attraction in Florida; the last flyable 307, Pan Am’s Clipper Flying Cloud, was fully restored by Boeing and delivered in August 2003 to the National Air and Space Museum, where it is on display at the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Source Document</a></strong></em></p>
  195. <p style="text-align: left;">Take care, be safe, and enjoy the video below; however, more importantly, please remember that life on planet earth is short and tomorrow my life, and yours, is one day shorter&#8230;&#8230;keep family and friends close.</p>
  196. <p style="text-align: left;">Robert Novell</p>
  197. <p style="text-align: left;">June 20, 2025</p>
  198. <h3 style="text-align: center;"><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/omZSyCFWejI" width="600" height="400" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></h3>
  199. ]]></content:encoded>
  203. </item>
  204. <item>
  205. <title>Jim Raisbeck &#8211; Innovator &#8211; June 13, 2025</title>
  206. <link>https://www.robertnovell.com/tis-the-season-to-remember-december-22-2017-2-2-2-2-2/</link>
  208. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
  209. <pubDate>Fri, 13 Jun 2025 01:31:00 +0000</pubDate>
  210. <category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
  211. <category><![CDATA[Aviators Mindset]]></category>
  212. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/?p=6865</guid>
  213.  
  214. <description><![CDATA[RN3DB June 13, 2025 Good Morning, Today I want to reacquaint you with a man who has impacted general/corporate aviation in a big way&#8230;.Enjoy. Jim Raisbeck<span class="excerpt-hellip"> […]</span>]]></description>
  215. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>RN3DB</strong></em></h1>
  216. <h4 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>June 13, 2025</strong></em></h4>
  217. <p><span id="more-6865"></span></p>
  218. <p>Good Morning,</p>
  219. <p>Today I want to reacquaint you with a man who has impacted general/corporate aviation in a big way&#8230;.Enjoy.</p>
  220. <h1 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Jim Raisbeck</strong></em></h1>
  221. <p>James D. Raisbeck started his association with airplanes when he joined the Air Force in 1954 serving as a flight engineer. James then attended Purdue University to pursue an education in aeronautical engineering and mathematics. After graduating, he joined The Boeing Airplane Company as a Research Aerodynamicist. He was part of a team of engineers and flight crew that designed and flight-tested an internally blown trailing edge flap system on the Prototype 707 (Dash 80) to fly at speeds as slow as 60 knots.</p>
  222. <p>In 1969, he left Boeing to become President and Chief Engineer of Robertson Aircraft Corporation. There he and a team of former Boeing engineers completed the Robertson Short Takeoff and Landing designs for installation on Cessnas and Pipers. Robertson Aircraft was sold in 1973, and James went out on his own, establishing the Raisbeck Group, and then Raisbeck Engineering.</p>
  223. <p>Raisbeck has influenced many business turbine aircraft designs, including: designing and producing the Supercritical Wings and many systems for the Rockwell International jet Sabreliner 65-series; new and more efficient wings for the Learjet family; performance enhancement systems for Beechcraft\x92s entire Beechcraft King Air family; and Aft Fuselage Lockers for the Learjet family. In 2014, Raisbeck introduced a new and innovative line of propellers for the King Air family, named the Raisbeck Swept Blade Turbofan Propeller System.</p>
  224. <p>Raisbeck Engineering has also been active in the world\x92s commercial airline fleet. 1996 saw the introduction of the Raisbeck Stage 3 Noise Reduction Systems for the Boeing 727, covering all models and weights without costly engine modifications. The year preceding 9/11, Raisbeck developed bullet-proof doors and bulkheads for the Boeing 737s and 757s. Shortly after 9/11, Raisbeck began production delivery of Armored Cockpit Security Systems and, in March 2002, Raisbeck\x92s entire program and customers were turned over to Boeing.</p>
  225. <p>In 1999 James was honored with Purdue\x92s Outstanding Aerospace Engineer Award and the AIAA Commercial Aviation Technical Achievement Award. In 2000 he was awarded Professional Pilot Magazine\x92s Aviation Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2002 The National Business Aviation Association awarded James its Lifetime Achievement Award for Meritorious Service to Aviation. He was recognized by the AIAA/Museum of Flight as a Pathfinder in 2007 and he received the Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur Award by the Living Legends of Aviation Foundation in 2008.</p>
  226. <p>James is married to Sherry Raisbeck and through their Foundation the Raisbecks have given significant grants aimed at supporting Education, the Arts, and Medical Research. In addition, they helped build Raisbeck Aviation High School, renamed for their generous personal and financial contributions to the school and their scholarships to enhance the education of the next generation of aviation and aerospace pioneers.</p>
  227. <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://airandspace.si.edu/support/wall-of-honor/james-d-raisbeck" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em><strong>Source Document</strong></em></a></p>
  228. <p>Enjoy the weekend, be safe/fly safe, and check back next week when we will talk about ?????</p>
  229. <p>Robert Novell</p>
  230. <p>June 13, 2025</p>
  231. <div class="fl-col fl-node-5c477e52af6b6" data-node="5c477e52af6b6">
  232. <div class="fl-col-content fl-node-content">
  233. <div class="fl-module fl-module-html fl-node-5c477e5eb1efa" data-node="5c477e5eb1efa">
  234. <div class="fl-module-content fl-node-content">
  235. <div class="fl-html">
  236. <h1 style="text-align: center;"></h1>
  237. </div>
  238. </div>
  239. </div>
  240. </div>
  241. </div>
  242. ]]></content:encoded>
  246. </item>
  247. <item>
  248. <title>A Little History From the Files of Aerospace Medicine &#8211; June 6, 2025</title>
  249. <link>https://www.robertnovell.com/blogpanagra-airline-pan-am-formed-enter-latin-and-south-american-market-april-272012-2-2-2/</link>
  251. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
  252. <pubDate>Fri, 06 Jun 2025 01:44:00 +0000</pubDate>
  253. <category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
  254. <category><![CDATA[Legacy Carriers]]></category>
  255. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/?p=6712</guid>
  256.  
  257. <description><![CDATA[RN3DB June 6, 2025 Good Morning, Today I want to look back at an interesting development in Aerospace Medicine. I think you will find the facts<span class="excerpt-hellip"> […]</span>]]></description>
  258. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>RN3DB</strong></em></h1>
  259. <h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>June 6, 2025</strong></em></h3>
  260. <p><span id="more-6712"></span></p>
  261. <div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center">
  262. <p style="text-align: left;">Good Morning,</p>
  263. </div>
  264. <p>Today I want to look back at an interesting development in Aerospace Medicine. I think you will find the facts interesting, and funny, at the same time.</p>
  265. <p>Enjoy&#8230;..</p>
  266. <h1 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Aerospace Medicine</strong></em></h1>
  267. <h1 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>from World War l</strong></em></h1>
  268. <p style="text-align: left;">For centuries, castor oil has been used as a stimulant laxative, meaning that it increases the movement of the muscles that push material through the intestines, helping clear the bowels. I remember my mother giving castor oil as a child several times. Yuck! Ingesting too much will cause diarrhea.</p>
  269. <p>WW1 aviators that were flying behind Gnome engines were ingesting residual castor oil from the exhaust, and started to experience diarrhea while flying. Not a happy experience. Never-the-less, castor oil must be retained as a lubricant since there was not other alternative.</p>
  270. <p>Physicians at the beginning of the last century already knew medically that diets full of non-soluble fiber (residual diet) will provide healthy bowel moments. They quickly reasoned that if an aviator ate a no residual diet before they fly will reduce the change of experiencing diarrhea after ingesting the castor oil. So aviators were &#8220;prescribed&#8221; to eat a steak or bacon and egg diet (all protein diet/no residual diet) with coffee (a natural diuretic) before each mission. Problem solved.</p>
  271. <p>As engines and lubrication technology advance, and aviators were no longer ingesting castor oil, one would think the eating of an all protein/no residual &#8220;aviator&#8217;s breakfast&#8221; before flight would be unnecessary. It was also discovered that an aviator&#8217;s breakfast slowed the motility of one&#8217;s bowels and thus reduced the chance in having a bowel movement while flying a mission. A tradition was born out of medical necessity.</p>
  272. <p>Believe it or not, this &#8220;aviator&#8217;s breakfast&#8221; tradition continued into the U.S. Space Program out of medical necessity. Early Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo Program Astronauts ate an aviator&#8217;s breakfast before every launch into space&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;and all of this became because of using castor oil as a lubricant.</p>
  273. <p>Enjoy the weekend, take care, and enjoy time with family and friends.</p>
  274. <p>Robert Novell</p>
  275. <p>June 6, 2025</p>
  276. <h3 style="text-align: center;"></h3>
  277. ]]></content:encoded>
  281. </item>
  282. <item>
  283. <title>A Strange and Unexpected Story of Cold War Intrigue &#8211; May 30, 2025</title>
  284. <link>https://www.robertnovell.com/panagra-part-one-of-seven-april-8-2017-2-2-2/</link>
  286. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
  287. <pubDate>Fri, 30 May 2025 01:14:00 +0000</pubDate>
  288. <category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
  289. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/?p=7075</guid>
  290.  
  291. <description><![CDATA[RN3DB May 30, 2025 Good Morning, Today I was going to begin a series on the golden years of aviation; however, I recently received a video<span class="excerpt-hellip"> […]</span>]]></description>
  292. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>RN3DB<br />
  293. </strong></em></h1>
  294. <h4 style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>May 30, 2025</em></strong></h4>
  295. <p><span id="more-7075"></span></p>
  296. <p>Good Morning,</p>
  297. <p>Today I was going to begin a series on the golden years of aviation; however, I recently received a video from a friend that so intrigued me that I wanted to share this with the readers of RN3DB. After you watch the video below be sure and pass it on to friends and colleges&#8230;&#8230;..they will thank you.</p>
  298. <p>Enjoy&#8230;..</p>
  299. <h1 style="text-align: center;"><iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/T0BINjztAT8" width="600" height="400" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></h1>
  300. <p>Have a good weekend and join me again next week.</p>
  301. <p>Robert Novell</p>
  302. <p>May 30, 2025</p>
  303. ]]></content:encoded>
  307. </item>
  308. <item>
  309. <title>The Man Called the Father of Boeing Was a Chinese Aeronautical Engineer &#8211; May 23, 2025</title>
  310. <link>https://www.robertnovell.com/the-de-havilland-caribou-december-30-2016/</link>
  312. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
  313. <pubDate>Fri, 23 May 2025 01:15:00 +0000</pubDate>
  314. <category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
  315. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/?p=4405</guid>
  316.  
  317. <description><![CDATA[RN3DB May 23, 2025 Good Morning, How did Boeing make it all work. They were working from a small workshop in Seattle, they had made no<span class="excerpt-hellip"> […]</span>]]></description>
  318. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>RN3DB</strong></em></h1>
  319. <h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>May 23, 2025</strong></em></h3>
  320. <p><span id="more-4405"></span></p>
  321. <p>Good Morning,</p>
  322. <p>How did Boeing make it all work. They were working from a small workshop in Seattle, they had made no sales to speak of and they were at a point of shutting down when a Chinese Aeronautical Engineer was hired by William Boeing and the rest is history.</p>
  323. <p>Enjoy&#8230;..</p>
  324. <h1 class="style-scope ytd-watch-metadata" style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Wong Tsu</strong></em></h1>
  325. <h1 class="style-scope ytd-watch-metadata" style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Boeing&#8217;s First Engineer</strong></em></h1>
  326. <div class="i94vss1 i94vss4 g1fwxfiu g1fwxfho g1fwxfrf g1fwxfeu" data-name="section" data-sentry-element="Component" data-sentry-component="Box" data-sentry-source-file="box.tsx">
  327. <div id="main-content-0" class="g1fwxf4 g1fwxf7 g1fwxfy g1fwxfqz g1fwxfhl g1fwxfi0 g1fwxfii" data-contentful-field-id="content" data-contentful-entry-id="zkQt9wpB7R5rmtVE15814" data-sentry-element="Component" data-sentry-source-file="box.tsx" data-sentry-component="Box">
  328. <div class="_42elsxa _1g6q0dv3 g1fwxfrj" data-sentry-element="Component" data-sentry-source-file="box.tsx" data-sentry-component="Box">
  329. <p>In 1904, anti-Asian sentiment in the U.S. rose to a fever pitch as Congress passed an indefinite extension of the <a class="_1l8442v0 _1jnz0oci g1fwxfhu _1l8442v1 g1fwxfhi" href="https://www.history.com/topics/immigration/chinese-exclusion-act-1882" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-sentry-element="NextLink" data-sentry-component="Link" data-sentry-source-file="link.tsx">Chinese Exclusion Act</a>, almost entirely closing the gates on Chinese immigration. Yet just over a decade later, Beijing-born Wong Tsu came to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology through a loophole in the law that made an exception for students. Shortly after graduating from MIT’s new aeronautical program in June 1916, Wong was hired as Boeing’s first aeronautical engineer, cementing his place in aviation history.</p>
  330. </div>
  331. <div class="_42elsxa _1g6q0dv3 g1fwxfrj" data-sentry-element="Component" data-sentry-source-file="box.tsx" data-sentry-component="Box">
  332. <p>The turn of the 20th century was an era of remarkable growth for flight, and Wong played a crucial role: He was integral in designing Boeing’s first successful plane, the Boeing Model C. That became the company’s first military plane, its first used to carry mail and the catalyst to the development of the Model 40A, the first Boeing aircraft to carry passengers.</p>
  333. </div>
  334. <div class="_42elsxa _1g6q0dv3 g1fwxfrj" data-sentry-element="Component" data-sentry-source-file="box.tsx" data-sentry-component="Box">
  335. <p>“The Model C was not only Boeing’s first production order, it was the first Boeing aircraft to be produced in large numbers and sold,” says Tom Crouch, curator emeritus at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, and author of several books, including <a class="_1l8442v0 _1jnz0oci g1fwxfhu _1l8442v1 g1fwxfhi" href="https://airandspace.si.edu/research/publications/wings-history-aviation-kites-space-age" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-sentry-element="NextLink" data-sentry-component="Link" data-sentry-source-file="link.tsx"><i>Wings: A History of Aviation from Kites to the Space Age</i></a>. “Wong Tsu put the company on the map,” he says.</p>
  336. </div>
  337. <h2 id="From-Bicycle-Mechanics-to-Stuntmen" class="_15il2ff2 _3unhtx1 g1fwxf99 g1fwxf9g _42elsx0 g1fwxfq3" style="text-align: center;" data-sentry-element="H" data-sentry-component="H2" data-sentry-source-file="heading.tsx"><em><strong>From Bicycle Mechanics to Stuntmen</strong></em></h2>
  338. <div class="_42elsxa _1g6q0dv3 g1fwxfrj" data-sentry-element="Component" data-sentry-source-file="box.tsx" data-sentry-component="Box">
  339. <p>While Wong was still a child in China, <a class="_1l8442v0 _1jnz0oci g1fwxfhu _1l8442v1 g1fwxfhi" href="https://www.history.com/topics/inventions/wright-brothers" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-sentry-element="NextLink" data-sentry-component="Link" data-sentry-source-file="link.tsx">Wilbur and Orville Wright</a>, two bicycle mechanics from Dayton, Ohio, made history in 1903 with the first powered, sustained and controlled airplane flight over the dunes of Kitty Hawk. The Wright brothers envisioned a future where planes carried mail and passengers, but aviation in the pre-<a class="_1l8442v0 _1jnz0oci g1fwxfhu _1l8442v1 g1fwxfhi" href="https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/world-war-i-history" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-sentry-element="NextLink" data-sentry-component="Link" data-sentry-source-file="link.tsx">World War I</a> period was initially met with skepticism.</p>
  340. </div>
  341. <div class="_42elsxa _1g6q0dv3 g1fwxfrj" data-sentry-element="Component" data-sentry-source-file="box.tsx" data-sentry-component="Box">
  342. <p>The first aircraft were extremely frail with few instruments, relegating flight to the realm of sensational spectacle as stunt pilots flew to curious onlookers at carnivals and county fairs. Heavy winds were particularly troublesome, and anxious pilots preferred to fly only in the early morning or late afternoon when the air was at its calmest.</p>
  343. </div>
  344. <h2 id="Wong-Comes-to-MIT" class="_15il2ff2 _3unhtx1 g1fwxf99 g1fwxf9g _42elsx0 g1fwxfq3" style="text-align: center;" data-sentry-element="H" data-sentry-component="H2" data-sentry-source-file="heading.tsx"><em><strong>Wong Comes to MIT</strong></em></h2>
  345. <div class="_42elsxa _1g6q0dv3 g1fwxfrj has-ad-container" data-sentry-element="Component" data-sentry-source-file="box.tsx" data-sentry-component="Box">
  346. <p>At the age of 12, Wong was selected for the Manchu government’s Yang-Tai naval academy, and at 16, he became one of the first Chinese naval cadets sent to England to study naval engineering. The Chinese government then sent him to study the fledgling science of aviation at MIT.</p>
  347. </div>
  348. <div class="_42elsxa _1g6q0dv3 g1fwxfrj" data-sentry-element="Component" data-sentry-source-file="box.tsx" data-sentry-component="Box">
  349. <p>At MIT, Wong used the university’s new four-foot-square wind tunnel—one of the first in the country of its kind—to conduct controlled experiments and gain rare insight into aerodynamic stability. With a thesis on <i>Air Resistance of Cylinder Combinations,</i> Wong in 1916 became one of the few degreed aeronautical engineers in the country.</p>
  350. </div>
  351. </div>
  352. <div class="x4or4w5 x4or4w6 g1fwxfk g1fwxfs" data-sentry-element="Component" data-sentry-source-file="box.tsx" data-sentry-component="Box">
  353. <div class="_1n6faha1" data-sentry-element="Component" data-sentry-component="Box" data-sentry-source-file="box.tsx">
  354. <div class="_65i5g8b _65i5g80 _1698oj20 g1fwxf7f" data-sentry-element="Component" data-sentry-component="Box" data-sentry-source-file="box.tsx">
  355. <div class="_42elsxk _3hj66w0 g1fwxf26" data-sentry-element="Component" data-sentry-source-file="box.tsx" data-sentry-component="Box">
  356. <div class="_42elsxa _1g6q0dv3 g1fwxfrj" data-sentry-element="Component" data-sentry-source-file="box.tsx" data-sentry-component="Box">
  357. <p>On July 4, 1914, William Edward Boeing, a successful lumber company owner in Seattle, convinced early aviator Terah Maroney to take him on his Curtiss seaplane. Boeing’s maiden flight reinforced what he already believed: The future was in aviation.</p>
  358. </div>
  359. <div class="_42elsxa _1g6q0dv3 g1fwxfrj" data-sentry-element="Component" data-sentry-source-file="box.tsx" data-sentry-component="Box">
  360. <p>Boeing also felt he could build a better plane—he just needed the right aeronautical engineer. He turned to a friend, Naval Lieutenant George Conrad Westervelt, who had spent time at MIT and was stationed at the naval shipyards in nearby Bremerton. Together, they created Pacific Aero Products Co., and named their first aircraft the B &amp; W, after their respective initials. Unfortunately, the B &amp; W showed a tendency to tilt while airborne during tests for the Navy in 1916. While the issue was rectified, the damage had been done, and not a single B &amp; W plane was ever sold in the U.S.</p>
