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Flightdeck Friday – Gasbags and Hookers
Massive floating airship carriers deploying squadrons of fighters – a scene from some fantastic grade-B thriller? Well, maybe. But back in the mid-1930’s it wasn’t all that far fetched. The Navy, in the midst of transformational experimentation with aircraft carriers, was well into the trials with lighter-than-air ships. Of these, the USS Akron and USS…
Chronicles of Naval Aviation: Tailcodes
Writing in the latest edition of The Hook (what, you’re not a member? Right this way then — and there’s associate memberships available for those who support tailhook aviation but haven’t experienced it first hand…yet), Boom Powell (“From the Catwalk”) relays a contributor’s lament about squadron tailcodes and callsigns, citing as examples VMA-255’s tail code…
US Space Program: Lost in Place?
What is the mission of NASA? No — Seriously, what is NASA’s mission? Is it to be the lead Agency for exploration in the fields of aeronautics and space? Discovering new technologies, opening new vistas of engineering and scientific knowledge for further exploration and utilization by US industry and the free nations of the world?…
Flightdeck Friday: Hubble At 100K
Blasting, billowing, bursting forth With the power of ten    billion butterfly sneezes Man with his flaming pyre Has conquered the wayward breezes Climbing to tranquility Far above the cloud Conceiving the heavens Clear of misty shroud… – Moody Blues, Higher and Higher Growing up we were insatiable in our appetite for anything related to…
Flightdeck Friday: RF-8 Crusaders and BLUE MOON
(Consider it an early weekend present — enjoy! Now, get to reading that new Maritime Strategy – lots of discussions next week and some surprises in the offering on this site…stay tuned. -SJS) 15 Oct 1962. Imagery from U-2 flights begun on the 14th continue to roll in for imagery analysts at NPIC (National Photographic…
Flightdeck Friday – Jetski Edition (Convair XF2Y-1 Sea Dart)
Prologue The concept of seaplane fighters was neither new nor novel – several examples had been put to desultory effect during WW2 and even combining floats with jets (like the British SR.A.1) still failed to overcome the shortcomings of the type. The problem lay in a combination of weight and drag – ruthless enemies where…