Admiral Byrd and the South Pole Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: History.com I meant to get this out the other day, highlighting November 29, 1929, just a few days after the 1929 stock market crash that was a contributing factor to the Great Depression and also the 94th anniversary of American explorer and US Navy…
D.B. Cooper Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: History.com I hope you had an enjoyable Thanksgiving recalling and celebrating the many blessings we’ve been granted. In 1971, I was a senior in high school and, being the self-absorbed young adult focused on getting accepted to college I was, even I recall the interest we had in…
QUESST Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: Robert Lea, NASA Best wishes for a happy Thanksgiving to all readers of the Moore County Airport Website. Speaking of Thanksgiving, think turkeys can’t fly? See the video here to settle the argument once and for all: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWyMbMTAvgY “Turkey” can be used as a synonym for a slow, lumbering…
The Thundering Herd Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: History.com, Wikipedia One of the most tragic aviation mishaps in American history was the day the “Thundering Herd” thundered no more. Even as a self-absorbed Ohio high school junior—me—with no connection to Marshall University or West Virginia, I remember the day this tragedy occurred. And I could…
Press On: Back to the Past Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: Mark Harris via TechCrunch.com Today’s aviation history vignette, is appropriately (since we’re talking history here 😊) titled, “Back to the past”. Commercializing airships and airship passenger service and cargo hauling—even arming them with aircraft and other weapons—have been “tried”…and have failed…multiple times in the…
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”…