  361. </div>
  362. <div class="_42elsxa _1g6q0dv3 g1fwxfrj" data-sentry-element="Component" data-sentry-source-file="box.tsx" data-sentry-component="Box">
  363. <p>After Westervelt was assigned by the Navy back East, he consulted with Jerome C. Hunsaker, the aeronautics program founder at MIT, on a replacement engineer. Hunsaker recommended Wong. Boeing, upon learning of Wong’s vast wind tunnel expertise, responded by telegram: “Engage Chinaman.”</p>
  364. </div>
  365. <h2 id="Anti-Chinese-Sentiment-in-the-Pacific-Northwest" class="_15il2ff2 _3unhtx1 g1fwxf99 g1fwxf9g _42elsx0 g1fwxfq3" style="text-align: center;" data-sentry-element="H" data-sentry-component="H2" data-sentry-source-file="heading.tsx"><em><strong>Anti-Chinese Sentiment in the Pacific Northwest</strong></em></h2>
  366. <div class="_42elsxa _1g6q0dv3 g1fwxfrj" data-sentry-element="Component" data-sentry-source-file="box.tsx" data-sentry-component="Box">
  367. <p>During Wong’s time at MIT, students from China made up the largest percentage of foreigners. They participated not only in research but in the essential fabric of student life, taking part in everything from athletics to theater. But on the West Coast, particularly in the Pacific Northwest, people of Asian descent had a very different experience. In 1885, a giant mob in Tacoma, Washington forcefully expelled hundreds of Chinese residents, herding them to a nearby railway station. In 1886, nearly 400 more in Seattle were dragged from their homes and led to a steamer bound for San Francisco.</p>
  368. </div>
  369. <div class="_42elsxa _1g6q0dv3 g1fwxfrj" data-sentry-element="Component" data-sentry-source-file="box.tsx" data-sentry-component="Box">
  370. <p>It was a perilous time to be Chinese in Seattle. To lure Wong, Boeing personally gave assurances for his safety, according to Key Donn, a former president of the Boeing Asian American Professional Association. That promise paid off in spades.</p>
  371. <div class="_42elsxa _1g6q0dv3 g1fwxfrj" data-sentry-element="Component" data-sentry-source-file="box.tsx" data-sentry-component="Box">
  372. <p>Wong played an integral role in developing the Model C training seaplane, which incorporated several mold-breaking innovations: The wings tilted slightly upwards, with the upper wing sitting forward of the lower wing rather than being stacked for greater stability. Crucially, Wong was also able to test a model in a newly built wind tunnel at the University of Washington and apply his data analytical skills honed at MIT.</p>
  373. </div>
  374. <div class="_42elsxa _1g6q0dv3 g1fwxfrj" data-sentry-element="Component" data-sentry-source-file="box.tsx" data-sentry-component="Box">
  375. <p>Boeing was so proud of the seaplane, that he referred to it as the first “all-Boeing” design. The Model C first flew on Nov. 5, 1916, and an improved Model C, with a bigger rudder, made its first flight on April 9, 1917. Two weeks later, Boeing changed the name of Pacific Aero Products Co. to Boeing Airplane Co.</p>
  376. </div>
  377. <div class="_42elsxa _1g6q0dv3 g1fwxfrj" data-sentry-element="Component" data-sentry-source-file="box.tsx" data-sentry-component="Box">
  378. <p>After test flights at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida in the summer of 1917, Navy officials were also impressed. Despite 35-m.p.h. winds, the Model C proved better than anything they had seen. They ordered 50 Model Cs for a price of $575,000. Considering the total value of all aircraft orders in the U.S. in 1914 totaled just under $800,000, it was a substantial order by any measure and launched Boeing as a successful airplane manufacturer.</p>
  379. <h4 style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.history.com/articles/wong-tsu-boeing-first-aeronautic-engineer-model-c" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em><strong>Read More</strong></em></a></h4>
  380. <p>Have a good weekend, take care, and fly safe.</p>
  381. </div>
  382. <p>Robert Novell</p>
  383. <p>May 23, 2025</p>
  384. <h1 style="text-align: center;"><iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XTlri79tZVo?si=rLHmdO0vKoWk4t3i" width="600" height="400" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></h1>
  385. </div>
  386. </div>
  387. </div>
  388. </div>
  389. </div>
  390. </div>
  391. ]]></content:encoded>
  395. </item>
  396. <item>
  397. <title>A Man Who Speaks With Absolute Clarity, and Authority, About Our Need to Confront Evil in our World &#8211; May 16, 2025</title>
  398. <link>https://www.robertnovell.com/panagra-part-one-of-seven-april-8-2017-2-2/</link>
  400. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
  401. <pubDate>Fri, 16 May 2025 01:13:00 +0000</pubDate>
  402. <category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
  403. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/?p=7063</guid>
  404.  
  405. <description><![CDATA[RN3DB May 16, 2025 Good Morning, I recently received a video from a friend that so impressed me that I wanted to share this with the<span class="excerpt-hellip"> […]</span>]]></description>
  406. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>RN3DB<br />
  407. </strong></em></h1>
  408. <h4 style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>May 16, 2025</em></strong></h4>
  409. <p><span id="more-7063"></span></p>
  410. <p>Good Morning,</p>
  411. <p>I recently received a video from a friend that so impressed me that I wanted to share this with the readers of RN3DB. Also, after you watch the video below be sure and pass it on to friends and colleges.</p>
  412. <p>Enjoy&#8230;..</p>
  413. <p style="text-align: center;"><iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8RdyZ1rEltE" width="600" height="400" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
  414. <p>Have a good weekend and join me next week as we continue our series on Panagra.</p>
  415. <p>Robert Novell</p>
  416. <p>May 16, 2025</p>
  417. ]]></content:encoded>
  421. </item>
  422. <item>
  423. <title>Why Did FDR Become Lucky Lindy&#8217;s Biggest Adversary? &#8211; May 9, 2025</title>
  424. <link>https://www.robertnovell.com/why-did-fdr-try-to-destroy-lucky-lindys-accomplishments-february-16-2018-2/</link>
  426. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
  427. <pubDate>Fri, 09 May 2025 01:59:00 +0000</pubDate>
  428. <category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
  429. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/?p=6421</guid>
  430.  
  431. <description><![CDATA[RN3DB May 9, 2025 Good Morning/Happy Friday, Why did U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and American aviator Charles Lindbergh, who were the two greatest American icons<span class="excerpt-hellip"> […]</span>]]></description>
  432. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 class="headline" style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>RN3DB</strong></em></h1>
  433. <h3 class="headline" style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>May 9, 2025</strong></em></h3>
  434. <p><span id="more-6421"></span></p>
  435. <p>Good Morning/Happy Friday,</p>
  436. <p style="text-align: justify;">Why did U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and American aviator Charles Lindbergh, who were the two greatest American icons of the first half of the 20th century, become adversaries? Roosevelt led America throughout the Great Depression and WWII and Lindbergh risked his life to be the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.  History, however, paints a very different story of how Lindbergh became a target and it is a story that I find amazing and so typical in the political arena.</p>
  437. <p style="text-align: justify;">This is history at it&#8217;s best but if you get bored, with all the facts, come back here and click on this link &#8211; <em><strong><a href="http://www.charleslindbergh.com/wwii/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Lindbergh</a>.</strong></em></p>
  438. <p style="text-align: justify;">Enjoy&#8230;&#8230;</p>
  439. <h3 class="itemTitle" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>FDR vs. Lindbergh</em></strong></h3>
  440. <p style="text-align: justify;">Modern Americans can scarcely imagine the emotion and awe with which peoples across the world regarded Lindbergh, who was widely christened “The Lone Eagle” following his pioneer 1927 transatlantic solo flight in the <em>Spirit of St. Louis</em>, just two decades after the first flight in history. Six world-renowned aviators had already died trying to accomplish the epic feat. When the shy, soft-spoken, boyishly handsome 25-year-old Midwesterner did it, his fame soared to greater heights perhaps than that of the astronauts who landed on the moon in a later generation. As chronicled in James P. Duffy’s <em>Lindbergh vs. Roosevelt: The Rivalry That Divided America</em>, hundreds of thousands of Parisians cheered him on. Thousands of police and 5,000 soldiers restrained crowds from him in Brussels. The English king and U.S. President Calvin Coolidge received him. <em>Time</em> magazine named him its first “Man of the Year.”</p>
  441. <p style="text-align: justify;">When his infant son was kidnapped and murdered in 1932, it was America’s crime of the century. Many considered it the worst crime since the crucifixion of Christ. The heart of the country beat as one with Charles Lindbergh and his brilliant, lovely wife, Anne.</p>
  442. <p style="text-align: justify;">Roosevelt’s rise to the national and international stage was not as sudden. He capitalized on the fact that his distant cousin Theodore Roosevelt was one of the most admired U.S. presidents and managed to become governor of New York. After winning two gubernatorial terms, “FDR” parlayed his own handsome visage, galvanizing charisma, and message of hope for Great Depression-ravaged America into the presidency in 1933 — and soon came into conflict with Lindbergh.</p>
  443. <p style="text-align: justify;">Lindbergh had never pursued political causes and had retreated with Anne from public view — and the vulture-like pursuit of the media — following the staggering loss of their son, but then Roosevelt, riding a historic wave of success and popularity, issued an executive order in early 1934 that outlawed an entire industry, private airline mail carrying. Instead, Roosevelt determined, the U.S. military would provide the air transportation for delivering air mail. Democrat Roosevelt charged that Republican companies were price- and route-fixing. (The Washington, D.C., Court of Appeals later ruled his actions arbitrary and without due process of law.) The Lone Eagle burst back into the limelight with a brief letter to the president protesting his actions. Lindbergh declared them “unwarranted and contrary to American principles” in their wielding of federal government power over the private sector whose production funded that government.</p>
  444. <p style="text-align: justify;">Round One was under way between two of the most legendary Americans in history, and the air mail controversy morphed overnight into an epic Roosevelt vs. Lindbergh showdown. Brave army pilots, ill trained for their new mail-carrying mission and flying planes far inferior to the airlines’ (one commercial liner, for instance, could carry the load of six army planes) and inadequate for either the pitch black of night or the freezing, snow-blown winter, began immediately to perish.</p>
  445. <p style="text-align: justify;">As the body count rose to 12 and accidents to 66, masses of air mail were delayed or never delivered, and public fury mounted at the administration. Roosevelt ignored the advice of friends and enemies, business people, military leaders, and government officials alike to reinstate private mail delivery and, instead, orchestrated a feverish, behind-the-scenes campaign to redirect blame for the burgeoning disaster, including against Lindbergh, whose statements legitimized the theretofore-unheard-of phenomenon of wide public criticism of Roosevelt. FDR attempted to portray Lindbergh as a tool of the airlines. “Don’t worry about Lindbergh,” he scowled to an aide. “We will get that fair-haired boy.”</p>
  446. <p style="text-align: justify;">However, the president soon had to admit defeat and ask Congress to pass legislation returning airmail service to private carriers, reversing his action of barely 90 days before.</p>
  447. <p style="text-align: justify;">Roosevelt ally Henry “Hap” Arnold, later five-star commanding general of the U.S. Army Air Forces during WWII, summarized the fiasco: “Within two weeks we were forced to realize that although the ‘will to do’ might get the job done, the price of our doing it was equal to the sacrifice of a wartime combat operation. Courage alone could not substitute for years of cross-country experience; for properly equipped airplanes; and for suitable blind flying instruments, such as the regular air-line mail pilots were using.”</p>
  448. <h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>New Deal Failure</strong></em></h3>
  449. <p style="text-align: justify;">Roosevelt’s tenure in office reinforced the perception that his need to be considered right trumped his desires to actually get things right.</p>
  450. <p style="text-align: justify;">His famed “first hundred days,” contrary to many of his campaign promises about avoiding the centralization of government power, unleashed an unparalleled blizzard of legislation in which the federal government sought to correct the supposed failures of the capitalistic system — through the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Agricultural Adjustment Act, the National Industrial Recovery Act, and many other new laws. “It is common sense to take a method and try it,” he explained. “If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.” The nation had just suffered through three years of Herbert Hoover’s ineffectual post-stock market crash economic schemes, and the unemployment rate stood at over 23 percent at Roosevelt’s inauguration, so the majority of citizens were willing to give him a chance.</p>
  451. <p style="text-align: justify;">Though the realization gradually dawned on Roosevelt and his minions that no amount of constitutionally questionable New Deal programs and Machiavellian presidential scheming could end the Depression, Roosevelt kept his programs going full steam ahead. Near the end of Roosevelt’s second term, Secretary of Treasury Henry Morgenthau, a key New Deal architect, penned this startling confession regarding the administration’s failure: “We have tried spending money. We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work. And I have just one interest, and now if I am wrong somebody else can have my job. I want to see this country prosper. I want to see people get a job. I want to see people get enough to eat. We have never made good on our promises. I say after eight years of this administration, we have just as much unemployment as when we started. And enormous debt to boot.”</p>
  452. <p style="text-align: justify;">As nations on nearly every continent emerged from the economic cataclysm, U.S. unemployment skyrocketed back up to nine million workers in 1939 — 12 million if counting Americans employed at taxpayer-funded “make-work” jobs — a total nearly that of when Roosevelt first won the presidency, and after oceans of New Deal spending.</p>
  453. <p style="text-align: justify;">As the 1930s wound down, Roosevelt’s resolve not to take his hand off the tiller steering America’s economic course was creating the unemployment that would help impel him to push America into another world war and another face-off with Lindbergh.</p>
  454. <p style="text-align: justify;">In September 1939 when Germany and Russia invaded Poland, precipitating WWII, Roosevelt saw his chance to eliminate U.S. unemployment. Amity Schlaes opined in her Depression chronicle <em>The Forgotten Man</em>: “A war … would hand to Roosevelt the thing he had always lacked — a chance, quite literally, to provide jobs to the remaining unemployed. On the junket down the Potomac, for example, he could count 6,000 men at work at Langley Field; 12,000 at Portsmouth Navy Yard, where there had been 7,600; and new employment in the military or the prospect of it, for Americans elsewhere. Roosevelt hadn’t known what to do with the extra people in 1938, but now (1940) he did: he could make them soldiers.” Never mind that the private-sector unemployment problem was exacerbated by the economic drag caused by his costly Big Government programs — or that going to war would make government even more expensive.</p>
  455. <p style="text-align: justify;">Roosevelt’s only problem was convincing Americans of the necessity to fight — no easy chore. The American public was disgusted with Europe after it had torn itself to shreds for no legitimate reason in the “Great War,” dragging the United States into the fray to win the fight, then reneged on billions of dollars in war repayments while pillorying the United States as a villainous creditor called “Uncle Shylock” — not to mention America’s 460,000 deaths resulting from that war. The American public had no interest in saving England’s rapacious empire again, or in dealing with European geopolitics.</p>
  456. <p style="text-align: justify;">Roosevelt, again contrary to promises to the electorate, schemed and crafted plans to involve the United States in Europe’s latest war, while Lindbergh worked assiduously to keep America out of the war.</p>
  457. <h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>America First</strong></em></h3>
  458. <p style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, Lindbergh presciently discerned the gathering dangers to the nation, and began a series of radio broadcasts and public speeches in September 1939 against America’s involvement in yet another European war. In one speech, he issued “a plea for American independence,” asking, “Why in this second century of our national existence must we be confronted with the quarrels of the old world that our forefathers left behind when they settled in this country?”</p>
  459. <p style="text-align: justify;">Though he personally disdained public involvement in controversial political issues, he eventually joined America First, the 800,000-strong non-interventionist (but not pacifist) organization, and he crafted a platform comprised of four main elements: 1) an embargo on offensive weapons and munitions to warring nations, 2) the unrestricted sale of purely defensive armaments to anyone who wanted them to protect themselves from attack, 3) the prohibition of American shipping from the belligerent countries of Europe and their danger zones, 4) the refusal of credit to belligerent nations or their agents.</p>
  460. <p style="text-align: justify;">Lindbergh’s tenets were intended to ward off another experience like World War I wherein U.S. banks loaned the Allies the funds to buy American munitions and, hence, pushed strongly for American involvement in the war and for Allied victory in order to ensure repayment of their loans.</p>
  461. <p style="text-align: justify;">Still half a year before the U.S. entrance into the war, in one of his most famous speeches, before 25-30,000 people in and around New York City’s Madison Square Garden, Lindbergh thundered forth the suspicions of millions of Americans: “We have been led toward war against the opposition of four-fifths of our people.” To deafening applause, he continued: “From every section of this country, a cry is rising against this war. But it is a cry that reaches beyond the question of war alone&#8230;. It echoes from the very foundations on which our system of government is built. It asks how this situation came about? … It demands an accounting from a government that has led us to war while it promises peace.”</p>
  462. <h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Destroy the Messenger</strong></em></h3>
  463. <p style="text-align: justify;">In response to Lindbergh’s opposition to the president’s aggressive policies, Roosevelt loosed all but the hounds of hell on him, and the media — a media that Lindbergh biographer Scott Berg stated “had grown to resent Lindbergh’s uncooperative attitude, [and] instantly revised history.” FDR’s political allies excoriated the aviator with an armada of untrue accusations. They called him an “isolationist,” though he advocated vigorous American commercial trading around the world and urged the United States not to “build a wall around our country and isolate ourselves from contact with the rest of the world.” In essence, Lindbergh, like others in the America First Committee, agreed with George Washington’s opposition to “permanent alliances,” especially with Europe and its “frequent controversies,” while trading with all nations.</p>
