Sucker Holes Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: NASA, Avgeekery.com I have memory of a terrifying moment during my flight training at NAS Pensacola flying the T-28 Trojan back in the late 1970’s. I may be embellishing the terror I seem to remember, but not too much. Flying solo in a big, radial engine aircraft. I…
February 20, 1942 Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: History.com, Navy Times, Military History , Generative AI, National Archives Sometimes it’s difficult to determine who…or what…was first. While it might seem simple, it can depend on defining what the word “first” means and how that word is applied. For instance: In an article published on August…
Philippine Mars Final Flight Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: Business Insider by Lauren Frias, US Navy, Coulson Aviation Note below, copied in its entirety from Business Insider by Lauren Frias, the historic final flight of one of the world’s largest aircraft and one with a storied history. Business Insider by Lauren Frias Feb 18, 2025…
Out of an Abundance of Caution Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: History.com, NASA “Out of an abundance of caution…”. How many times have you heard (so-called) leaders use this excuse for being risk averse? What did an abundance of caution ever get us other than lost opportunities? Of course, this is just my opinion (for…
A January 28th “Three-fer” Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: History.com, Boom Supersonic, Wikipedia, Associated Press I might be accused, yesterday, of “being asleep at the switch”. Guilty as charged. Three aviation history events happened yesterday in 1964, 1986, and in 2025. Instead of publishing a “three-fer” aviation history vignette yesterday, I flapped my trap and published…
Dreams of Flying Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: Microsoft CoPilot, Getty Images, Livescience.com How many of us would love to just unfurl our own, human wings and launch ourselves into the air at will? I sure would. Any time I was asked as a kid to name three wishes I’d ask the genie for, “the…
This Day in Aviation History–The Miracle on The Hudson Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: History.com Photo Credit: Chris McGrath/Getty Images If you’ve ever hit a bird (or another animal) while flying (or driving) raise your hand. No hands? I was in a drive-through lane of a fast-food restaurant one day in Jacksonville, NC and noted…
First Balloon to Cross the English Channel Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: History.com, Historyhit,com, The Royal Aeronautical Society Aviation history is a wonderful world of exciting firsts peppered with a sad world of depressing bursts. Even today there are risks in aviation, even with all our rules; procedures; navigational aids; high tech weather forecasting (so…