Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
November 7, 1924 The world airspeed record for seaplanes was decisively broken in the skies above southeastern Virginia. The pilot for this flight was Lieutenant Victor E. Bertrandias of the U.S. Army Air Service (USAAS). He was accompanied by USAAS Lieutenant George C. McDonald. Their flight began at 10:45 a.m. and it entailed traveling a... Continue Reading →
June 20, 1897 Harold Frederick Pitcairn, who made major contributions to various types of aircraft, was born in Moreland Township in southeastern Pennsylvania. In 1916, residents in the central part of this township broke away to form what is now the home-rule borough of Bryn Athyn; the following year, the remainder of the township was... Continue Reading →
November 12, 2008 Operations fully began for a state-of-the-art terminal at Indianapolis International Airport. (This airport, which dates back to 1931, was originally known as Indianapolis Municipal Airport.) The new terminal was named after H. Weir Cook, one of the Hoosier State’s most prominent miliary heroes and aviation trailblazers. Cook had been born in 1892... Continue Reading →
June 27, 1923 The first-ever transfer of fuel from one aircraft to another during flight took place between two Airco DH-4B planes of the U.S. Army Air Service in the skies above the San Diego area. The plane piloted by Captain Lowell H. Smith (with Lieutenant John P. Richter on board) received that mid-air refueling via... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 