  464. <p style="text-align: justify;">Roosevelt’s allies also called Lindbergh a defeatist and appeaser of Germany, though at the same time Lindbergh managed to gain unprecedented access to the German Luftwaffe (the German air force) and became the first non-German to fly the legendary Messerschmitt 109 fighter plane, and he provided intelligence to the U.S. military about Nazi capabilities. Hap Arnold declared, “Lindbergh gave me the most accurate picture of the Luftwaffe, its equipment, leaders, apparent plans, training methods, and present defects that I had so far received,” and Arnold invited him to serve on an elite U.S. military aircraft development board.</p>
  465. <p style="text-align: justify;">Lindbergh was called a Nazi “fellow-traveler,” and Roosevelt and others privately said he was a Nazi. Yet Lindbergh spoke and wrote in many venues of his disgust with Nazi excesses and wrongdoing.</p>
  466. <p style="text-align: justify;">He was called an anti-Semite, primarily due, as historian Duffy wrote, “to a single claim he made,” in one Des Moines speech, “that Jews were among the influential groups [including the British and the Roosevelt administration] that shaped America’s war policies&#8230;. Lindbergh never blamed American Jews for their attitude toward the war. To the contrary, even as he criticized Jewish support for war, he expressed sympathy and understanding for the Jewish position.”</p>
  467. <p style="text-align: justify;">Interestingly, whereas Lindbergh’s friends — including Jews — and family insisted, in the words of Harry Guggenheim, that he “has never had the slightest anti-Semitic feeling,” numerous accounts exist of Roosevelt having such, including by key Jewish aides such as Morgenthau and Henry Ickes.</p>
  468. <p style="text-align: justify;">Roosevelt’s forces went after Lindbergh, other non-interventionists, and even critical letter-writers to the White House in additional ways, as Duffy chronicled. These included telephone wiretaps, room listening devices, public smear campaigns, and in general trying “to find some dirt” on them. The president himself initiated a cooperative venture with J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI in which the White House supplied the bureau the names and addresses of the letter senders so that the FBI could provide information on them.</p>
  469. <h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Wartime Exploits</strong></em></h3>
  470. <p style="text-align: justify;">The enduring vindictiveness of Roosevelt evidenced itself in his determination to keep Lindbergh from any military role in the U.S. war effort, despite the aviator’s wholehearted support of the war after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and his stature as one of the world’s foremost aviation experts. Wiser heads eventually prevailed, and Lindbergh’s wartime resume was extraordinary.</p>
  471. <p style="text-align: justify;">He corrected problems in the Army’s B-24 Liberator bomber, flew high-altitude test flights in the P-47 Thunderbolt fighter, and conducted dangerous research on combating airborne oxygen blackouts, using himself as guinea pig. At 42 years old — virtually invalid age for a fighter pilot — he flew 50 combat missions in the Pacific. Colonel Charles MacDonald, commander of the famed “Satan’s Angels” fighter group, said, “Lindbergh was indefatigable. He flew more missions than was normally expected of a regular combat pilot. He dive-bombed enemy positions, sank barges, and patrolled our landing forces on Noemfoor Island. He was shot at by almost every anti-aircraft gun the Nips [Japanese] had in western New Guinea.”</p>
  472. <p style="text-align: justify;">He also increased the bomb load of the Navy’s F4U Corsair fighter plane to 4,000 pounds, the heaviest ever carried by the fighter, then personally dropped it on Wotje Island, demolishing a Japanese anti-aircraft gun battery. After he devised how to extend the P-38 Lightning fighter’s flight distance by hundreds of miles, Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers in the Pacific Douglas MacArthur engaged him as a consultant and offered him whatever plane he wished to fly. Lindbergh’s discovery of how to improve the P-38’s flying distance enabled the fighter plane to escort bombers to the Japanese-held island of Palau, aiding in the capture of the island and leading to its use as a launching pad for MacArthur’s triumphant return to the Philippines.</p>
  473. <p style="text-align: justify;">In a head-to-head aerial dogfight with a Japanese group commander, Lindbergh missed crashing head-on with the enemy’s plane by five feet and shot it down. Aiding a fellow pilot in another dogfight, he got jumped by a Mitsubishi Zero that fired from directly behind him as he “commended [his] soul to God,” but another American fighter shot down the Zero in the nick of time.</p>
  474. <p style="text-align: justify;">Having personally confronted the true horrors of war in the Pacific, though, Lindbergh bitterly denounced it in his private journal: “As the awful truth of the German crimes against the Jewish people came out, here we were, doing the same thing to the Japs.” He wrote about the attitudes he encountered: “‘They really are lower than beasts. Every one of ’em ought to be exterminated.’ How many times I heard American officers in the Pacific say those very words!&#8230; And <em>‘Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?’”</em></p>
  475. <p style="text-align: justify;">He chronicled the shooting of Japanese soldiers attempting to surrender so that other Japanese soldiers would remain in the jungle and slowly starve; Marines firing on unarmed Japanese swimming ashore at Midway; troops machine-gunning prisoners on a Hollandia airstrip; Australians shoving captured Japanese out of transport planes over the New Guinea mountains; Japanese shinbones carved off for letter openers and pen trays; Japanese heads buried in ant hills “to get them clean for souvenirs”; and “the infantry’s favorite occupation” of poking through the mouths of Japanese corpses for gold-filled teeth. He added, “What is barbaric on one side of the earth is still barbaric on the other.”</p>
  476. <p style="text-align: justify;">“Judge not that ye be not judged,” he continued. “It is not the Germans alone, or the Japs, but the men of all nations to whom this war has brought shame and degradation.” He also wrote of the legacy of using violence to solve mankind’s ills: lynchings, witch-burnings, “burnings at the stake for the benefit of Christ and God.”</p>
  477. <p style="text-align: justify;">In the 1950s, the U.S. Senate approved President Eisenhower’s nomination of Lindbergh as a brigadier general in the U.S. Army Reserve.</p>
  478. <h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Legacies</strong></em></h3>
  479. <p>Interestingly, the two great adversaries met in person one time, on April 20, 1939, early in their conflict over the coming war, and even then Lindbergh saw through Roosevelt’s facade of charm. Roosevelt invited Lindbergh to his office following circulation of the latter’s momentous reports on German aviation. FDR kept Lindbergh waiting 45 minutes, then met with him for 15. Lindbergh wrote of the cordial visit in his journal: “I liked him and feel that I could get along with him well&#8230;. But there was something about him I did not trust, something a little too suave, too pleasant, too easy&#8230;. It is better to work together as long as we can; yet somehow I have a feeling that it may not be for long.”</p>
  480. <p>Despite no animus on the part of Lindbergh toward Roosevelt and Lindbergh’s correct discernment of the state of international politics, Roosevelt’s campaign to vilify him was largely a success, though Lindbergh was a celebrity in his own right. Thus, Franklin Roosevelt graduated onto the front of textbooks, currency, and best presidents’ lists. Charles Lindbergh, meanwhile, won the laurels of hatred and slander reserved for the truest patriot, he who loves his country enough to criticize her for her own good — a lesson that patriots of today know only too well is repeated almost daily in America through the cooperation of like minded media and politicians.</p>
  481. <p style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><a href="https://www.thenewamerican.com/culture/history/item/17341-fdr-vs-lindbergh-setting-the-record-straight" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Source Document</a></strong></em></p>
  482. <p style="text-align: left;">Enjoy the weekend and remember &#8211; &#8220;<em>Any Effort At Bringing Aviation History Alive Is Meaningless Unless We Share What We Know With Those Who Follow In Our Footsteps.&#8221;</em></p>
  483. <p style="text-align: left;">Robert Novell</p>
  484. <p style="text-align: left;">May 9, 2025</p>
  485. ]]></content:encoded>
  489. </item>
  490. <item>
  491. <title>The Wright Brothers After Kitty Hawk &#8211; May 2, 2025</title>
  492. <link>https://www.robertnovell.com/the-wright-brothers-after-kitty-hawk-september-16-2016-2/</link>
  494. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
  495. <pubDate>Fri, 02 May 2025 01:15:00 +0000</pubDate>
  496. <category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
  497. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/?p=6362</guid>
  498.  
  499. <description><![CDATA[RN3DB May 2, 2025 Good Morning, Hope all is well with you and yours and welcome back to the 3DB. This week I want to talk<span class="excerpt-hellip"> […]</span>]]></description>
  500. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>RN3DB</strong></em></h1>
  501. <h4 style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>May 2, 2025</em></strong></h4>
  502. <p><span id="more-6362"></span></p>
  503. <p>Good Morning,</p>
  504. <p style="text-align: justify;">Hope all is well with you and yours and welcome back to the 3DB. This week I want to talk about the Wright Brothers after Kitty Hawk. I recently spent time in Dayton on business so I took the time to visit all the historical aviation sights and to learn a little more about my aviation roots; however before I talk about the Wrights after Kitty Hawk lets talk about the Wrights before Kitty Hawk.</p>
  505. <p>Enjoy&#8230;&#8230;</p>
  506. <h1 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>The Wrights</strong></em></h1>
  507. <h1 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Before, And After, Kitty Hawk</strong></em></h1>
  508. <h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Orville Wright</strong></em></h3>
  509. <h5 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong> (</strong>August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948</em>)</h5>
  510. <p style="text-align: justify;">Aviator and inventor, Orville was born in Dayton, Ohio, to Milton and Susan Koerner Wright. He was the sixth of seven children born to the Wrights, five of whom survived infancy. Orville attended school in Iowa, Indiana, and Dayton, where future poet Paul Laurence Dunbar was part of his class at Central High School. However, Orville never graduated from high school, having not earned several credits required for a diploma. Having already decided to pursue a career as a printer, Orville was not worried about lacking a diploma; instead, he and Wilbur established a printing shop near their home in west Dayton.</p>
  511. <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.nps.gov/daav/learn/historyculture/orvillewrightslifestory.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><strong>Source Document</strong></em></a></p>
  512. <h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Wilbur Wright</strong></em></h3>
  513. <h5 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912</strong></em></h5>
  514. <p style="text-align: justify;">Aviator and inventor, Wilbur was born near Millville, Indiana, to Milton Wright and Susan Koerner. He was the third of seven children born to the Wrights, five of whom survived infancy. Wilbur moved often as a child due to his father’s ministry in the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, and he attended primary schools in Iowa and Indiana. He attended high school in Richmond, Indiana, but did not receive his diploma with the rest of the class of 1884 as his family moved to Dayton, Ohio, before his commencement ceremonies. In Dayton, Wilbur enrolled in the college preparatory program at Central High School, but a freak hockey injury during the winter of 1885-1886 caused him to convalesce at home for three years. During those years he nursed his ill mother, who died of tuberculosis in 1889, and read widely in his father’s extensive library.</p>
  515. <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.nps.gov/daav/learn/historyculture/wilburwrightslifestory.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><strong>Source Document</strong></em></a></p>
  516. <h2 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Orville and Wilbur</strong></em></h2>
  517. <h4 style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>The Quest -From Beginning To End</em><br />
  518. </strong></h4>
  519. <p style="text-align: justify;">In 1889, Wilbur and brother Orville – four years his junior – decided to form a business partnership and open a printing shop. Between May of 1889 to August of 1890, they published two local newspapers, the <i>West Side News</i> and the <i>Evening Item</i>. The newspapers failed in a saturated journalistic market, but their printing shop fared better. In 1890, they moved it to new quarters in the recently-built Hoover Block on West Third Street near the Wright family home. It was there that the Wrights printed the <i>Dayton Tattler</i>, a short-lived newspaper for the local African American community that was edited by a high school acquaintance of Orville’s, Paul Laurence Dunbar. Dunbar later gained national renown for his poetry.</p>
  520. <p style="text-align: justify;">Though printing became an overly predictable business to Wilbur and Orville, they maintained their shop until 1899, when they sold their press and type. Meanwhile, in the spring of 1893, they responded to the bicycling craze sweeping the United States by opening a bicycle repair and sales shop. Business at the cycle shop boomed, and it overtook the printing shop to become their primary business. While other companies produced most of the bicycles the Wrights sold, they also sold cycles made at their own shop. Few bicycles built by the Wrights exist today. The Wrights left the bicycle business in 1908.</p>
  521. <p style="text-align: justify;">Milton piqued the interests of Wilbur and Orville in aviation in 1878, when he gave them a toy helicopter after one of his trips in the west. The 1896 death of German aviation pioneer Otto Lilienthal in a glider crash, rekindled the brothers’ latent interests in flying. Drawing upon similarities between bicycling and flying, Wilbur and Orville began researching aerodynamics, propulsion, and control. Their research did not occur in a vacuum; they investigated the experiments of other aviation pioneers, writing to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., for suggestions of relevant readings in 1899. The Wrights progressed from kite to glider research and, valuing privacy while needing consistently high winds, moved glider experimentation to the sand dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Research and development activities took place at the cycle shop on West Third Street in Dayton. Through experimentation at the cycle shop using a small, homemade wind tunnel, the Wrights designed the airplane that made the first powered, controlled, sustained flight on December 17, 1903. Experimentation and flight testing over the next decade at Huffman Prairie (Huffman Prairie Flying School adjoins Wright Patterson AFB), eight miles (13 km) east of Dayton, and at Kitty Hawk, resulted in the development of practical airplanes that could remain airborne for as long as fuel reserves permitted.</p>
  522. <div id="cs_control_3113793" class="cs_control CS_Element_Custom">
  523. <div class="Component text-content-size text-content-style ArticleTextGroup clearfix">
  524. <p style="text-align: justify;">Orville and Wilbur were wary of competitors copying their designs while patents pended and did not fly between late 1905 and the spring of 1908. Orville returned to the air that spring to conduct airplane trials for the U.S. Army, while Wilbur ventured to France to conduct trials for potential French investors. The Wrights signed a contract with the U.S. Army stating that they would provide an airplane capable of flying for one hour at a speed of forty miles per hour (64 km/h) for $25,000 without performance incentives. While the trials at Fort Myer in Arlington, Virginia, were generally successful, one flight ended abruptly when Orville’s plane crashed. The accident seriously injured Orville and killed his passenger, Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge. Orville’s injuries, which included a broken thigh and broken pelvis, gave him pain for the remainder of his life. He and sister Katharine joined Wilbur in France after his injuries healed.</p>
  525. <p style="text-align: justify;">In 1909, the Wrights and several prominent industrialists created the Wright Company to market Wright airplanes. Wilbur became the company’s first president, with Orville as one of two vice-presidents (Andrew Freedman being the other). Orville became president of the Wright Company upon Wilbur’s death of typhoid fever in 1912. Orville also served as executor of his brother’s estate.</p>
  526. <p style="text-align: justify;">In the years after Wilbur’s death, Orville became an elder statesman among aviators. He, Katharine, and Milton moved into Hawthorn Hill, a mansion in the Dayton suburb of Oakwood, in 1914. Orville sold his interests in the Wright Company in 1915, remaining with it for a year as a consulting engineer. He also built a laboratory on Broadway in west Dayton, close to the last site of the Wrights’ cycle shop and the family’s former home at 7 Hawthorne Street. Orville worked on a variety of projects at this laboratory, designing devices to ease tasks around Hawthorn Hill. He also served on several aviation commissions and boards, including that of the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics, the predecessor agency of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Orville, who never married, died in Dayton of a heart attack on January 30, 1948 and is buried at Woodland Cemetery.</p>
  527. </div>
  528. </div>
  529. <h2 id="cs_spacer_3121399" class="CS_Layout_SpacingHeight" style="text-align: center;"><em><strong> Huffman Prairie Flying Field</strong></em></h2>
  530. <p style="text-align: justify;">When the Wright brothers returned to Dayton, after their historic first flights at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903, they looked for a suitable flying field closer to home. Dayton banker, Torrence Huffman allowed the brothers to use his pasture, which was located eight miles northeast of Dayton, rent-free. Here in 1904 and 1905, through a series of unique experiments, the Wright brothers mastered the principles of controlled, powered flight and developed the world&#8217;s first practical airplane.</p>
  531. <p style="text-align: justify;">In 1904, the brothers made 105 flights, totaling 49 minutes in the air with their 1904 Wright Flyer II. With this flying machine, they made the first turn and the first circle in the air. They also employed a starting derrick for the first time and Wilbur set a new distance record.</p>
  532. <p style="text-align: justify;">When the brothers returned to the Huffman Prairie for the 1905 flying season, they brought along an improved machine, the 1905 Wright Flyer III. This flying machine, which evolved throughout 1905, could bank, turn circles, and make figure-eights. On October 5, 1905, Wilbur piloted the plane for a world record of over 24 miles in 39 minutes. About two weeks later, the brothers ended their experiments for 1905 feeling that they now had a practical airplane that they could market. In the 1905 flying season, the brothers stayed aloft for 262 minutes in just 50 flights.</p>
  533. <p style="text-align: justify;">The Wright brothers returned to Huffman Prairie Flying Field in 1910. The field was used by their new business, The Wright Company, as a testing ground, flying school, and home to their exhibition team. The Wright Company ceased use of the flying field in 1916.</p>
