On This Day in Aviation History – Dogs in Space Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: History.com, Wikipedia Muttley is a fictional dog created in 1968 by Hanna-Barbera Productions; he was originally voiced by Don Messick. He is the sidekick to the cartoon villain Dick Dastardly. Courtesy of Hanna-Barbera. Dogs. In. Space. (cue eerie space music). …
The Spruce Goose and Other Aviation Behemoths Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: Wikipedia, Sometimes Interesting. One of humankind’s eternal questions, “Does size really matter?” is the subject of today’s aviation history vignette. Like most things in life, the answer is, “It depends.” Notwithstanding the question—and answer—as it may be posed in other areas of our…
Kamikaze Attacks Begin in The Pacific Theater Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: History.com, Wikipedia Americans generally find the idea of suicide warriors and weapons, like Kamikazes…or terrorists strapped with bombs…as inconceivable. Some have described it as, “Americans glorify life and those who employ suicide on the battlefield glorify death”. But is that true? Americans “commit”…
The First Parachute Jump Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: History.com If we think the first person to attempt to eat a raw oyster was brave (this person as mentioned in my last post is lost to the dustbin of history), what about the first person to trust his life to a large bed sheet? When…
This Day in Aviation History – The First Person Saved by a Parachute Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: thisdayinaviation.com, Bryan R. Swopes Being the first at something can be a worthy achievement. Not always, but often. The first person to eat a raw oyster, for example, was a worthy achievement and that act has been…
Glamorous Glennis Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: History.com Breaking the speed of sound was a real milestone—and a risky one too. If you ever watched the Twilight Zone TV show, several episodes dealt with the fear of what could happen should humans continue to achieve such speeds, including disappearing for a while, perhaps in alien…
The R-101 Airship Crashes Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: History.com I just finished reading a book about airships, focused on the conception, development, and ultimate demise of one of the biggest aircraft ever to grace the skies: the British airship R-101. The book by S.C. Gwynne is entitled His Majesty’s Airship—The Life and Tragic Death…
This Day in Aviation History: The V2 Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: Wikipedia, History.com Could it be that what was designed, implemented, and used to deadly affect as a weapon of mass destruction could ultimately be our earthly savior? In the animated 2008 Pixar movie “WALL-E” (according to Wikipedia), “The film follows a solitary robot…