Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
October 31, 2020 A newly completed international airport in Germany’s state of Brandenburg was opened for commercial operations. This airport, which is just south of the country’s capital of Berlin, was named after Willy Brandt (1913-1992). Brandt, who had been a staunch opponent of the Nazi regime, served as governing mayor of West Berlin from... Continue Reading →
October 18, 2013 In India’s western state of Maharashtra, a newly completed air traffic control (ATC) tower at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport was formally introduced to the public. This airport serves Maharashtra’s capital city of Mumbai. At the time of its debut, this ATC tower -- with a height of 274.9 feet (83.8... Continue Reading →
October 11, 1927 Ruth Elder (1902-1977) and her co-pilot George W. Haldeman (1898-1982) took off from Long Island’s Roosevelt Field in a yellow Stinson Detroiter monoplane named American Girl for what was supposed to be the longest transatlantic flight to date. Elder and Haldeman, both of whom are depicted in the accompanying photo, planned to... Continue Reading →
October 10, 2012 A major milestone for Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer’s short- to medium-range E-Jets took place when the 900th of those twin-engined jet airliners to be designed and produced was delivered to Kenya Airways. This particular type of E-Jet is formally known as the E-190. Along with acknowledging the numerical significance of the 900th... Continue Reading →
September 18, 1981 Transit entrepreneur Francis Brunner died in Santa Monica, California, at the age of 81. He had been one of the pioneers of sightseeing bus tours along Southern California’s coast -- through a segment of the Santa Monica Mountains region and near the shoreline of the Santa Monica Bay -- and was pivotal in... Continue Reading →
August 26, 1886 Jerome C. Hunsaker, an aeronautical engineer whose productive career spanned the period from the early days of aviation to the age of space exploration, was born in Creston, Iowa. Hunsaker attended the U.S. Naval Academy, where he graduated at the head of his class in 1908. He was then assigned by the Navy... Continue Reading →
August 19, 1972 In the southeastern area of Australia’s state of Queensland, Caloundra Airport on the Sunshine Coast was officially opened. This airport is specifically located in Caloundra West, a suburb of the coastal town of Caloundra. Those taking part in the Saturday afternoon opening of Caloundra Airport included Joh Bjelke-Petersen (1911-2005), who was premier... Continue Reading →
August 7, 1919 Ernest Charles Hoy (1895-1982), who had recently distinguished himself as a Royal Air Force fighter pilot during World War I, achieved a major aviation milestone when he flew a Curtiss JN-4 biplane across the Canadian Rockies. This marked the first-ever crossing of that steep mountain range by air. In an account of... Continue Reading →
July 19, 1869 Masonry construction was completed on a new lighthouse in the Celtic Sea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. This took place nearly five years after William Douglass, the engineer supervising the project, laid the first stone of the structure. This lighthouse is located on a rock that is 18 nautical miles... Continue Reading →
July 15, 1952 Two large Sikorsky H-19 helicopters took off from Westover Air Force Base (AFB) in Massachusetts to begin what would be the first transoceanic crossing of that mode of airborne transportation. One of these helicopters was named “Hop-A-Long,” and it was piloted by Captain Vincent H. McGovern with Captain Harry C. Jeffers as... Continue Reading →