  534. <p style="text-align: justify;">Today, Huffman Prairie Flying Field is located on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1990.</p>
  535. <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.nps.gov/daav/learn/historyculture/huffman-prairie-flying-field.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><strong>Source Document</strong></em></a></p>
  536. <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_170553.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-4073" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_170553-300x169.jpg" alt="20160915_170553" width="724" height="408" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_170553-300x169.jpg 300w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_170553-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_170553-768x432.jpg 768w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_170553-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_170553-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_170553-260x146.jpg 260w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_170553-50x28.jpg 50w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_170553-133x75.jpg 133w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_170553-1200x675.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 724px) 100vw, 724px" /></a></p>
  537. <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_170057.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-4071" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_170057-300x169.jpg" alt="20160915_170057" width="727" height="410" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_170057-300x169.jpg 300w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_170057-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_170057-768x432.jpg 768w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_170057-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_170057-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_170057-260x146.jpg 260w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_170057-50x28.jpg 50w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_170057-133x75.jpg 133w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_170057-1200x675.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 727px) 100vw, 727px" /></a></p>
  538. <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165934.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-4070" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165934-300x169.jpg" alt="20160915_165934" width="729" height="411" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165934-300x169.jpg 300w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165934-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165934-768x432.jpg 768w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165934-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165934-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165934-260x146.jpg 260w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165934-50x28.jpg 50w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165934-133x75.jpg 133w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165934-1200x675.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 729px) 100vw, 729px" /></a></p>
  539. <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165902.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-4068" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165902-300x169.jpg" alt="20160915_165902" width="734" height="413" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165902-300x169.jpg 300w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165902-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165902-768x432.jpg 768w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165902-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165902-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165902-260x146.jpg 260w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165902-50x28.jpg 50w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165902-133x75.jpg 133w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165902-1200x675.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 734px) 100vw, 734px" /></a></p>
  540. <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165826.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-4067" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165826-300x169.jpg" alt="20160915_165826" width="738" height="416" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165826-300x169.jpg 300w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165826-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165826-768x432.jpg 768w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165826-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165826-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165826-260x146.jpg 260w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165826-50x28.jpg 50w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165826-133x75.jpg 133w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20160915_165826-1200x675.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 738px) 100vw, 738px" /></a></p>
  541. <p style="text-align: justify;">Have a good weekend, keep family and friends close, and stop by again next week when we will talk about ?????</p>
  542. <p style="text-align: left;">Robert Novell</p>
  543. <p style="text-align: left;">May 2, 2025</p>
  544. ]]></content:encoded>
  548. </item>
  549. <item>
  550. <title>A look Back at the History of Airline Advertisements, Part Three &#8211; April 25, 2025</title>
  551. <link>https://www.robertnovell.com/the-hydro-aeroplane-and-the-wright-brothers-july-8-2016-2-2-2-2-2-2/</link>
  553. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
  554. <pubDate>Fri, 25 Apr 2025 01:01:00 +0000</pubDate>
  555. <category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
  556. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/?p=6818</guid>
  557.  
  558. <description><![CDATA[RN3DB April 25, 2025 Good Morning, I want to finish up our look back at airline advertisements from the 50&#8217;s and 60&#8217;s. with the third and<span class="excerpt-hellip"> […]</span>]]></description>
  559. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>RN3DB</strong></em></h1>
  560. <h4 style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>April 25, 2025</em></strong></h4>
  561. <p><span id="more-6818"></span></p>
  562. <p class="rtecenter" style="text-align: left;">Good Morning,</p>
  563. <p>I want to finish up our look back at airline advertisements from the 50&#8217;s and 60&#8217;s. with the third and final part&#8230;..enjoy.</p>
  564. <p>Robert Novell</p>
  565. <p>April 25, 2025</p>
  566. <p><a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/eq53eygr6u31qh-1.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-6797" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/eq53eygr6u31qh-1-233x300.jpg" alt="" width="493" height="635" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/eq53eygr6u31qh-1-233x300.jpg 233w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/eq53eygr6u31qh-1-114x146.jpg 114w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/eq53eygr6u31qh-1-39x50.jpg 39w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/eq53eygr6u31qh-1-58x75.jpg 58w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/eq53eygr6u31qh-1.jpg 420w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 493px) 100vw, 493px" /></a></p>
  567. <p><a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/f0sacw7xw3jq3z.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-6795" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/f0sacw7xw3jq3z-215x300.jpg" alt="" width="485" height="677" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/f0sacw7xw3jq3z-215x300.jpg 215w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/f0sacw7xw3jq3z-105x146.jpg 105w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/f0sacw7xw3jq3z-36x50.jpg 36w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/f0sacw7xw3jq3z-54x75.jpg 54w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/f0sacw7xw3jq3z.jpg 420w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 485px) 100vw, 485px" /></a></p>
  568. <p><a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/6qs2cilgx74rzc.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-6787" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/6qs2cilgx74rzc-224x300.jpg" alt="" width="482" height="646" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/6qs2cilgx74rzc-224x300.jpg 224w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/6qs2cilgx74rzc-109x146.jpg 109w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/6qs2cilgx74rzc-37x50.jpg 37w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/6qs2cilgx74rzc-56x75.jpg 56w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/6qs2cilgx74rzc.jpg 420w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 482px) 100vw, 482px" /></a></p>
  569. <p><a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/qrtz9f5su7zx9z.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-6790" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/qrtz9f5su7zx9z-209x300.jpg" alt="" width="485" height="696" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/qrtz9f5su7zx9z-209x300.jpg 209w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/qrtz9f5su7zx9z-102x146.jpg 102w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/qrtz9f5su7zx9z-35x50.jpg 35w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/qrtz9f5su7zx9z-52x75.jpg 52w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/qrtz9f5su7zx9z.jpg 420w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 485px) 100vw, 485px" /></a></p>
  570. <p><a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/pcaxql1xs5n5eq.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-6794" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/pcaxql1xs5n5eq-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="487" height="650" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/pcaxql1xs5n5eq-225x300.jpg 225w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/pcaxql1xs5n5eq-110x146.jpg 110w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/pcaxql1xs5n5eq-38x50.jpg 38w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/pcaxql1xs5n5eq-56x75.jpg 56w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/pcaxql1xs5n5eq.jpg 420w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 487px) 100vw, 487px" /></a></p>
  571. <p><a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/jb3uw9han8g5nt.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-6792" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/jb3uw9han8g5nt-220x300.jpg" alt="" width="482" height="657" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/jb3uw9han8g5nt-220x300.jpg 220w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/jb3uw9han8g5nt-107x146.jpg 107w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/jb3uw9han8g5nt-37x50.jpg 37w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/jb3uw9han8g5nt-55x75.jpg 55w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/jb3uw9han8g5nt.jpg 420w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 482px) 100vw, 482px" /></a></p>
  572. <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/airlines-and-aircraft-ads-1940s/7" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><strong>Click Here For More Ads</strong></em></a></p>
  573. <div id="Wrapper">
  574. <header id="Header">
  575. <div id="Action_bar">
  576. <div class="container">
  577. <div class="column one"></div>
  578. </div>
  579. </div>
  580. <div id="Top_bar" class="">
  581. <div class="container">
  582. <div class="column one">
  583. <div class="top_bar_left clearfix"></div>
  584. </div>
  585. </div>
  586. </div>
  587. </header>
  588. <div id="Content">
  589. <div class="content_wrapper clearfix">
  590. <div class="sections_group">
  591. <div class="section the_content">
  592. <div class="section_wrapper">
  593. <div class="the_content_wrapper">
  594. <div id="gallery-1" class="gallery galleryid-4958 gallery-columns-4 gallery-size-thumbnail">
  595. <dl class="gallery-item">
  596. <dt class="gallery-icon portrait">
  597. <div class="image_frame scale-with-grid">
  598. <div class="image_wrapper"></div>
  599. </div>
  600. </dt>
  601. </dl>
  602. </div>
  603. </div>
  604. </div>
  605. </div>
  606. </div>
  607. </div>
  608. </div>
  609. <footer id="Footer" class="clearfix">
  610. <div class="widgets_wrapper">
  611. <div class="container">
  612. <div class="one-fourth column">
  613. <aside id="nav_menu-2" class="widget widget_nav_menu">
  614. <div class="menu-footer-container"></div>
  615. </aside>
  616. </div>
  617. </div>
  618. </div>
  619. </footer>
  620. </div>
  621. ]]></content:encoded>
  625. </item>
  626. <item>
  627. <title>A look Back at the History of Airline Advertisements, Part Two April 18, 2025</title>
  628. <link>https://www.robertnovell.com/the-hydro-aeroplane-and-the-wright-brothers-july-8-2016-2-2-2-2-2/</link>
  630. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
  631. <pubDate>Fri, 18 Apr 2025 01:10:00 +0000</pubDate>
  632. <category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
  633. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/?p=6808</guid>
  634.  
  635. <description><![CDATA[RN3DB April 18, 2025 Good Morning, Here is Part Two of a look back at airline advertisements from the 50&#8217;s and 60&#8217;s&#8230;&#8230;enjoy. Robert Novell April 18,<span class="excerpt-hellip"> […]</span>]]></description>
  636. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>RN3DB</strong></em></h1>
  637. <h4 style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>April 18, 2025</em></strong></h4>
  638. <p><span id="more-6808"></span></p>
  639. <p class="rtecenter" style="text-align: left;">Good Morning,</p>
  640. <p>Here is Part Two of a look back at airline advertisements from the 50&#8217;s and 60&#8217;s&#8230;&#8230;enjoy.</p>
  641. <p>Robert Novell</p>
  642. <p>April 18, 2025</p>
  643. <p><a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/47p1dwzwewtojh.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-6800" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/47p1dwzwewtojh-216x300.jpg" alt="" width="450" height="625" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/47p1dwzwewtojh-216x300.jpg 216w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/47p1dwzwewtojh-105x146.jpg 105w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/47p1dwzwewtojh-36x50.jpg 36w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/47p1dwzwewtojh-54x75.jpg 54w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/47p1dwzwewtojh.jpg 420w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px" /></a></p>
  644. <p><a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/l06pjvhm5nwnnp.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-6798" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/l06pjvhm5nwnnp-270x300.jpg" alt="" width="469" height="521" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/l06pjvhm5nwnnp-270x300.jpg 270w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/l06pjvhm5nwnnp-131x146.jpg 131w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/l06pjvhm5nwnnp-45x50.jpg 45w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/l06pjvhm5nwnnp-67x75.jpg 67w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/l06pjvhm5nwnnp.jpg 420w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 469px) 100vw, 469px" /></a></p>
  645. <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/fwvn4rxkcq4in1.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-6793" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/fwvn4rxkcq4in1-216x300.jpg" alt="" width="474" height="658" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/fwvn4rxkcq4in1-216x300.jpg 216w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/fwvn4rxkcq4in1-105x146.jpg 105w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/fwvn4rxkcq4in1-36x50.jpg 36w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/fwvn4rxkcq4in1-54x75.jpg 54w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/fwvn4rxkcq4in1.jpg 420w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px" /></a></p>
  646. <p><a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ebl7bwoeqmb8xk.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-6791" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ebl7bwoeqmb8xk-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="470" height="627" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ebl7bwoeqmb8xk-225x300.jpg 225w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ebl7bwoeqmb8xk-110x146.jpg 110w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ebl7bwoeqmb8xk-38x50.jpg 38w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ebl7bwoeqmb8xk-56x75.jpg 56w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ebl7bwoeqmb8xk.jpg 420w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 470px) 100vw, 470px" /></a></p>
  647. <p><a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/qx74s4lzx4qrfj.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-6788" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/qx74s4lzx4qrfj-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="478" height="638" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/qx74s4lzx4qrfj-225x300.jpg 225w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/qx74s4lzx4qrfj-110x146.jpg 110w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/qx74s4lzx4qrfj-38x50.jpg 38w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/qx74s4lzx4qrfj-56x75.jpg 56w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/qx74s4lzx4qrfj.jpg 420w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 478px) 100vw, 478px" /></a></p>
  648. <p><a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ku9ilgc61k1wt1.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-6786" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ku9ilgc61k1wt1-222x300.jpg" alt="" width="481" height="650" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ku9ilgc61k1wt1-222x300.jpg 222w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ku9ilgc61k1wt1-108x146.jpg 108w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ku9ilgc61k1wt1-37x50.jpg 37w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ku9ilgc61k1wt1-56x75.jpg 56w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ku9ilgc61k1wt1.jpg 420w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 481px) 100vw, 481px" /></a></p>
  649. <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/airlines-and-aircraft-ads-1940s/7" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><strong>Click Here For More Ads</strong></em></a></p>
  650. <div id="Wrapper">
  651. <header id="Header">
  652. <div id="Action_bar">
  653. <div class="container">
  654. <div class="column one"></div>
  655. </div>
  656. </div>
  657. <div id="Top_bar" class="">
  658. <div class="container">
  659. <div class="column one">
  660. <div class="top_bar_left clearfix"></div>
  661. </div>
  662. </div>
  663. </div>
  664. </header>
  665. <div id="Content">
  666. <div class="content_wrapper clearfix">
  667. <div class="sections_group">
  668. <div class="section the_content">
  669. <div class="section_wrapper">
  670. <div class="the_content_wrapper">
  671. <div id="gallery-1" class="gallery galleryid-4958 gallery-columns-4 gallery-size-thumbnail">
  672. <dl class="gallery-item">
  673. <dt class="gallery-icon portrait">
  674. <div class="image_frame scale-with-grid">
  675. <div class="image_wrapper"></div>
  676. </div>
  677. </dt>
  678. </dl>
  679. </div>
  680. </div>
  681. </div>
  682. </div>
  683. </div>
  684. </div>
  685. </div>
  686. <footer id="Footer" class="clearfix">
  687. <div class="widgets_wrapper">
  688. <div class="container">
  689. <div class="one-fourth column">
  690. <aside id="nav_menu-2" class="widget widget_nav_menu">
  691. <div class="menu-footer-container"></div>
  692. </aside>
  693. </div>
  694. </div>
  695. </div>
  696. </footer>
  697. </div>
  698. ]]></content:encoded>
  702. </item>
  703. <item>
  704. <title>A look Back at the History of Airline Advertisements &#8211; April 11, 2025</title>
  705. <link>https://www.robertnovell.com/the-hydro-aeroplane-and-the-wright-brothers-july-8-2016-2-2-2-2/</link>
  707. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
  708. <pubDate>Fri, 11 Apr 2025 01:15:00 +0000</pubDate>
  709. <category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
  710. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/?p=6802</guid>
  711.  
