NASA’s Mars Helicopter Ingenuity has Flown its Final Flight Amidst Rotor Damage Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: Mike Wall via Space.com When I was a young helicopter pilot in the Marines I was doing “confined area landings” into a tiny landing zone at Camp Lejeune, NC. I was the aircraft commander of our CH-46 “Sea…
Today in Aviation History: Frisbees Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: History.com You may ask, “What, Fetzer, does a Frisbee have to do with aviation history?” Well, “Wilber”, I might respond, “Frisbees fly!” And they fly by the millions! Is there any one of us who has not tossed a Frisbee or its successor, the Aerobie,…
On This Day: “Broken Arrow” Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: History.com We are a flawed species, we Homo sapiens, are we not? We act before we think and say things we ought not to say and tweet things we ought not to write (and then fruitlessly attempt to delete them). We fail far too often…
Sully’s “Miracle on the Hudson” Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: History.com US Airways Flight 1549/Airbus A320 in the Hudson. Photo Credit: Chris McGrath/Getty Images. Fifteen years ago? Is it possible this iconic aviation example of “calmness under fire” happened 15 years ago? Our eldest grandsons are 15 years old. They don’t know about the “Miracle…
The First US President to Fly on Official Business Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: History.com What was unique is now so commonplace that we don’t even bat an eye when the President flies in everything from helicopters (devices that according to newsman Harry Reasoner “…don’t want to fly. Helicopters are maintained in the air by…
Amelia Earhart, Hawaii to California Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: History.com Enduring mysteries are fodder for the imagination. What happened to the ghost ship, The Mary Celeste? How about D. B. Cooper after high jacking Northwest Orient Flight 305 out of Portland (Oregon). How did Stonehenge or the Great Pyramids get built? Is the Bermuda…
Paying for the Luxury of Supersonic Flight Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: History.com Happy New Year!. I hope each of you reading this will enjoy a happy and healthy 2024. Talk about flying, especially time flying? Where did 2023 get up and go off to so fast? As I sit here writing this and shaking…
Eve-Eve Aviation Twofer Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: History.com Good Christmas Eve-Eve fellow aviation history enthusiasts. We have an “eve-eve twofer” for you this evening about 28 hours before midnight on December 25th and the beginning of Christmas Day. Aviation history is full of feats of great invention and risk. There’s sadness in aviation history. …