A Brief History On October 10, 1492, the famous first voyage of Christopher Columbus and his small fleet of three ships almost came to an end right at the point of “discovering” the New World. Digging Deeper Columbus had set sail on August 3, 1492, expecting to sail to the Far East. He estimated the voyage to be about 2,700 miles and to take two months. By the time his voyage had passed the two month mark, his crew became restless and desperate to return home. Columbus faced down a mutiny on his flagship, the Santa Maria, that would probably…
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A Brief History On October 2, 2023, Americans celebrate National Name Your Car Day. A tradition since before the 1990 inaugural “holiday” for naming cars, one poll indicates about 40% of Americans name their car. Digging Deeper We name our children, pets, boats, and sometimes homes or even body parts, but cars have a special place in the hearts of Americans. Sometimes a “love-hate” relationship, at least according to Adam Sandler! Female names account for a majority of car names, although some famous ones had male names, such as The General Lee, Herbie, and Kit, all from TV or movies.…
A Brief History On September 22, 1948, USAF pilot Lt. Gail Halvorsen began dropping candy via parachute to the children of Berlin. In 1948, the USSR tried to cut off West Berlin from supplies from the West, starving the population. Digging Deeper The US and its allies began an operation dubbed “The Berlin Airlift,” flying supplies of food, fuel, medicine, and other essentials to West Berlin surrounded by the Soviets and their East German lackeys. Halvorsen was one of those pilots of cargo planes, and when he noticed hungry faces of children lined up by the West Berlin airport, he…
A Brief History On September 16, 1979, eight people yearning to be free of oppressive communism in East Germany made a flight to freedom in a hot air balloon to West Germany. Digging Deeper Amazingly, the escapees had been plotting their flight for over 18 months and had failed in a previous attempt. Lucky for them the authorities were unable to identify the would-be aeronauts. The successful balloon was the third balloon constructed by the determined Germans. Germany had been separated into Soviet and other Allied zones after the end of World War II in Europe, with East Germany dominated…
A Brief History On September 14, 1984, retired USAF Colonel Joseph Kittinger made aviation history by becoming the first person to pilot a gas balloon solo across the Atlantic. Digging Deeper Kittinger scored other aviation firsts when he made the then record high altitude skydive, 102,800 feet, in 1960, a record that stood until 2012. Kittinger flew 483 combat missions in Vietnam, including being shot down and captured in 1972. Kittinger had also previously set altitude records for balloon flight, and on one of those high-altitude flights became the first human to view the curvature of the Earth fully. Not…