  712. <description><![CDATA[RN3DB April 11, 2025 Good Morning, Today I want to compare the ads for the airline industry with a look back at how they sold their<span class="excerpt-hellip"> […]</span>]]></description>
  713. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>RN3DB</strong></em></h1>
  714. <h4 style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>April 11, 2025</em></strong></h4>
  715. <p><span id="more-6802"></span></p>
  716. <p class="rtecenter" style="text-align: left;">Good Morning,</p>
  717. <p>Today I want to compare the ads for the airline industry with a look back at how they sold their services in the 50s and 60s&#8230;&#8230;enjoy.</p>
  718. <p>Robert Novell</p>
  719. <p>April 11, 2025</p>
  720. <p><a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/3t5v0p2v1ikuxo.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-6782 aligncenter" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/3t5v0p2v1ikuxo-220x300.jpg" alt="" width="420" height="573" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/3t5v0p2v1ikuxo-220x300.jpg 220w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/3t5v0p2v1ikuxo-107x146.jpg 107w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/3t5v0p2v1ikuxo-37x50.jpg 37w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/3t5v0p2v1ikuxo-55x75.jpg 55w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/3t5v0p2v1ikuxo.jpg 420w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px" /></a></p>
  721. <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/xdzbnmxzo49c6p.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone  wp-image-6783" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/xdzbnmxzo49c6p-181x300.jpg" alt="" width="412" height="683" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/xdzbnmxzo49c6p-181x300.jpg 181w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/xdzbnmxzo49c6p-88x146.jpg 88w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/xdzbnmxzo49c6p-30x50.jpg 30w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/xdzbnmxzo49c6p-45x75.jpg 45w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/xdzbnmxzo49c6p.jpg 420w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 412px) 100vw, 412px" /></a></p>
  722. <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/uce4l3tdoalwkz.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-6785 aligncenter" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/uce4l3tdoalwkz-214x300.jpg" alt="" width="408" height="572" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/uce4l3tdoalwkz-214x300.jpg 214w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/uce4l3tdoalwkz-104x146.jpg 104w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/uce4l3tdoalwkz-36x50.jpg 36w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/uce4l3tdoalwkz-54x75.jpg 54w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/uce4l3tdoalwkz.jpg 420w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 408px) 100vw, 408px" /></a></p>
  723. <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/s0mjr9in44ey3r.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone  wp-image-6784" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/s0mjr9in44ey3r-216x300.jpg" alt="" width="398" height="553" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/s0mjr9in44ey3r-216x300.jpg 216w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/s0mjr9in44ey3r-105x146.jpg 105w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/s0mjr9in44ey3r-36x50.jpg 36w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/s0mjr9in44ey3r-54x75.jpg 54w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/s0mjr9in44ey3r.jpg 420w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 398px) 100vw, 398px" /></a></p>
  724. <p><a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/oo5foomgydfi5s.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-6789 aligncenter" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/oo5foomgydfi5s-247x300.jpg" alt="" width="409" height="497" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/oo5foomgydfi5s-247x300.jpg 247w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/oo5foomgydfi5s-120x146.jpg 120w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/oo5foomgydfi5s-41x50.jpg 41w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/oo5foomgydfi5s-62x75.jpg 62w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/oo5foomgydfi5s.jpg 420w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 409px) 100vw, 409px" /></a></p>
  725. <p><a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/xow0vyzo1tdnxt.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-6801 aligncenter" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/xow0vyzo1tdnxt-212x300.jpg" alt="" width="424" height="600" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/xow0vyzo1tdnxt-212x300.jpg 212w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/xow0vyzo1tdnxt-103x146.jpg 103w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/xow0vyzo1tdnxt-35x50.jpg 35w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/xow0vyzo1tdnxt-53x75.jpg 53w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/xow0vyzo1tdnxt.jpg 419w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 424px) 100vw, 424px" /></a></p>
  726. <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/airlines-and-aircraft-ads-1940s/7" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><strong>Click Here For More Ads</strong></em></a></p>
  727. <div id="Wrapper">
  728. <header id="Header">
  729. <div id="Action_bar">
  730. <div class="container">
  731. <div class="column one"></div>
  732. </div>
  733. </div>
  734. <div id="Top_bar" class="">
  735. <div class="container">
  736. <div class="column one">
  737. <div class="top_bar_left clearfix"></div>
  738. </div>
  739. </div>
  740. </div>
  741. </header>
  742. <div id="Content">
  743. <div class="content_wrapper clearfix">
  744. <div class="sections_group">
  745. <div class="section the_content">
  746. <div class="section_wrapper">
  747. <div class="the_content_wrapper">
  748. <div id="gallery-1" class="gallery galleryid-4958 gallery-columns-4 gallery-size-thumbnail">
  749. <dl class="gallery-item">
  750. <dt class="gallery-icon portrait">
  751. <div class="image_frame scale-with-grid">
  752. <div class="image_wrapper"></div>
  753. </div>
  754. </dt>
  755. </dl>
  756. </div>
  757. </div>
  758. </div>
  759. </div>
  760. </div>
  761. </div>
  762. </div>
  763. <footer id="Footer" class="clearfix">
  764. <div class="widgets_wrapper">
  765. <div class="container">
  766. <div class="one-fourth column">
  767. <aside id="nav_menu-2" class="widget widget_nav_menu">
  768. <div class="menu-footer-container"></div>
  769. </aside>
  770. </div>
  771. </div>
  772. </div>
  773. </footer>
  774. </div>
  775. ]]></content:encoded>
  779. </item>
  780. <item>
  781. <title>Boeing and the Queen of the Skies &#8211; April 4, 2025</title>
  782. <link>https://www.robertnovell.com/a-day-of-celebration-for-all-aviators-and-for-all-who-are-beneficiaries-of-the-technology-july-22-2016/</link>
  784. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
  785. <pubDate>Fri, 04 Apr 2025 01:05:00 +0000</pubDate>
  786. <category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
  787. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/?p=3962</guid>
  788.  
  789. <description><![CDATA[RN3DB.com April 4, 2025 Good Morning, We all benefit from the products produced by aircraft manufacturers just as we benefit from auto manufacturing and all of<span class="excerpt-hellip"> […]</span>]]></description>
  790. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 align="center"><em><strong>RN3DB.com</strong></em></h1>
  791. <h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>April 4, 2025</strong></em></h3>
  792. <p><span id="more-3962"></span></p>
  793. <p style="text-align: justify;">Good Morning,</p>
  794. <p style="text-align: justify;">We all benefit from the products produced by aircraft manufacturers just as we benefit from auto manufacturing and all of the companies who produce the consumer products that we all enjoy; however, as a person who has traveled the world for the last forty years I can say, without hesitation, that we need to take a minute and reflect on just how lucky we are to have been a part of the 20th/21st century.</p>
  795. <p style="text-align: justify;">Consider now, the the following from Boeing&#8217;s website and how they bring perspective to the facts. Enjoy&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.</p>
  796. <h1 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>A Century In The Sky</strong></em></h1>
  797. <p style="text-align: justify;">Born about one hundred years ago, the aerospace industry changed the way we travel, move our goods, and protect our nations during times of war. The view from above also changed forever how we see the world. Now, after a century of flight, it has brought us to the moon, and beyond, and the sky is no longer the limit.</p>
  798. <p class="sectintro one" style="text-align: justify;">It can be argued, of course, that the history of human flight stretches as far back as the myth of Daedalus and Icarus, or Leonardo da Vinci’s designs of the 15th century, or the 19th-century invention of Zeppelin dirigibles. But flight as we know it today—in fixed-wing airplanes—began in the early 20th century, as entrepreneurs and engineers including William E. Boeing, Donald Douglas Sr., James H. &#8220;Dutch&#8221; Kindelberger, and James S. McDonnell began to build on what the Wright Brothers had started not so long before.</p>
  799. <p style="text-align: justify;">Boeing’s first projects had a practical focus: Beginning in 1919, the B-1, Boeing’s first commercial craft, would carry mail from Seattle to Canada for the next eight years. In 1927, the Boeing Model 40A would be designed specifically for the purpose of mail delivery, winning a U.S. Post Office contract to deliver mail between San Francisco and Chicago.</p>
  800. <p style="text-align: justify;">To operate its growing airmail business, Boeing Air Transport (BAT) was founded in 1927. After a series of acquisitions and mergers and passage of the Air Mail Act of 1934, BAT would give birth to United Airlines.</p>
  801. <p class="four" style="text-align: justify;">At the same time, pilots and engineers around the world were spending much of the 1920s pushing the physical limits and durability of airplanes. The U.S. Army Air Service’s “World Flyers” completed the first aerial circumnavigation of the globe in 1924; Charles Lindbergh made the first solo non-stop crossing of the Atlantic in 1927; in 1930, Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm became the first pilots to circle the earth whose route took them over both the northern and southern hemispheres; and Amelia Earhart made history as the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic in 1932.</p>
  802. <p style="text-align: justify;">Throughout the 1920s, Boeing was developing multiple airplane models—fighter planes and transports—in contract with the U.S. military. At the same time, scientists and engineers in Germany and Britain had begun research on the next innovation in flight: the jet engine, which would become standard by the 1950s.</p>
  803. <p style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/sponsored/boeing-2015/a-century-in-the-sky/652/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read More</a></strong></em></p>
  804. <p style="text-align: justify;">There is a lot that can be said at this point, and as a pilot who enjoyed being at the controls of the 747 which I consider to be the finest airplane flying I could say a lot, but let&#8217;s take a look at two videos that have those facts. The first video is all about William Edward Boeing, and the second video will talk about Boeing, and AIrbus.</p>
  805. <h1 align="center"><iframe loading="lazy" src="//players.brightcove.net/800000612001/HkfKZsVmQ_default/index.html?videoId=1213225988001" width="600" height="400" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></h1>
  806. <p>&nbsp;</p>
  807. <h1 align="center"><iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sBOD3rpWhZA?si=R4SJphHxsW2EIGmM" width="600" height="400" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></h1>
  808. <p style="text-align: justify;">Have a good weekend, enjoy time with family and friends, and take a few moments to reflect back on the history of aviation and the value that has been added to the lives of each and every person of our time.</p>
  809. <p style="text-align: justify;">Robert Novell</p>
  810. <p style="text-align: justify;">April 4, 2025</p>
  811. ]]></content:encoded>
  815. </item>
  816. <item>
  817. <title>The Battle for North Atlantic Routes &#8211; A Few Forgotten Facts &#8211; March 28, 2025</title>
  818. <link>https://www.robertnovell.com/the-battle-for-north-atlantic-routes-a-few-forgotten-facts-august-7-2015-2/</link>
  820. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
  821. <pubDate>Fri, 28 Mar 2025 01:15:00 +0000</pubDate>
  822. <category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
  823. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/?p=5987</guid>
  824.  
  825. <description><![CDATA[RN3DB March 28, 2025 Good Morning, Welcome to the 3DB and Happy Friday, Today I want to talk about how American Airlines cracked Pan Am&#8217;s monopoly<span class="excerpt-hellip"> […]</span>]]></description>
  826. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="stcpDiv">
  827. <h1 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>RN3DB<br />
  828. </strong></em></h1>
  829. <h4 style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>March 28, 2025</em></strong></h4>
  830. <p><span id="more-5987"></span></p>
  831. <p style="text-align: justify;">Good Morning,</p>
  832. <p style="text-align: justify;">Welcome to the 3DB and Happy Friday,</p>
  833. <p style="text-align: justify;">Today I want to talk about how American Airlines cracked Pan Am&#8217;s monopoly on the North Atlantic routes in to Europe back in the 1950s. As we have discussed previously, Pan Am was the chosen instrument by the US on all international routes; however, there was another player that did manage to crack the code and it was this player that allowed AA to enter the European market. So, who was the player that I speak of &#8211; American Export Airlines is the company and below is a brief overview of that company.</p>
  834. <h1 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>American Export Airlines</strong></em></h1>
  835. <p style="text-align: justify;">American Export Airlines (AEA) was established in 1937 by the shipping company, American Export Lines, with the goal of establishing a North Atlantic flying boat route. Dr. Edward P. Warner (1894-1958), an American aviation pioneer and one of the leading figures in world air transport systems, was engaged by AEA to prepare reports on possible North Atlantic routes.</p>
  836. <p style="text-align: justify;">Warner produced reports in 1937 and 1938 but AEA was not able to start their New York &#8211; Ireland flying boat service until June of 1942, due in part to stiff resistance from Pan American. In 1945 AEA was awarded transatlantic rights covering northern Europe, and the airline cut its strings with the shipping company.</p>
  837. <p style="text-align: justify;">In November 1948, AEA merged with American Airlines to become American Overseas Airlines (AOA) and Pan American purchased AOA from American in 1950 and merged their aircraft, and routes, in to their system. American wouldn&#8217;t serve Europe again for over 30 years, until it launched DFW-London Gatwick services in 1982.</p>
  838. <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://airandspace.si.edu/collections/artifact.cfm?object=siris_arc_270691" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em><strong>Source Document</strong></em></a></p>
  839. <h1 style="text-align: center;"><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nTJ8vz5eNEM" width="600" height="400" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></h1>
  840. <p style="text-align: justify;">Enjoy the photos/ads below and&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;have a good weekend, enjoy time with family and friends, and remember life is short&#8230;..too short.</p>
  841. <p style="text-align: justify;">Robert Novell</p>
  842. <p style="text-align: justify;">Marc 28, 2025</p>
  843. <p><a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/63666-AOA-pamphlet-November-2009.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-3034 aligncenter" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/63666-AOA-pamphlet-November-2009-300x131.jpg" alt="63666-AOA pamphlet November 2009" width="527" height="230" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/63666-AOA-pamphlet-November-2009-300x131.jpg 300w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/63666-AOA-pamphlet-November-2009-768x336.jpg 768w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/63666-AOA-pamphlet-November-2009-260x114.jpg 260w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/63666-AOA-pamphlet-November-2009-50x22.jpg 50w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/63666-AOA-pamphlet-November-2009-150x66.jpg 150w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/63666-AOA-pamphlet-November-2009.jpg 800w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 527px) 100vw, 527px" /></a></p>
  844. <p><a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/ao450515.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-3033 aligncenter" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/ao450515-135x300.jpg" alt="ao450515" width="305" height="678" /></a></p>
  845. <p><a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/AOA-1.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-3030 aligncenter" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/AOA-1-172x300.jpg" alt="AOA-1" width="472" height="823" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/AOA-1-172x300.jpg 172w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/AOA-1-588x1024.jpg 588w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/AOA-1-84x146.jpg 84w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/AOA-1-29x50.jpg 29w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/AOA-1-43x75.jpg 43w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/AOA-1.jpg 625w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 472px) 100vw, 472px" /></a></p>
  846. <p><a href="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/AOA.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-3031 aligncenter" src="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/AOA-121x300.jpg" alt="AOA" width="317" height="786" srcset="https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/AOA-121x300.jpg 121w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/AOA-59x146.jpg 59w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/AOA-20x50.jpg 20w, https://www.robertnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/AOA-30x75.jpg 30w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 317px) 100vw, 317px" /></a></p>
  847. </div>
  848. ]]></content:encoded>
  852. </item>
  853. <item>
  854. <title>Civil Air Transport and Claire Chennault- March 21, 2025</title>
  855. <link>https://www.robertnovell.com/civil-air-transport-and-claire-chennault-march-21-2025/</link>
  857. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
  858. <pubDate>Fri, 21 Mar 2025 01:10:54 +0000</pubDate>
  859. <category><![CDATA[Aviation Beyond Airlines]]></category>
  860. <category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
  861. <category><![CDATA[Aviators Mindset]]></category>
  862. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/?p=1720</guid>
  863.  
