Posts Tagged ‘aviation’

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What am I noting today?

August 23, 2016

Today, in 1977, the Gossamer Condor won the Kremer Prize for controlled, sustained, human-powered flight. The prize was established in 1959, but proved difficult to win . . .

“In order to win the prize, a person had to pilot a human-powered aircraft around a figure-eight course where the turning points are a half-mile apart. The aircraft had to clear a 10-foot hurdle at the beginning of the course and again at the end.”

The craft, with its  96-foot  wing span, is now at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

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What am I seeing?

August 27, 2015

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These lovely clouds were spotted outside my (airplane) window over Hawai’i.  On my way to a meeting, so spotty blogging will ensue.  Mahalo.

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Where am I dining?

December 18, 2014

DC6

At the DC6 Restaurant at the Coventry Airport in the UK.

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Here’s the menu . . .

menu05082014110358_Page_3and the website.

This is a 1958 Douglas DC6 that has been converted into a restaurant that can seat 40 people.  It is also available for parties and events.

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Ref: WordlessTech

 

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What am I droning on about?

October 13, 2014

This is a video of the X-47B taken from the deck of the carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt.  When you watch the video – biggen it up.

 

 

Ref.: Wordless Tech

More about the tests here.

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What do we remember today?

August 4, 2012

The founding of the US Coast Guard:

The Coast Guard’s official history began on 4 August 1790 when President George Washington signed the Tariff Act that authorized the construction of ten vessels, referred to as “cutters,” to enforce federal tariff and trade laws and to prevent smuggling.  Known variously through the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as the “revenue cutters,” the “system of cutters,” and finally the Revenue Cutter Service, it expanded in size and responsibilities as the nation grew.

Click here for the Anniversary message to be read at muster of the officers and crew on August 4 on board each vessel of the Revenue Cutter Service.
Renamed in 1915, the Coast Guard is one of the oldest services in the United States.

Happy Birthday and Semper Paratus

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Who am I remembering today?

July 2, 2012

“We like to stress her accomplishments rather than her disappearance,” said Louise Foudray, who serves as caretaker and historian of the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum. “However, everyone loves a mystery.”

Today marks the 75th anniversary of Amelia Earhart’s disappearance, along with navigator, Fred Noonan, over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to circumnavigate the globe.

It seems strange to read that there is breaking news about the tragic loss of this pioneering figure, but a new search for her plane is being initiated off the island of Nikumaroro, which is part of the nation of Kiribati.  The search was stimulated by a vintage jar of anti-freckle cream found on a island in the western Pacific near Earhart’s last reported location.

She was married to writer George Putnam, but had progressive ideas about marriage and the roles of women.

She placed third at the Cleveland Women’s Air Derby, later nicknamed the “Powder Puff Derby” by Will Rogers. As fate would have it, her life also began to include George Putnam. The two developed a friendship during preparation for the Atlantic crossing and were married February 7, 1931. Intent on retaining her independence, she referred to the marriage as a “partnership” with “dual control.”  In a letter written to Putnam and hand delivered to him on the day of the wedding, she wrote, “I want you to understand I shall not hold you to any midaevil [sic] code of faithfulness to me nor shall I consider myself bound to you similarly.”

References:

Christian Science Monitor

The Official Website of Amelia Earhart

and, of course,

Wikipedia