One quick note on December 17th. Back in 1903, this was the day Wilbur and Orville Wright made their first powered flights. They barely held the Wright Flyer of the ground and only managed about 120ft, using a sort of catapult that launched them into the wind. The Boeing 747 -- itself over 50yrs … Continue reading First and Final Flights
Yes, I'm finally off Vancouver Island, poking around British Columbia as the first leaves start to turn yellow. I look back at this year's trip and can't really make sense of it. My plans totally changed, multiple times, and yet I did still have a goal that I accomplished. In the wider context though -- … Continue reading End of The Island Adventure
I've really lost track of time. How did September get here so quick? I can't tell if I'm behind schedule or not, because I had no plan after seeing the Mars waterbomber land. I knew I'd explore Vancouver Island after that of course, but I had only vague plans and no timeline. I took the … Continue reading Trippin’ Around Vancouver Island
The Queen of the Lake, who saved millions in timber and hundreds of homes and lives, retires after 20 years of military history and over 40 years as a water bomber. I was there to witness its last time in the air and on the water.
First days on the new, revised trip. Up to Ohio for some of aviation's beginnings, then west to see a chapter of aviation end.
"The Tilly Orifice" might sound like a poorly named lesbian bar, but it was actually a crucial field modification for British fighter planes. See, in WW2 the famous Spitfire and it's counterpart the Hawker Hurricane both used the renown Merlin engine. The Merlin was a wonderful design but the carburetor that fed it fuel would … Continue reading The Tilly Orifice
Leaving Bisbee was the beginning of a 2,000 mile loop, all of it centered around the normal errands people do around town. My town, however, was a helluva lot bigger: like half of the American Southwest kind of big. Since this was business and not pleasure though, it meant using the interstate, aka the superslab. … Continue reading The Long, Straight Road
I will let Air & Space Magazine tell the story; it is too good to paraphrase. Sometimes a story just needs to be told properly in order to be engaging. While we all want the drama and excitement of life-changing events, not every story needs a hero and a villain and a lesson. No, some … Continue reading Shared: Flight of the Airsick Lobsters
The Wright Brothers may have been pretty hipster, rolling around building wing-warping biplanes and beach racing, but they weren't hipster enough to build a fixie cafe racer bicycle. Maybe, at the turn of the century, it was avant garde to embrace technology instead of pay too much for "authentic vintage?"
Johnny Killmore 