  864. <description><![CDATA[RN3DB March 21, 2025 Good Morning and Happy Friday, Today I want to talk about the founder of an airline called CAT, and a brief history<span class="excerpt-hellip"> […]</span>]]></description>
  865. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="stcpDiv" style="text-align: center;">
  866. <h1><em><strong>RN3DB</strong></em></h1>
  867. <h4><em><strong>March 21, 2025</strong></em></h4>
  868. <p><span id="more-1720"></span></p>
  869. <p style="text-align: left;">Good Morning and Happy Friday,</p>
  870. <p style="text-align: left;">Today I want to talk about the founder of an airline called CAT, and a brief history of who they were and what they did. Most of this article was  taken from their website, as well as I have an article on the man who was responsible for engineering the network of airlines operated by the CIA. Interesting history and the work that CAT did made a big difference in the world we live in today.</p>
  871. <p style="text-align: left;">Enjoy&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.</p>
  872. <p style="text-align: left;"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter" src="http://www.catassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/CAT-Web-Default-Logo.png" alt="" width="600" height="97" /></p>
  873. <p style="text-align: justify;">Civil Air Transport (CAT) was a unique airline formed in China after World War II by General Claire Lee Chennault, leader of the Flying Tigers, and Whiting Willauer of the China Defense Supplies (CDS).  They purchased war surplus cargo planes, enrolled WWII veterans, and wound up with an enthusiastic, colorful group of former Flying Tiger aces and CAT airmen from the U.S. Army Air Corps, Navy and Marine Corps.  Many had been highly decorated.  Operating under the aegis of the China National Rehabilitation and Relief Association (CNRRA), CAT distributed food and medicine to the interior of China where roads, railways and bridges had been destroyed by Japan’s Imperial Air Force.</p>
  874. <p style="text-align: justify;">United Nations relief supplies overwhelmed the docks of Shanghai with no way to distribute them inland except by navigable rivers and air.  When China’s Communist 8th Army besieged China’s northern cities, we delivered arms, ammo and food to the defenders and returned to Tsingtao with refugees and wounded soldiers.  By the end of 1947, our first year, we had rescued 22,000 refugees and 4,500 wounded Nationalist soldiers from Communist dominated territories.  Many of the reinforcements we flew north were draftees of the Nationalist China Youth Corps.  They boarded our C-46s in Tsingtao carrying rifles from the First World War and parchment umbrellas.  Tin drinking cups dangled from belts of hand grenades and they wore sneakers, and ever-present military police prevented the kids from deserting.  We then knew that Nationalist China faced trouble, and Chennault and CAT would be drawn into China’s Civil War, and Chennault would help Chiang Kai-shek resist the spread of a Communist police state.</p>
  875. <p style="text-align: justify;">The other two Chinese airlines, Central Air Transport Corporation (CATC) and China National Aviation Corporation (CNAC) flew alongside us in the distribution of food and medicine, and battling the Communists, but when it became apparent that China was losing its northern cities and the Yangtze River was about to be crossed by Mao’s Eighth Army, the Chinese Board of Directors of the other two airlines defected to Beijing, eager to be first in the development of the People’s airline.  In a surprise departure from Hong Kong, with their corporate officers aboard, CATC and CNAC headed north to Bejing, the newly formed capital of Red China, leaving 71 airliners of their fleet in Hong Kong where laborers furiously piled spare parts on the People’s newly acquired planes.  General Chennault’s friends had warned him that the new People’s Republic had asked the Soviets for transport planes but had been denied; and when he witnessed the action around the 71 airliners, our leader envisioned a paratrooper attack on Taiwan.  Whiting Willauer, a brilliant admiralty lawyer, found a way to ground the planes in Britain’s Crown Colony, thus denying Red China the means of an airborne invasion.</p>
  876. <p style="text-align: justify;">With typical American / Chinese innovation, our WWII landing ship was converted to a sea-going aircraft maintenance and repair factory.  Magnifluxing tanks with instruments for detecting hidden cracks in landing gear struts and other heavy structures were operable at sea.  Machine shops, propeller repair and balancing devices, high-pressure hydraulic test lines, a carpenter shop, an air-conditioned shop for the repair of delicate aircraft instruments, a parachute loft and medical clinic were capable of going full-blast while dodging Red invaders.  It had reached the safety of Taiwan with a barge full of spare parts in tow.</p>
  877. <p style="text-align: justify;">We provided hope to thousands of freedom-loving war refugees by flying them to Taipei.  We rescued the Government’s Bank of China silver ingots.  And we had precluded a brain drain by supporting doomed cities until its city fathers arranged orderly departures to the island of Taiwan, a 240-mile long island approximately 90 miles east of the China Mainland.  But we had become an airline with no place to go.  It was springtime, 1950.  We didn’t know that another war was imminent.  Chennault and Willauer sold their airline to the U.S. Government for a song.  Our status as an occasional contractor to the CIA was over.  CAT was now the bona fide Air Arm of the CIA, a dynamic instrument of America’s foreign policy in Asia.  Legally we became employees of the U.S. Government, albeit secret.  Our cover was CAT’s passenger schedule which continued, while the CIA’s covert flights appeared to be CAT’s cargo charters.</p>
  878. <p><a href="http://www.catassociation.org/history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em><strong>Source Document</strong></em></a></p>
  879. </div>
  880. <p style="text-align: center;"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter" src="http://www.madcowprod.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/doole1.jpg" alt="" width="667" height="308" />(Monument to a private man: the airplane hangar in the Arizona desert named after George Doole, founder of the CIA&#8217;s &#8220;Shy Airline&#8221;)</p>
  881. <div style="text-align: left;">
  882. <p style="text-align: justify;">It looms up out of the cactus and tumbleweed like a vast tombstone: a sprawling airplane hangar, 60,000 sq. ft., large enough to house a 747, edging up to the shimmering tarmac of a remote airfield in the Arizona desert, 90 miles southeast of Phoenix. On a wall within is a 4 ft.-by-3 ft. plaque that reads &#8220;George Arntzen Doole (1909-1985). Founder, Chief Executive Officer, Board of Directors of Air America Inc., Air Asia Company Limited, Civil Air Transport Company Limited.&#8221; The plaque is the only memorial to a man who created and ran what was once one of the largest airlines in the free world. The air- line was known by half a dozen different names, sometimes just as the &#8220;Shy Air- line,&#8221; and it flew where few tourists want- ed to go. Passengers were often obliged to exit by parachute.</p>
  883. <p style="text-align: justify;">George Doole died as he had lived, in anonymity. When he passed away on March 9, 1985, in Washington at the age of 75, there was no formal obituary in the Washington Post or the New York Times, no memorial service, no flowers. He was quietly buried at a private funeral in Liberty, IL. &#8220;No one ever knew where he came from,&#8221; says Russell Adams, a re- tired Pan Am vice president who occasionally dined with Doole at the International Club in Washington. &#8220;No one knew he was dying. No one even knew he was sick.&#8221; Doole preferred it that way. When he entered Washington Hospital Center last year, he told his sisters back in Illinois that he was suffering from a hernia. In fact, he had terminal cancer.</p>
  884. <p style="text-align: justify;">A portly, tastefully dressed man, Doole was at once reserved, even shy, yet highly sociable. The lifelong bachelor often squired wealthy widows to embassy dances in the capital. &#8220;George Doole? Oh, he was a perfect gentleman,&#8221; recalls one consort, Irene Evans. At the Chevy Chase Club, a Wasp bastion in a well-to-do Maryland suburb, Doole sometimes liked to while away afternoons playing bridge and backgammon. He usually won. &#8220;George? Well, he was quite a boy,&#8221; chuckles a fellow clubman, retired Rear Admiral Raymond Hunter.</p>
  885. <p style="text-align: justify;">But just what did he do? &#8220;I rather thought he was in investments,&#8221; says Margaret Wimsatt, who often invited Doole to share Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner with her family. &#8220;He was a bit mysterious. I remember at a party at the Chinese embassy, he spent an awful lot of time talking to the Taiwanese ambassador. I asked him why, and he just said, &#8216;We had a lot to talk about.&#8217; He would sort of peer at you through those thick black- rimmed glasses.&#8221; Once, she recalled, she mentioned the name Richard Helms, former director of the CIA. &#8220;Do you know him from the Chevy Chase Club?&#8221; inquired Wimsatt. &#8220;Oh, I know him better than that,&#8221; said Doole.</p>
  886. <p style="text-align: justify;">Doole lived in one of the most elegant apartment buildings in Washington, the Westchester, but he never invited any guests there, and he refused to give the management a key. Actually, there was little to see inside. Just a bed, some maps and rows of locked filing cabinets.</p>
  887. <p style="text-align: justify;">To Washington society matrons, Doole seemed the very image of discreet old money. In fact, he grew up<br />
  888. poor, of strict and frugal Lutheran parents, on a 160-acre hog and chicken farm in Liberty. He went to aggie school at the University of Illinois, where he kept to himself. &#8220;We were not real buddy-buddy,&#8221; says his sister Mildred Nation. &#8220;We minded our own business.&#8221; Winning a commission in the Army in 1931, Doole learned how to fly airplanes. He later became a pilot for Pan Am, at first flying old Ford Trimotors on the Guatemala-to-Panama run. Along about 1953-no one seems quite sure when Doole made an unusual career move. He went to work for the Central Intelligence Agency.</p>
  889. <p style="text-align: justify;">Officially, the CIA says it has no record that Doole ever worked there, but among old agency hands, he is a legend. Operating out of a small, nondescript office on Connecticut Avenue, he founded and ran a far-flung network of airlines that the agency used to carry out its covert operations all over the world. Owned by a holding company, the Pacific Corp., that was itself a CIA front, Doole&#8217;s empire included Air America, Civil Air Transport, Southern Air Transport, Air Asia and dozens of small puddle-jumper lines. Together, at their peak in the mid &#8217;60s, these CIA &#8220;proprietaries&#8221; added up to an airline that was almost the size of TWA, employing nearly 20,000 people (as many as the CIA itself) and operating some 200 planes. Even the CIA was not sure just how many. Asked by then Deputy Director Helms to account for all the planes in Doole&#8217;s regime, a staffer spent three months on the project before confessing that he could never be more than 90% certain. The problem, explained the exasperated staffer, was that Doole was forever leasing planes between his shell corporations and changing their markings and tail numbers.</p>
  890. <p style="text-align: justify;">Traveling around the world, orchestrating his vast air armada, Doole kept his airplanes busy. Under the cover of legitimate freight and charter services, Doole&#8217;s airlines supplied a 30,000-man secret army in the mountains of Laos for a ten-year war against the Pathet Lao, dropped scores of agents into Red China, and helped stage an unsuccessful revolt in Indonesia. Not surprisingly, all this flying about aroused curiosity. In 1970 a New York Times reporter asked Doole if Air America had any connection with the CIA. &#8220;If &#8216;someone out there&#8217; is behind all this,&#8221; Doole airily replied, &#8220;we don&#8217;t know about it.&#8221;</p>
  891. <p style="text-align: justify;">Doole&#8217;s pilots, who flew in and out of tiny jungle fields in abysmal weather and sometimes under enemy fire, were a raffish lot. They referred to the CIA as &#8220;the customer,&#8221; the ammunition they dropped as &#8220;hard rice&#8221; and being under heavy fire as &#8220;sporty.&#8221; Brushes with death were described as &#8220;fascinating.&#8221; To be &#8220;absolutely fascinated&#8221; meant scared witless.</p>
  892. <p style="text-align: justify;">Doole would appear from time to time at CIA bases from Vientiane to Panama City, but he stayed aloof from the pilots, many of whom regarded him as a bit of a snob. &#8220;I never saw the man without a tie on,&#8221; scoffs one. Doole played bridge, flew airplanes and did business deals the same way: slowly and deliberately. &#8220;The Chinese liked to negotiate with him,&#8221; recalls a former CIA official. &#8220;He was polite; he never showed any excitement. But he was tough.&#8221;</p>
  893. <p style="text-align: justify;">When the extent of the CIA&#8217;s covert operations was revealed by newspaper exposés and congressional hearings in the early &#8217;70s, the agency was forced to dismantle Doole&#8217;s huge aerial empire and sell off the various planes and airfields. It was done at a profit; the agency turned over $20 million to the U.S. Treasury. Doole also did well by himself. Though he earned a government salary as a CIA employee, he augmented his income by investing, shrewdly, in the stock market. His estate when he died was worth &#8220;several million dollars,&#8221; according to a sister.</p>
  894. <p style="text-align: justify;">In 1971 Doole retired from the CIA. Formally, that is. He kept his hand in the aviation business as a director of Evergreen International Aviation, a company that refits and charters airplanes. Though Evergreen bought Intermountain Aviation, one of Doole&#8217;s CIA &#8220;proprietaries,&#8221; in 1975, the company insists that it has had nothing further to do with the agency. Perhaps. But when the dying Shah of Iran wanted to fly from Panama to Egypt in 1980, he flew on a chartered Evergreen DC-8. Doole arranged the charter.</p>
  895. <p style="text-align: justify;">The airfield in the Arizona desert where Evergreen opened its huge hangar last year, the George A. Doole Aviation Center, was once owned by the CIA. Today Evergreen workmen repair and refit commercial airliners from Pan Am, American and Emery Air Freight. It all seems perfectly ordinary and unexceptional, rather like the George Doole who enjoyed playing bridge at the Chevy Chase Club and dancing with wealthy widows. There is probably nothing remarkable about those two unmarked black Chinook helicopters that took off from a far corner of the airfield not long ago and headed south. -By Evan Thomas</p>
  896. <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.air-america.org/index.php/en/15-about-air-america/articles/76-spymaster" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em><strong>Source Document</strong></em></a></p>
  897. <p>Have a good weekend, take some time to enjoy life with family and friends, and remember &#8211; protect yourself, protect your family, and protect your profession.</p>
  898. <p>Robert Novell</p>
  899. <p>March 21, 2025</p>
  900. </div>
  901. ]]></content:encoded>
  905. </item>
  906. <item>
  907. <title>Aviation History That You Should Know &#8211; March 14, 2025</title>
  908. <link>https://www.robertnovell.com/aviation-history-that-you-should-know-april-10-2015/</link>
  910. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Novell]]></dc:creator>
  911. <pubDate>Fri, 14 Mar 2025 01:15:00 +0000</pubDate>
  912. <category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
  913. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/?p=2559</guid>
  914.  
