A History of Aviation - They Were There
by Virtually every phase of aviation, from the first balloons to outer space. First person experiences by famous and not famous; many are Virginians. Wide coverage of World War II and Vietnam. With rare photos. A great gift for any aviation buff.
Table Of Contents
Here are just a few excerpts Carpenters Repair Planes in 1917 Aeroplanes were important machines in this escalating conflict, but they were not especially durable. Skilled hands were needed in Europe for maintenance work. When young Fred Fuqua, the Bedford carpenter, enlisted in November 1917, the Army thought of its planes with wooden frames, wire braces, and canvas coverings. Fuqua was assigned to the 174th Aero Squadron and classified as a "rigger." Following three months of basic training at Kelly Field in Texas and Chanute Field in Illinois, Fred Fuqua sailed for Europe. His job would be to help repair fighter planes. In 1928, Who Needs Windshields? Basil Murray Wrote: "...We, Lt. Flaufuss & myself, left Langley (Virginia) today at 11:00 A.M. with an experimental Keystone Bi-motored bomber with a crew of six on a wild good hop. We put five in the cabin. Flaufuss and myself sat in front and piloted. He piloted to Washington and I acted as navigator. I piloted from Washington to Middletown, Philadelphia, and New York while he acted the post of Navigator. This was the bomber which had two rudders removed from it (only one on it) and no windshields to protect the pilot and navigator. Now my dear if you don't think I am tired from fighting controls just ask me. My arms and face will be, I am afraid, a solid blister by morning from the terrific force of wind on me. We made a speed of about 93 miles per hour. I don't know what to do about my face and arms. Guess I will send out and get some cream of some sort." B-17 Tailgunner, Bill Shields, Kept a Diary
Any flight over the Iron Curtain was to be first approved by the White House. The pilot carried a poison pill. If captured he could use it if he chose. The first flight of a U-2 over an Iron Curtain country was piloted by Carl Overstreet, over Poland. There were no problems. That was 1956. For two years he flew U-2 missions over the USSR. He said: "It must have frustrated the Russians -- knowing that we were up there and being unable to do anything about it. A mission at close to 70,000 feet could take from 6 to 8 hours. I couldn't eat; I was wearing a pressure "space" suit and pressure helmet. It wasn't boring. If you used the autopilot at that high altitude, it was kind of 'notchy'; the spread between Mach buffet at 135 knots indicated and 126 knots stalling caused the throttle to search between the two speeds, giving a chugging sensation. I usually turned the autopilot off and flew it myself. Grumman won the contract to develop the LM Moon Lander. E.Clinton Towl, President and 32-year veteran of Grumman recalls the many thoughts racing through his mind as he returned home after signing the contract at NASA Houston. He said that as he looked out the window of the company Gulfstream, he thought, "What have I done? What HAVE I done! I have committed this company to putting men on the moon! Does anyone really know how to do this?" As the flight homeward continued, Towl took solace in the knowledge that the company had good men. He had learned that he could trust them; he would just have to keep on trusting them." Alec Rucker Describes his Last Catapult Launch from a Carrier in an F-14 Tomcat "As the steam cleared from the cat shot ahead of me, I followed the director -- over the shuttle and into the hold back. The take-tension signal was given and I went to full power, feeling the familiar jerk as the shuttle snapped tension against the hold back, wiped out the controls, and on signal from the catapult officer, eased the throttles forward into afterburner -- checked the instruments and saluted one final time. The cat officer returned my salute and then went down on one knee to touch the deck, signaling for the shot. A few seconds later the cat stroke came, jerking me and my Tomcat down on the track and into the sky in a thundering blast of fir and crackling fury. Gear up! I climbed out steeply at 170 knots, flaps down to 5,000 feet and looked back over my shoulder at the now tiny aircraft carrier below me. Ain't nothing else like it. Nothing!" This is a great gift for any aviation or history buff. Detailed 12-page index 298 photos. 348 pages.
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February 25, 1944, Mission 33...Today we went to Austria and bombed
the M.E. Factory. Not much flak but awful lot of fighters. They shot down about 14 planes
out of others groups. They didn't attack us much.