A Brief History On September 7, 1909, French pilot Eugène Lefebvre flew a newly French built Wright biplane into history when he crashed and died, becoming the first person ever to die in an airplane crash.  We have previously reported on “10 Famous People That Died in Airplane Crashes” and today we add to that list with more famous victims of aircraft disasters.  Who would you add to this list? Digging Deeper 1. Kobe Bryant, Basketball Star, 2020. Arguably one of the greatest basketball players of all time and a popular sports figure, Bryant was killed along with his daughter…

A Brief History On September 4, 1944, the British 11th Armoured Division, part of the larger armies on the European continent commanded by Field Marshall Bernard Law Montgomery, liberated the Belgian city of Antwerp, one more city liberated of the German oppressors by the victorious Allies, many of whom were ably led by the dashing Monty.  Meanwhile, in the Pacific Theater of Operations, the Allied effort against Japan was split between Fleet Admiral Nimitz and General of the Army Douglas MacArthur.  MacArthur had been humiliated by being ousted from the Philippines in early 1942, but was well on the way…

A Brief History On August 30, 2020, we finally got to see the Vin Diesel super hero action movie, Bloodshot, an eye candy extravaganza that came out on March 13, 2020, just in time to be destroyed by the coronavirus pandemic!  The movie is much better than its disappointing box office numbers ($37.3 million on a $45 million budget) would indicate, the disaster being attributable to the pandemic and its closing of movie theaters, not to mention the reluctance of movie goers (like us!) to be in crowded places at that time. Digging Deeper Directed by David Wilson and starring…

A Brief History On September 2, 1807, the British Royal Navy and Army bombarded the port city of Copenhagen, Denmark, using fire bombs and phosphorus incendiary rockets in order to prevent neutral Denmark from deciding to align with Napoleonic France and turn over the use of its war fleet to the French and their allies.  This preemptive attack against a neutral country not at war with Britain is not an isolated event, but a calculated preemptive attack Britain has demonstrated the willingness to engage in over the course of history. Digging Deeper Emperor of the French, Napoleon I, had taken…

A Brief History On August 31, 1965, fans of super-different airplanes could add another oddity to their list when the Aero Spacelines Super Guppy made its first flight.  A bulbous looking whale of an airplane, the Super Guppy was the successor to the Pregnant Guppy, an equally goofy looking giant cargo plane.  Today we take a look at some of these quite real and intended for practical use airplanes, not jokes or intentionally comical, but serious aircraft built with a serious purpose.  Some of these airplanes were experimental, others saw active service.  As always, give us your nominations of planes…