
The first US Air Meet, 1910
HistoryFans attended the first major International Air Meet at Reims, France, in August 1909, with close to 500,000 spectators. It set the standard for all future air shows of the time, and inspired a group of American aviators to stage their own Air Meet. Here is the story.

Crash of the B-23 Dragon Bomber
HistoryThe afternoon I spent at the crash site of the B-23 “Dragon Bomber” was far different than what the eight crew men aboard the plane experienced when they went down on a routine training mission on January 29, 1943. As I sat in the shade of a pine by the lake next to one of the sheared off wings, I tried to imagine what they had gone through.

Connie flight from Paris to Cairo, 1951
HistoryFrom time to time, we revisit an original Air Facts article that we think would make enjoyable and worthwhile reading today. So it is with Bob Buck's “Flight to Cairo,” the legendary airline pilot's story of flying a TWA Constellation from Paris to Cairo in the days before jet engines and GPS.

Will the real Harold Neff please stand up?
HistoryWas Harold Neff a pioneering airmail pilot, a record-setting charter airline pilot, an Air Force Colonel or a regular general aviation pilot? As it turns out, all four. Here's the fascinating story, from a man who knew at least one of them.

Eggs to Caracas, Venezuela
HistoryEggs. Who knew there would be a need to fly eggs from Florida to Venezuela? In this case, it was 28,800 pounds of eggs each flight, every night for weeks. Here is the story as it occurred in the summer of 1977.

The Cessna OE-2: a mishmash military model
HistoryIn 1954, just after the cessation of hostilities in the Korean war, the Marines wanted an improved model of Cessna’s L-19 Army Liaison/Observation airplane. The Marines only wanted a few of these good airplanes, and they were willing to pay--quite a bit more--for them.

The day Lindbergh got lost
HistoryBack in 1968 I was the relief copilot on Pan Am’s Boeing 707 Rome to New York morning flight. I was doing pre-departure checks when the purser entered the cockpit with news that Charles Lindbergh would be traveling with us in first class.

Leighton Collins on flight training, 1944
HistoryNearly 70 years ago, Air Facts editor Leighton Collins called out the need for a better flight training system. In particular, he lamented that "we have never had a flying system designed for the civilian." His comments are a surprisingly relevant contribution to today's debates about flight training.

Leading edge aeronautical research on the plains
HistoryYou don’t think of leading edge aeronautical research being conducted in the General Aviation industry, especially in Wichita, Kansas. But Cessna did just that, in the early 1950s, and on its own planes. And not only was it successful, but it was incorporated in some famous long run production airplanes--unfortunately, not Cessna airplanes.

Pioneer aviator Foster Lane
HistoryFoster Lane was born in 1903, the year the Wright Brothers changed everything with their first powered flight. He started flying in 1925, getting his first ride in a barnstormer’s Curtiss JN4 Jenny. Lessons began and he bought his first airplane, a used Waco 9, in 1928. He literally lived the birth of aviation in the 1920s.

Fields of vision: carving hills into airports
HistoryWhen the Wright brothers finally had a flying machine that could take off and fly under complete control, they still had no place to fly it from. Phil Scott shares the fascinating history of how airports came to be, from grass fields to WPA airports in the 1930s.

The production T-37 “Tweet” serves up an enduring mystery
HistoryIn very early 1952, I was an undergraduate working part time in Cessna’s Flight Test, Aerodynamics and Preliminary Design Group when a request for proposal for the TX came in from the Air Force. The TX was to be the first, that is the primary, trainer in a series of three new trainers which would finish with the TZ, a supersonic one.

Geraldine Mock and the Spirit of Columbus
HistoryAsk the average person on the street, “Who was the first woman to fly around the world solo?” and you’ll likely hear, “Amelia Earhart.” Of course, they would be wrong. Ask that same question of a pilot and you’ll get a blank stare. That’s because most pilots know that someone must have done it, but they aren’t sure who.

Defining the Cessna 310
HistoryThe author played a key role in designing and testing the ground-breaking Cessna 310. In this one-of-a-kind article, he shares some of the struggles that went on behind the scenes, including issues with stability and performance. He also shares his suspicions, untold for over 50 years, about a unsigned drawing he discovered.

The chocolate bomber
HistoryThey were ragged and starving, these kids who had gathered, amid the ruins, to watch airplanes bring food to Berlin. It was mid-July 1948. Twenty-seven-year-old Lt. Gail Halvorsen had been on the airlift for two weeks, flying an exhausting three round trips each day.

Assessing necessity – wind tunnels at Cessna
HistoryOur Vice President of Engineering at Cessna during my time there in the Golden 1950s was sort of a contrary guy. He was absolutely sure that wind tunnel tests were a waste of time. But after heartfelt discussion, he reluctantly agreed to let us do it on the proposed Cessna 620.

Two Ford Tri-motor flights – 75 years apart
HistoryIn 1935 I was six years old, and we were living in Ponca City, Oklahoma. One day a Ford Tri-motor flew into our grass airfield and offered rides, at a price, to our “city’s” inhabitants. I was completely hooked on aviation from that moment on, and determined that I wanted to be part of it.

Designing the Cessna 180
HistoryFormer Cessna engineer and test pilot Harry Clements shares his personal history of designing the Cessna 180. As you might expect, not everything went smoothly during this bush plane's development.

12 aviation books I like
HistoryHere is a brief list of my favorite aviation books, making special note of the practical hands-on airplane knowledge they impart. And what’s more important, they’re all in easy-to-understand English. Do you have a favorite aviation book? Add it to our list.

WWII Watson’s Whizzers
HistoryIt was a mission late in the war. Lieutenant Robert Anspach was flying cover in his P-47 Thunderbolt for a group of B-26 Marauders near the Messerschmitt factory airfield at Lechfeld, Germany. From out of nowhere an enemy airplane rocketed past, blasting off a few rounds. It looked like nothing they’d seen before. Ever.