  915. <description><![CDATA[RN3DB March 14, 2025 Good Morning and Happy Friday, This week I want to share with you an email that I received from a friend. I<span class="excerpt-hellip"> […]</span>]]></description>
  916. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 align="center"><em><strong>RN3DB</strong></em></h1>
  917. <h4 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>March 14, 2025</strong></em></h4>
  918. <p><span id="more-2559"></span></p>
  919. <p style="text-align: justify;">Good Morning and Happy Friday,</p>
  920. <p style="text-align: justify;">This week I want to share with you an email that I received from a friend. I think you will find this personal account very interesting and well worth keeping for a reference.</p>
  921. <p style="text-align: justify;">Enjoy………………………………</p>
  922. <h3 align="center"><strong><em>INTERESTING EARLY AMERICAN</em></strong></h3>
  923. <h3 align="center"><strong><em>AVIATION HISTORY</em></strong></h3>
  924. <p style="text-align: justify;">How many of you know that in 1910, mighty Martin Marietta got its start in an abandoned California church? That&#8217;s where Glenn L. Martin with his amazing mother Minta Martin, and their mechanic Roy Beal, constructed a fragile biplane that Glenn used to teach himself to fly.</p>
  925. <p style="text-align: justify;">It has often been told how Douglas Aircraft started operations in 1920 in a barbershop&#8217;s backroom on L.A.&#8217;s Pico Boulevard.  Interestingly, the barber-shop is still operating.</p>
  926. <p style="text-align: justify;">The Lockheed Company built the first of their famous Vegas&#8217; in 1927 inside a building currently used by Victory Cleaners at 1040 Sycamore in Hollywood.</p>
  927. <p style="text-align: justify;">In 1922, Claude Ryan, a 24 year old military reserve pilot, was getting his hair cut in San Diego when the barber mentioned that the &#8216;town&#8217;s aviator&#8217; was in jail for smuggling Chinese illegal’s up from Mexico. Claude found out that if he replaced the pilot &#8216;sitting in the pokey,&#8217; that he would be able to lease the town&#8217;s airfield for $50 a month &#8211; <em>but</em> he also had to agree to fly North and East &#8211; not South!</p>
  928. <p style="text-align: justify;">Northrop&#8217;s original location was an obscure Southern California hotel. It was available because the police had raided the hotel and found that its steady residents were money-minded gals entertaining transit male hotel guests.</p>
  929. <p style="text-align: justify;">Glenn Martin built his first airplane in a vacant church before he moved to a vacant apricot cannery in Santa Ana. He was a showman and he traveled the county fair, and air meet circuit, as an exhibitionist aviator. From his exhibition proceeds Glenn was able to pay his factory workers and purchase the necessary wood, linen, and wire.</p>
  930. <p style="text-align: justify;">His mother, Minta, and two men ran the factory while Glenn risked his neck and gadded about the country. One of his workers was 22-year old Donald Douglas, who <em>was</em> the entire engineering department. A Santa Monica youngster named Larry Bell, later founded Bell Aircraft which today is Bell Helicopter Textron, ran the shop.</p>
  931. <p style="text-align: justify;">Another part of Glenn Martin&#8217;s business was a flying school with several planes based at Griffith Park, and a seaplane operation on the edge of Watts where his instructors taught a rich young man named Bill Boeing to fly.</p>
  932. <p style="text-align: justify;">Later, Boeing bought one of Glenn Martin&#8217;s seaplanes and had it shipped back to his home in Seattle.  At this same time, Bill Boeing hired away Glenn&#8217;s personal mechanic.  Later, after Boeing&#8217;s seaplane crashed in Puget Sound, he placed an order to Martin for replacement parts.</p>
  933. <p style="text-align: justify;">Still chafing from having his best mechanic &#8216;swiped,&#8217; a trick he later often used himself, Martin decided to take his sweet time and allowed Bill Boeing to &#8216;stew&#8217; for a while. Bill Boeing wasn&#8217;t known to be a patient man, so he began fabricating his own aircraft parts, an activity that morphed into constructing entire airplanes and eventually the Boeing Company we know today.</p>
  934. <p style="text-align: justify;">A former small shipyard nicknamed &#8216;Red Barn&#8217; became Boeing Aircraft&#8217;s first home.  Soon, a couple of airplanes were being built inside, each of them having a remarkable resemblance to Glenn Martin&#8217;s airplanes that, interestingly had its own remarkable resemblance to Glenn Curtiss&#8217; airplanes.</p>
  935. <p style="text-align: justify;">A few years later, when the Great depression intervened and Boeing couldn&#8217;t sell enough airplanes to pay his bills, he diversified into custom built speed boats and furniture for his wealthy friends.</p>
  936. <p style="text-align: justify;">After WWI, a bunch of sharpies from Wall Street gained control of the Wright Brothers Co in Dayton and the Martin Company in L.A. and &#8216;stuck them&#8217; together as the Wright-Martin Company.</p>
  937. <p style="text-align: justify;">Wright-Martin began building an obsolete biplane design with a foreign Hispano-Suiza engine.  Angered because he had been out maneuvered with a bad idea, Martin walked out taking Larry Bell and other key employees with him.</p>
  938. <p style="text-align: justify;">From the deep wallet of a wealthy baseball mogul, Martin was able to establish a new factory. Then his good luck continued, when the future aviation legend Donald Douglas, was persuaded by Glenn to join his team. The Martin MB-1 quickly emerged from the team&#8217;s efforts and became the Martin Bomber.</p>
  939. <p style="text-align: justify;">Although too late to enter WWI, the Martin Bomber showed its superiority when Billy Mitchell used it to sink several captured German battleships and cruisers to prove its worth.  He was later court martialed for his effort.</p>
  940. <p style="text-align: justify;">In Cleveland, a young fellow called &#8216;Dutch&#8217; Kindelberger joined Martin as an engineer.  Later, as the leader of North American Aviation, Dutch became justifiably well-known.</p>
  941. <p style="text-align: justify;">Flashing back to 1920, Donald Douglas had saved $60,000, returned to L.A. and rented a barbershop&#8217;s rear room and loft space in a carpenter&#8217;s shop nearby. There he constructed a classic passenger airplane called the Douglas Cloudster.</p>
  942. <p style="text-align: justify;">A couple of years later, Claude Ryan bought the Cloudster and used it to make daily flights between San Diego and Los Angeles. This gave Ryan the distinction of being the first owner/operator of Douglas transports. Claude Ryan later custom built Charles Lindbergh&#8217;s &#8216;ride&#8217; to fame in the flying fuel tank christened: The Spirit of St. Louis.</p>
  943. <p style="text-align: justify;">In 1922, Donald Douglas won a contract from the Navy to build several torpedo carrying aircraft. While driving through Santa Monica&#8217;s wilderness, Douglas noticed an abandoned, barn-like movie studio. He stopped his roadster and prowled around. That abandoned studio became Douglas Aircraft&#8217;s first real factory.</p>
  944. <p style="text-align: justify;">With the $120,000 contract in his hand, Donald Douglas could afford to hire one or two more engineers. My brother, Gordon Scott, had been schooled in the little known science of aviation at England&#8217;s Fairey Aviation, so he hired Gordon.</p>
  945. <p style="text-align: justify;">My first association with the early aviation pioneers occurred when I paid my brother a visit at his new work place. Gordon was outside on a ladder washing windows. He was the youngest engineer. Windows were dirty. And Douglas Aircraft Company had no money to pay janitors.</p>
  946. <p style="text-align: justify;">Gordon introduced me to a towhead guy called Jack Northrop, and another chap named Jerry Vultee.  Jack Northrop had moved over from Lockheed Aircraft.  And all of them worked together on the Douglas Aircraft&#8217;s world cruiser designs.</p>
  947. <p style="text-align: justify;">While working in his home after work and on weekends, Jack designed a wonderfully advanced streamlined airplane. When Allan Loughead [Lockheed] found a wealthy investor willing to finance Northrop&#8217;s new airplane, he linked up with Allan and together, they leased a Hollywood workshop where they constructed the Lockheed Vega. It turned out to be sensational with its clean lines and high performance. Soon Amelia Earhart and others flew the Vega and broke many of aviation&#8217;s world records.</p>
  948. <p style="text-align: justify;">I had the distinct pleasure of spending time with Ed Heinemann who later designed the AD, A3D and A4D.  He told me how my Dad would fly out to Palmdale with an experimental aircraft they were both working on. They would take it for a few hops and come up with some fixes.  After having airframe changes fabricated in a nearby machine shop, they would hop it again to see if they had gotten the desired results. If it worked out, Mr. Heinemann would incorporate the changes on the aircraft&#8217;s assembly line.  No money swapped hands!</p>
  949. <p style="text-align: justify;">In May 1927, Lindbergh flew to Paris and triggered a bedlam where everyone was trying to fly everywhere. Before the first Lockheed Vega was built, William Randolph Hearst had already paid for it and had it entered in an air race from the California Coast to Honolulu.</p>
  950. <p style="text-align: justify;">In June 1927, my brother, Gordon, left Douglas Aircraft to become Jack Northrop&#8217;s assistant at Lockheed.  While there, he managed to get himself hired as the navigator on Hearst&#8217;s Vega. The race was a disaster and ten lives were lost. The Vega and my brother vanished. A black cloud hung heavily over the little shop. However, Hubert Wilkins, later to become Sir Hubert Wilkins, took Vega #2 and made a successful polar flight from Alaska to Norway. A string of successful flights after that placed Lockheed in aviation&#8217;s forefront.</p>
  951. <p style="text-align: justify;">I went to work for Lockheed as it 26th employee, shortly after the disaster, and I worked on the Vega. It was made almost entirely of wood and I quickly become a half-assed carpenter.</p>
  952. <p style="text-align: justify;">At this time, General Motors had acquired North American consisting of Fokker Aircraft, Pitcairn Aviation [later Eastern Airlines] and Sperry Gyroscope and hired Dutch Kindelberger away from Douglas to run it. Dutch moved the entire operation to L.A. where Dutch and his engineers came up with the P-51 Mustang.</p>
  953. <p style="text-align: justify;">Interestingly, just a handful of young men played roles affecting the lives of all Americans&#8230;.. as it initiated the Southern California metamorphosis, from a semi-desert with orange groves and celluloid, into a dynamic complex, supporting millions.</p>
  954. <p style="text-align: justify;">Although this technological explosion had startling humble beginnings, taking root as acorns in &#8211; a barber shop&#8217;s back room &#8211; a vacant church &#8211; and an abandoned cannery &#8211; but came to fruit on as mighty oaks.</p>
  955. <h6 style="text-align: center;" align="center"><em><strong>(Source:  Denham S. Scott, North American Aviation Retirees&#8217; Bulletin)</strong></em></h6>
  956. <p style="text-align: justify;"> I hope you enjoyed the look back at aviation history in the US as much as I did. Have a good weekend, be safe, and stop by again next week when we will talk about&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;..</p>
  957. <p style="text-align: justify;">Robert Novell</p>
  958. <p>March 14, 2025</p>
  959. <h6 align="center"></h6>
  960. ]]></content:encoded>
  964. </item>
  965. <item>
  966. <title>The Magic of The Lockheed Constellation &#8211; March 7, 2025</title>
  967. <link>https://www.robertnovell.com/blogmagic-lockheed-constellation-february-28-2014/</link>
  969. <dc:creator><![CDATA[RobertNovell]]></dc:creator>
  970. <pubDate>Fri, 07 Mar 2025 01:15:00 +0000</pubDate>
  971. <category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
  972. <guid isPermaLink="false"></guid>
  973.  
  974. <description><![CDATA[RN3DB March 7, 2025 Good Morning, Welcome to the 3DB and I hope that everyone had a week that was productive personally, and professionally, and hopefully<span class="excerpt-hellip"> […]</span>]]></description>
  975. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 class="rtecenter" style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>RN3DB</strong></em></h1>
  976. <h4 style="text-align: center;"><em>March 7, 2025</em></h4>
  977. <p><span id="more-488"></span></p>
  978. <p><!--break--></p>
  979. <p style="text-align: justify;">Good Morning,</p>
  980. <p style="text-align: justify;">Welcome to the 3DB and I hope that everyone had a week that was productive personally, and professionally, and hopefully you had a little fun as well accomplishing those tasks that put a few dollars in your bank account. This week I want to talk about and airplane 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&#8217;s look at a few myths about the Connie:</p>
  981. <p class="rteindent1" style="text-align: justify;">1. The Connie was designed by Howard Hughes &#8211; Yes or No? <strong>No</strong>, but he did give Lockheed the specifications and the performance parameters. The airplane was designed by Lockheed&#8217;s chief research engineer Kelly Johnson and his team.</p>
  982. <p class="rteindent1" style="text-align: justify;">2. The Constellation&#8217;s fuselage is shaped like an airfoil to add lift &#8211; Yes or No? <strong>No</strong>, 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&#8217;t have to be impossibly long. Lockheed decided that the airplane&#8217;s admittedly large propellers needed even more ground clearance, than did Douglas or Boeing on their competing transports, which resulted in the Connie&#8217;s long, spindly gear legs.</p>
  983. <p class="rteindent1" style="text-align: justify;">3. It was known as the world&#8217;s best trimotor because of the many engine failures that forced the crew to continue on three &#8211; Yes or No?<strong> No</strong>, the Boeing 377 Stratocruisers had far more failures in airline service.</p>
  984. <p class="rteindent1" style="text-align: justify;">4.The Constellation was the first pressurized airliner &#8211; Yes or No? <strong>No</strong>, the Boeing 307 Stratoliner was the first pressurized airliner.</p>
  985. <p class="rteindent1" style="text-align: justify;">5. The Constellation was the first tricycle-gear airliner &#8211; Yes or No? <strong>No</strong>, the Douglas DC-4 was.</p>
  986. <p class="rteindent1" style="text-align: justify;">6. There were pressurization problems/airframe failures that resulted in people being sucked out &#8211; Yes or No?<strong> Yes</strong>, 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.</p>
  987. <p style="text-align: justify;">Now that we have talked about a few of the myths, and there are many more, let see how Lockheed records the beginnings:</p>
  988. <p style="text-align: justify;"><em>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.</em></p>
  989. <p style="text-align: justify;">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.</p>
  990. <p style="text-align: justify;">But the Lockheed team had come to express even grander ambitions. &#8220;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.</p>
  991. <p style="text-align: justify;">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.</p>
  992. <p class="rtecenter" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/100years/stories/constellation.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em><strong>Source Document</strong></em></a></p>
  993. <p style="text-align: justify;">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.</p>
  994. <p style="text-align: justify;">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.</p>
  995. <p style="text-align: justify;">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&#8217;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.</p>
  996. <p style="text-align: justify;">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&#8217;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.</p>
  997. <p style="text-align: justify;">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&#8217;s only long-range, four-engine bomber of World War II, an airplane that was built but never used.</p>
  998. <p style="text-align: justify;">It looked like the second iteration of Lockheed&#8217;s four-engine transport wouldn&#8217;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&#8217; 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&#8217;s next airliner, the turboprop Electra, was proposed in 1954 and American, after reconsidering their position, ordered 40 the following year.</p>
  999. <p style="text-align: justify;"><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="auto, (max-width: 578px) 100vw, 578px" /></a></p>
  1000. <p style="text-align: justify;">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:</p>
  1001. <p style="text-align: justify;"><em>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&#8217;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&#8217;d had his bell rung twice before in bad crashes during the late 1920s and mid-&#8217;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.</em></p>
  1002. <p style="text-align: justify;"><em>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&#8217;s president, and Lockheed designer Kelly Johnson was along for the ride. (So was actress Ava Gardner, Howard&#8217;s girlfriend at the time.) Whether on this trip, or another test flight, Johnson never developed any admiration for Hughes&#8217; piloting skills. &#8220;He damned near killed us both,&#8221; Johnson once admitted.</em></p>
  1003. <p style="text-align: justify;"><em>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&#8217;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&#8217;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)</em></p>
  1004. <p class="rtecenter" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.historynet.com/the-legendary-lockheed-constellation.htm"><em><strong>Source Document</strong></em></a></p>
  1005. <p style="text-align: justify;">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&#8217;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&#8217;s own prototype. It was the company&#8217;s only unprofitable series in the Con­stellation/C-121/Starliner evolution.</p>
  1006. <p style="text-align: justify;">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 &#8220;agricultural flights.&#8221; 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.</p>
  1007. <p class="rtecenter" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/100years/stories/constellation.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source Document-1</a> &#8211; <a href="http://www.historynet.com/the-legendary-lockheed-constellation.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source Document-2</a> &#8211; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Constellation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source Document-3</a></p>
  1008. <p style="text-align: justify;">That is it for this week except to mention that I did write an eight part series on TWA a few years ago,  I have posted the links below, and I have a video of the Connie from the 1950s. Have a good weekend, take care, and enjoy some time away from work/aviation. Life is short and at age 62 I speak from experience.</p>
  1009. <p style="text-align: justify;">Robert Novell</p>
  1010. <p style="text-align: justify;">March 7, 2025</p>
  1011. <h3 style="text-align: center;"><iframe loading="lazy" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/IrXgb8eZIxk" width="600" height="400" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></h3>
  1012. ]]></content:encoded>
  1016. </item>
  1017. <item>
  1018. <title>Evergreen&#8217;s B-17, The CIA, and Operation Coldfeet &#8211; February 28, 2025</title>
  1019. <link>https://www.robertnovell.com/evergreens-b-17-cia-operation-coldfeet/</link>
  1021. <dc:creator><![CDATA[RobertNovell]]></dc:creator>
  1022. <pubDate>Fri, 28 Feb 2025 01:13:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1023. <category><![CDATA[Aviation Beyond Airlines]]></category>
  1024. <category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
  1025. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/?p=1008</guid>
  1026.  
