A Brief History On February 11, 1939, a prototype Lockheed P-38 Lighting twin engine fighter plane flew from California to New York in a then record 7 hours and 2 minutes. This new US fighter plane was the fastest fighter in the world at this time, the first fighter to exceed 400 mph in level flight. So what was wrong with it? Digging Deeper Normally our articles about military aircraft extol the virtues of the subject plane, but here we digress to look at the shortcomings and criticisms of this venerable aircraft, one of the creations of Clarence “Kelly” Johnson,…
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A Brief History On February 3, 1995, Space Shuttle mission STS-63 lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral Florida for space with a woman pilot for the first time. Digging Deeper Eileen Collins, born in Elmira, New York in 1956, graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in mathematics and economics from Syracuse University in 1979 and went on to earn a Master of Science degree in operations research from Stanford University in 1986 and a Master of Arts degree in space systems management from Webster University in 1989. A career in the Air Force was in this…
A Brief History On January 30, 1959, the Danish ocean liner, MS Hans Hedtoft, was on the return leg of its maiden voyage when it struck an iceberg off the coast of Greenland and sunk, the only trace of the ship ever being found was a single lifebelt that washed ashore. Digging Deeper In an eerie coincidence, like the RMS Titanic of 1912, the Hans Hedtoft was considered extremely safe, with a double hull, armored bow for ice breaking, and 7 watertight compartments. Designed for service on the Denmark-Greenland run, she was built for hard duty in dangerous seas. She…
A Brief History On January 20, 1972, Pakistan started a nuclear weapons development program in a bid to become the first Islamic country to possess a nuclear bomb. Coming on the heels of embarrassing losses in the Liberation War for Bangladesh (aka East Pakistan), and then failure in the 1971 war with India, Pakistan vowed to have a nuclear weapon by 1976. Digging Deeper Although Pakistan missed their timeline goals, by 1998 Pakistan became the first Islamic majority country to possess a viable nuclear weapon, and the 7th country to officially possess nuclear weapons (after the US, UK, USSR, France,…
A Brief History On January 18, 2005, Airbus, the European maker of jetliners, unveiled its flagship jetliner, the A380, the largest passenger plane ever built. How big is it? The A380 has over 40% more available floor space than a Boeing 747! Digging Deeper After the big jet’s unveiling at Toulouse, France, it made its first flight in April of 2005. By October 25, 2007, the A380 entered active service with Singapore Airlines and is currently used by Singapore, Lufthansa, Emirates, Air France, British Airways, Thai Airways, Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, China Southern Airways, Etihad Airways, Malaysia, and Qantas Airways. …
