The Aircraft Carrier
In the second half of the 20th century, the aircraft carrier became a symbol of the United States’ position as a superpower. […]
Aviation History
James H. “Jimmie” Doolittle — Outstanding Man of Aviation
James “Jimmie” Doolittle is today most famous for his audacious B-25 bombing raid on Tokyo in the opening months of America’s entry into World War II, an attack featured in the 2001 movie Pearl Harbor. […]
Air Power and World War II in the Pacific
In 1940, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto of Japan’s Imperial Navy informed his government that if Japan went to war, he would “guarantee to put up a tough fight for the first six months, but I have absolutely no confidence as to what might happen if it went on for two or three years.” […]
The Man
As pilot of one of the most famous flights of WW II, which brought about a quicker surrender from the enemy and a reduction in the loss of Allied lives, and for his leadership and skill with both airplanes and people in times of stress, Paul W. Tibbets, Jr. is enshrined with honor into the National Aviation Hall of Fame […]
Missiles and Rockets in Warfare
Humanity has been using rockets in warfare since the Chinese discovered gunpowder late in the first millennium. […]
NASA “Hyper-X” Program Demonstrates Scramjet Techologies: X-43A Flight Makes Aviation History
NASA made aviation history with the first and second successful flights of a scramjet-powered airplane at hypersonic speeds – speeds greater than Mach 5 or five times the speed of sound. […]
B-17 Flying Fortress
The B-17 Flying Fortress is one of the most famous airplanes ever built. […]
Inside Boeing Flight Test & The Doomsday Airplane
It takes thousands of people and thousands of man-hours to build a new type airplane, but the flight test and certification is where the rubber meets the road. […]
General Aviation – An Overview
Perhaps the best way to define general aviation is to begin by listing what it is not. General aviation is not military aviation and it is not scheduled commercial aviation. To a great extent, all other uses of aviation in the United States fall into the category of general aviation. […]
Boeing’s Post-War Commercial Aviation Activities
When World War II ended in August 1945, the U.S. government cancelled most orders for bomber aircraft, which had been a mainstay of the aircraft industry. Total industry production dropped from 96,000 airplanes in 1944 to 1,330 military aircraft in 1946. […]