  1027. <description><![CDATA[RN3DB February 28, 2025 Good Morning&#8212;today I want to again talk about the airplane called the &#8220;Mystery Lady.&#8221; Last week we talked about the role this<span class="excerpt-hellip"> […]</span>]]></description>
  1028. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 class="rtecenter" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>RN3DB</em></strong></h1>
  1029. <h3 style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>February 28, 2025</em></strong></h3>
  1030. <p><span id="more-1008"></span></p>
  1031. <p style="text-align: justify;">Good Morning&#8212;today I want to again talk about the airplane called the &#8220;Mystery Lady.&#8221; Last week we talked about the role this airplane played in the Tibetan Operation and before that, the development of the Fulton Recovery System, and the James Bond movie &#8220;Thunderball.&#8221; This week we are going to continue  our discussion on the &#8220;Mystery Lady,&#8221; and talk about &#8220;Operation Coldfeet.&#8221;</p>
  1032. <p style="text-align: justify;">Enjoy&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;</p>
  1033. <h2 class="rtecenter" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Operation Coldfeet</em></strong></h2>
  1034. <p style="text-align: justify;">The stage was now set for the first operational use of Skyhook. What became known as Operation Coldfeet began in May 1961, when a naval aircraft flying an aeromagnetic survey over the Arctic Ocean reported sighting an abandoned Soviet drift station. A few days later, the Soviets announced that had been forced to leave Station NP 9 when the ice runway used to supply it had cracked.</p>
  1035. <p style="text-align: justify;">The prospect of examining an abandoned Soviet ice station attracted ONR&#8217;s interest. The previous year, ONR had set an acoustical surveillance network on a US drift station used to monitor Soviet submarines. ONR assumed that the Soviets would have a similar system to keep track of American submarines as they transited the polar ice pack, but there was no direct evidence to support this. Also, ONR wanted to compare Soviet efforts on drift stations with US operations.</p>
  1036. <p style="text-align: justify;">The problem was how to get to NP 9. It was far too deep into the ice pack to be reached by an icebreaker, and it was out of helicopter range. Fulton&#8217;s Skyhook seemed to provide the answer. To Capt. John Cadwalader, who would command Operation Coldfeet, it looked like &#8220;a wonderful opportunity&#8221; to make use of the pickup system.</p>
  1037. <p style="text-align: justify;">Following a recommendation by Dr. Max Britton, head of the Arctic program in the Geography Branch of ONR, Radm. L. D. Coates, Chief of Naval Research, authorized preliminary planning for the mission while he sought final approval from the Chief of Naval Operations. The mission was scheduled for September, a time of good weather and ample daylight. NP 9 would be within 600 miles of the US Air Force base at Thule, Greenland, the planned launching point for the operation.</p>
  1038. <p style="text-align: justify;">ONR selected two highly qualified investigators for the ground assignment. Maj. James Smith, USAF, was an experienced paratrooper and Russian linguist who had served on US Drift Stations Alpha and Charlie. Lt. Leonard A. LeSchack, USNR, a former Antarctic geophysicist, had set up the surveillance system on T-3 in 1960. Although not jump qualified, he quickly went through the course at Lakehurst Naval Air Station. During the summer, the two men trained on the Fulton retrieval system, working in Maryland with an experienced P2V crew at the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River.</p>
  1039. <h2 class="rtecenter" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Some Problems</em></strong></h2>
  1040. <p style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, ONR&#8217;s scheme was running into difficulty at the Navy&#8217;s highest level, as skeptics argued that the plan would never work and likely would cost the lives of the investigators. Thanks largely to Dr. Britton&#8217;s efforts, approval eventually came through, but not until late September. This meant that the operation could not be launched until the return of well-below-freezing temperatures. When equipment was sent to Eglin Air Force Base for testing in the cold chamber, problems with the gear developed that took several weeks to correct. Also, promises for a support aircraft fell through. All the while, NP 9 kept moving farther away from Thule. &#8220;The winter dragged without solution,&#8221; Captain Cadwalader lamented.</p>
  1041. <h2 class="rtecenter" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>New Target</em></strong></h2>
  1042. <p style="text-align: justify;">In March 1962, the mission planners received the unexpected news that the Soviets had abandoned ice station NP 8 in haste after a pressure ridge destroyed its ice runway. A more up-to-date facility than NP 9, it also was in a more accessible position at 83°N 135°W. &#8220;With the operation finally about ready to take off,&#8221; Cadwalader reported, &#8220;the target was shifted to this new and tempting target.&#8221; After the Canadian Government readily agreed to the use of the Royal Canadian Air Force base at Resolute Bay, 600 miles from NP 8, Project Coldfeet got under way.</p>
  1043. <p style="text-align: justify;">In mid-April, the P2V and a C-130 support aircraft from Squadron VX-6 departed Patuxent River for Resolute Bay via Fort Churchill. Captain Cadwalader, the project&#8217;s commander, had hoped that the Hydrographic Office&#8217;s monthly ice reconnaissance flight that flew between Thule and Point Barrow would provide an up-to-date position on NP 8; bad weather and a navigational error, however, prevented a sighting. Still, with the last known position only a month old and given the general dependability of the Hydrographic Office&#8217;s drift predictions, he expected no difficulty in finding the target. The C-130 carrying the drop party would locate NP 8, while the P2V would be standing by in case an immediate extraction was necessary.</p>
  1044. <p style="text-align: justify;">The hunt for NP 8 began in perfect weather. The C-130 flew to the station&#8217;s last known position, then began a box search at 10-mile intervals. Hours went by, but nothing could be seen except ice. The next day, the C-130 started searching at five-mile intervals. It spotted the abandoned US Ice Station Charlie but not NP 8. Four more searches failed to reveal the elusive Soviet drift station. With the flight time available for the C-130 running out and the weather deteriorating, Cadwalader called off the operation.</p>
  1045. <h2 class="rtecenter" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Back in Business</em></strong></h2>
  1046. <p style="text-align: justify;">The expedition had no sooner returned to the US when the monthly ice reconnaissance flight on 4 May spotted NP 8 well to the east of its predicted position. ONR remained convinced that Coldfeet could work, but its funding for the project had run out. Perhaps the Intelligence Community, which had displayed interest in the scheme, might be persuaded to support the operation.</p>
  1047. <p style="text-align: justify;">As it happened, Fulton had been working with CIA on the development of Skyhook since the fall of 1961. Intermountain Aviation, an Agency proprietary at Marana, Arizona, that specialized in aerial delivery techniques, had equipped a B-17 with the Fulton gear in October. Over the next six months, Intermountain&#8217;s veteran CIA-contract pilots Connie W. Seigrist and Douglas Price flew numerous practice missions to perfect the equipment needed to infiltrate and extract agents. (They later conducted demonstrations for the Forest Service and Air Force while training for a covert operation to extract fellow CIA-contract pilot Allen L. Pope from an Indonesian prison.)</p>
  1048. <p style="text-align: justify;">Fulton then approached Intermountain about participating in Coldfeet. Garfield M. Thorsrud, head of the proprietary, liked the idea. After $30,000 was made available by the Defense Intelligence Agency, Coldfeet was ready to resume, with Intermountain furnishing the Skyhook-equipped B-17 and a C-46 support aircraft for the project.</p>
  1049. <h2 class="rtecenter" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>The Search for NP 8</em></strong></h2>
  1050. <p style="text-align: justify;">On 26 May, the B-17 and C-46 reached Point Barrow, which was selected to replace Resolute Bay in order to avoid the delay in obtaining the necessary diplomatic clearance from the Canadian Government. Carrying William Jordan, an experienced Pan American Airways polar navigator who had been hired by Intermountain, the B-17 began the search for NP 8 the next day.</p>
  1051. <p style="text-align: justify;">Seigrist and Price flew a northerly heading at 8,000 feet for almost four hours until they reached the ice station&#8217;s predicted position. They then descended to 1,500 feet and initiated a square search pattern. The visibility was poor&#8211;&#8220;a forbidding dusky grey,&#8221; Siegrist recalled. &#8220;It was the most desolate, inhospitable looking and uninviting place I had ever seen.&#8221; NP 8 never appeared, and the B-17 returned to Point Barrow after more than 13 hours in the air.</p>
  1052. <p style="text-align: justify;">On 28 May, assisted by a P2V from Patrol Squadron One at Kodiak, the B-17 located NP 8. Seigrist circled the station while Major Smith and pickup coordinator John D. Wall selected a drop point. Drift streamers determined the wind, then Smith left the aircraft through a &#8220;Joe hole,&#8221; followed by LeSchack. After dropping supplies to the men and receiving a favorable report from Smith over his UHF hand-held radio, the B-17 departed.</p>
  1053. <p style="text-align: justify;">The plan called for Smith and LeSchack to have 72 hours to explore the Soviet base. While they conducted their explorations, Intermountain mechanics Leo Turk and Carson Gerken installed the pickup booms on the nose of the B-17. Seigrist and Price tested the equipment on 30 May by making a practice pickup in front of the Arctic Research Laboratory at Point Barrow.</p>
  1054. <p style="text-align: justify;">The next day the mission to retrieve Smith and LeSchack got under way. In addition to pilots Seigrist and Price, the B-17 carried navigator Jordan, coordinator Wall, jumpmaster Miles L. Johnson, winch operator Jerrold B. Daniels, nose-trigger operator Randolph Scott, and tail-position operator Robert H. Nicol. Cadwalader, Fulton, and Thorsrud also climbed aboard to observe the operation.</p>
  1055. <p style="text-align: justify;">The weather, Seigrist and Price soon learned, had deteriorated since their last trip over the frozen sea. Warmer temperatures had heated the ice mass, causing dense fog to form. The target eluded the B-17, and it returned to Point Barrow.</p>
  1056. <p style="text-align: justify;">After a second fruitless search on 1 June, Thorsrud asked Cadwalader to call out the P2V. The next morning, the P2V took off from Point Barrow two hours and 30 minutes before the B-17. Using its more sophisticated navigational equipment, it quickly located NP 8, then guided the trailing aircraft by UHF/DF steers to the location.</p>
  1057. <h2 class="rtecenter" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Up, Up, and Away</em></strong></h2>
  1058. <p style="text-align: justify;">Conditions for the pickup were marginal at best. The ice had a grey hue, and it was difficult to make out an horizon. The surface wind was blowing at 30 knots, nearing the limits of Skyhook&#8217;s capability. After inflating the balloon attached to 150 pounds of exposed film, documents, and equipment samples, Smith and LeSchack had to keep a tight hold on the canvas bag containing the cargo lest it be blown away.</p>
  1059. <p style="text-align: justify;">As Seigrist lined up for the pickup, the horizon disappeared. &#8220;I was instantly in a situation,&#8221; he recalled, &#8220;what could be imagined as flying in a void.&#8221; The pickup line and its bright orange mylar marker, however, provided sufficient visual clues to enable Seigrist to keep his wings level. He flew into the line, made a good contact, then immediately went over to instrument flying to avoid vertigo. Winch-operator Daniels brought the cargo on board without difficulty.</p>
  1060. <p style="text-align: justify;">As prearranged, Price, a former Navy pilot, now took over the left seat to make the pickup of LeSchack. The wind was blowing stronger, and Smith had to struggle to hold LeSchack from being blown away. As the rising balloon caught the wind, LeSchack tore away from Smith&#8217;s grasp, pitched forward on his stomach, and began to drag across the ice. After 300 feet, his progress was stopped by an ice block. As he lay on the ice and tried to catch his breath, Price hooked into the line.</p>
  1061. <p style="text-align: justify;">Smith watched as LeSchack rose slowly into the air, then disappeared throughout the overcast. Although LeSchack rode through the air facing forward, he managed to turn around and assume the correct position before being hauled on board the B-17.</p>
  1062. <p style="text-align: justify;">Price and Seigrist again changed seats so that Seigrist could make the final pickup. Smith held tightly to a tractor as he inflated his balloon. Still, he started to drag across the ice until he managed to catch a crack with his heels. He lay on his back as Seigrist approached the line. &#8220;The line made contact on the outer portion of the left horn,&#8221; Seigrist remembers. &#8220;It just hung there for what to me was an eternity.&#8221;</p>
  1063. <p style="text-align: justify;">Slowly, the line slid down the horn and into the catching mechanism. As the line streamed along the bottom of fuselage, assistant jumpmaster Johnson reached down through the &#8220;Joe hole&#8221; and placed a clamp on it. He then signaled nose-trigger operator Scott to release the line. Next, tail-position operator Nicol secured the line, Johnson released his clamp, and winch-operator Daniels quickly brought Smith on board. He received a warm welcome from Fulton, Cadwalader, and Thorsrud&#8211;and a drink of &#8220;medicinal&#8221; Scotch.</p>
  1064. <h2 class="rtecenter" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Valuable Intelligence</em></strong></h2>
  1065. <p style="text-align: justify;">Operation Coldfeet, Cadwalader reported, produced intelligence &#8220;of very great value.&#8221; ONR learned that the Soviet station was configured to permit extended periods of silent operation, confirming the importance that the Soviets attached to acoustical work. In addition, equipment and documents obtained from NP 8 showed that Soviet research in polar meteorology and oceanography was superior to US efforts. &#8220;In general,&#8221; Cadwalader summarized, &#8220;the remarkable Soviet accomplishments in their drift stations reflect their long experience in this field and the great importance that their government attaches to it.&#8221;</p>
  1066. <h2 class="rtecenter" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Operational Success</em></strong></h2>
  1067. <p style="text-align: justify;">Beyond the intelligence obtained, Cadwalader wrote, perhaps the greatest accomplishment of Coldfeet &#8220;was to prove the practicality of paradrop and aerotriever recovery to conduct investigations in otherwise inaccessible areas.&#8221; Certainly, Coldfeet had been an outstanding operational success. The recovery of Smith and LeSchack had been especially challenging. As Admiral Coates wrote to Thorsrud, the pickup had been conducted &#8220;under stronger winds and lower visibility than had previously been attempted; nonetheless, through the exceptional skill of pilots and the coordination and efficiency of the crew, all pickups were made without a hitch, and in the best time (6 1/2 minutes) yet achieved.&#8221;</p>
  1068. <p style="text-align: justify;">While the Skyhook system provided an important asset for all manner of intelligence operations, its utility as a long-range pickup system was somewhat undermined during the 1960s by the development of an aerial refueling capability for helicopters. Still, it appears likely that Fulton&#8217;s Skyhook did find employment in a number of specialized clandestine operations following Coldfeet, although its subsequent use by CIA and the military services remains shrouded in secrecy.</p>
  1069. <p class="rtecenter" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><a class="ext" href="https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/95unclass/Leary.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source Document</a></em></strong></p>
  1070. <p style="text-align: justify;">Interesting to say the least and there is a really good book that covers this operation in its entirety &#8211; <strong><a class="ext" href="http://www.amazon.com/Project-COLDFEET-Mission-Station-Institute/dp/1557505144/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1406249779&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=project+coldfeet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CLICK HERE </a></strong>to preview the book on Amazon.</p>
  1071. <p style="text-align: justify;">Next week we will continue talking about the &#8220;Mystery Lady,&#8221; but until then, take care, be safe, and have a good weekend.</p>
  1072. <p>Robert Novell</p>
  1073. <p>February 28, 2025</p>
  1074. ]]></content:encoded>
  1078. </item>
  1079. <item>
  1080. <title>Evergreen&#8217;s B-17 and the Tibetan Operation &#8211; February 21, 2025</title>
  1081. <link>https://www.robertnovell.com/evergreens-b-17-tibetan-operation/</link>
  1083. <dc:creator><![CDATA[RobertNovell]]></dc:creator>
  1084. <pubDate>Fri, 21 Feb 2025 01:17:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1085. <category><![CDATA[Aviation History]]></category>
  1086. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.robertnovell.com/?p=1012</guid>
  1087.  
  1088. <description><![CDATA[RN3DB February 21, 2025 Good Morning, Today we will once again talk about the &#8220;Mystery Lady;&#8221;however, some of the facts I will detail cannot be confirmed<span class="excerpt-hellip"> […]</span>]]></description>
  1089. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 class="rtecenter" style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>RN3DB</strong></em></h1>
  1090. <h4 style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>February 21, 2025</strong></em></h4>
  1091. <p><span id="more-1012"></span></p>
  1092. <p>Good Morning,</p>
  1093. <p>Today we will once again talk about the &#8220;Mystery Lady;&#8221;however, some of the facts I will detail cannot be confirmed absolutely. I think that over the years, because of this airplane&#8217;s involvement in numerous black operations, the comment, &#8220;admit nothing, deny everything, and make counter accusations,&#8221; has become status quo for any and all question regarding the &#8220;Mystery Lady.&#8221;</p>
  1094. <p>It appears that this airplane originally was owned by Air Asia, Air America, or Civil Air Transport and was used for various purposes. After being transferred to Intermountain Aviation the airplane was used for numerous things, which we talked about in the two articles previous to this one, before being given to the Bureau of Land Management to be used as a water/flame retardant bomber on forest fires in the western U.S. and Alaska.</p>
  1095. <p>Evergreen Air and Space Museum acquired the aircraft, restored it, and it is now available for all to see, touch and enjoy. Below is a brief description of the &#8220;Mystery Lady&#8221; from the museum&#8217;s website:</p>
  1096. <p>Evergreen’s B-17 was a G-model built by either Lockheed-Vega or Douglas in early 1945 and never made it into combat, but rather it served in various utility roles until the mid-1950s.  At that point, her story gets interesting as she was selected for “secret duties” and removed from the Air Force’s inventory. One of a group of five black-painted <em>Flying Fortresses</em> used by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), it operated out of Taiwan, where it was used to drop agents into China or support guerilla operations.</p>
  1097. <p>Because the serial numbers painted on the tails were changed regularly to confuse the casual observer, her real one has been lost to history.  However, in September 1960, she gained the civilian registration number N809Z when she was sold to Atlantic-General Enterprises; a CIA front company.  From there she went to work for Intermountain Airways in Marana, Arizona in 1962.</p>
  1098. <p>Intermountain (also with CIA ties) was well known for modifying aircraft for use in specialized operations and the B-17G was no different.  Outfitted with a special rig on the nose called a Fulton Skyhook and a special hatch in the tail, the <em>Fortress</em> was actually able to pick up people from the ground without landing!  The user on the ground would release a helium balloon trailing a long cable that was attached to a special harness he wore.  The aircraft would then catch the line using long, whisker-like poles on the nose, and snatch the person off the ground where they would be winched up and into the plane.  In 1962, the Skyhook equipped <em>Fortress</em> was called upon to fly a mission deep into the arctic to grab vital information out from under the noses of the Soviet Union.</p>
  1099. <p>After her work with the Fulton Skyhook, N809Z was converted into a flying tanker used by Intermountain Airways to fight forest fires in the western US. She was acquired by Evergreen Helicopters in 1975, and given a new registration; N207EV, which she wears to this day.  After 10 years of fighting fires, work began in 1985 to restore the venerable <em>Flying Fortress</em> was back to the war-time configuration with all of the gun turrets and a working bomb bay.  (The story is told that her rare nose turret was found as a decoration in a bar, but the owner was unwilling to sell it, so Evergreen bought the bar, removed the turret, and then re-sold the bar.)  The proudly restored B-17 took to the air again in 1990 and flew in numerous air shows until 2001 when concerns about the wing spar attachment points grounded her.</p>
  1100. <p class="rtecenter" style="text-align: center;"><a class="ext" href="http://evergreenmuseum.org/evergreen%E2%80%99s-mystery-lady/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em><strong>Source Document</strong></em></a></p>
  1101. <p>One of the more interesting operations for this airplane was the Tibetan operation and I have a link below that will take you to a PDF document that covers, in detail, the specifics of that campaign.</p>
  1102. <p class="rtecenter" style="text-align: center;"><a class="ext" href="http://www.utdallas.edu/library/specialcollections/hac/cataam/Leeker/history/Tibet.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em><strong>Missions to Tibet</strong></em></a></p>
  1103. <p>I hope to have the new website up and running in about two weeks; however, should you have any problems with my current site I apologize. There are a few glitches that occurred when we moved it over to the new server but we will let it work as is until we bring the new site on line.</p>
  1104. <p>Have a good weekend, keep friends and family close, and fly safe/be safe.</p>
  1105. <p>Robert Novell</p>
  1106. <p>February 21, 2025</p>
  1107. ]]></content:encoded>
  1111. </item>
  1112. </channel>
  1113. </rss>
  1114.  

If you would like to create a banner that links to this page (i.e. this validation result), do the following:

  1. Download the "valid RSS" banner.

  2. Upload the image to your own server. (This step is important. Please do not link directly to the image on this server.)

  3. Add this HTML to your page (change the image src attribute if necessary):

If you would like to create a text link instead, here is the URL you can use:

http://www.feedvalidator.org/check.cgi?url=https%3A//www.robertnovell.com/feed/

Home · About · News · Docs · Terms

 
Copyright © 2002-9 Sam Ruby, Mark Pilgrim, Joseph Walton, and Phil Ringnalda