Tara Ross's This Day in History

This Day in History: Cal Poly Football Team Tragedy

On this day in 1960, a plane carrying the Cal Poly football team crashes in Ohio. The tragedy was the first airline crash involving a United States sports team.

Amazingly, 26 people survived.

The Cal Poly team had been in Ohio to play a football game, of course. That game against Bowling Green hadn’t gone very well. Afterwards, the players just wanted to get home. Surely no one was happy about the dense fog that descended upon the area. Would Cal Poly’s chartered plane be able to take off?

The pilot entrusted with the decision, it was later discovered, was flying with a suspended license. The story continues here: http://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-cal-poly-1960

This Day in History: Airship USS Shenandoah

On this day in 1923, USS Shenandoah is christened. The rigid airship was intended for airborne surveillance, similar to what Germany achieved during World War I. Shenandoah was also the first rigid airship constructed by the United States, and the first to rely on helium, rather than the more flammable hydrogen.

Unfortunately, Shenandoah wouldn’t last long. She was caught in a storm in 1925, killing 14 of 43 men aboard, including her captain.

What a sad ending for the airship that was then said to be the “pride of the U.S. Navy.”

And who can blame the Navy for being proud? Shenandoah boasted five 300-horsepower, six-cylinder Packard engines, and she could reach a top speed of 60 mph. After her christening, she made test flights across the United States, even impressing the nation with a transcontinental flight in October 1924. She became a popular sight, and local officials began requesting flights over their cities.

The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-uss-shenandoah

This Day in History: The Wright Brothers' "Practical" Airplane

At about this time in 1905, Wilbur Wright makes a record-setting airplane flight. His Flyer III would stay in the air for more than 38 minutes. The 24-mile flight was the longest one yet.

Perhaps most importantly to Wilbur and his brother Orville, the flight proved their Flyer III to be a “practical” airplane—the first aircraft to make such a demonstration.

As with any great entrepreneurs, the Wright brothers’ story is one of hard work, success—and failure. Naturally, those early failures proved critical in making the later successes possible.

FULL STORY: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-wright-practical-aircraft

This Day in History: WWII Heroine Violet Cowden

On this day in 1916, a future aviation heroine is born. Violet (“Vi”) Thurn Cowden is best known for her service in the Women Airforce Service Pilots [WASPs] during World War II.

Vi grew up on a small South Dakota farm and would later remember her early fascination with flight. As a young girl, she’d watched a hawk swoop down to grab a chicken. Vi knew instantly: “I wanted to fly like that.” 

She grew older and became a teacher, but she still longed to fly. She soon convinced a pilot to give her lessons. “[I had to] ride my bike six miles out to the airport for class in the morning,” she chuckled. “And thank goodness it was downhill on the way back. And the little kids [at school] would say, ‘You flew today.’ And I said, ‘Well, how do you know?’ They said, ‘Well, you’re so happy.’”

The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-violet-cowden

This Day in History: Happy Birthday, U.S. Air Force!

On this day in 1947, the United States Air Force is established. Did you know that the aviation arm of our military was part of the Army during World Wars I and II?  It did not become a separate and independent branch of the military until 1947.

The Army obtained its first airplane—a Wright Flyer—in 1909. That aircraft was called, quite simply, “Army Aeroplane No. 1” or “Signal Corps No. 1.”

“There is much work ahead if the military authorities carry out their present program with reference to aeronautics,” newspapers soon reported. “The instruction of the two premier army aeronauts—Lieutenant Lahm and Lieutenant Humphries—by Wilbur Wright was but a beginning. These two officers in turn are to teach their brother officers of the [Army] Signal Corps how to manage aeroplanes aloft.”

FULL STORY: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-us-air-force

This Day in History: Pearl Carter Scott, Aviator

On this day in 1930, a teenager becomes the youngest solo aviator to take to the skies.  “Handling the controls like a seasoned transport pilot,” a local newspaper reported, “Eula Pearl Carter, 14-year-old Marlow high school sophomore, swooped into the air . . . . to become possibly the youngest aviatrix in the United States.”

Pearl’s fearless determination echoed that of her father, George Carter. He’d been blinded at an early age but was determined to overcome it. He worked relentlessly until he’d turned himself into a wildly successful businessman.

His success laid a foundation for his daughter.

The story continues here: http://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-pearl-carter-scott

This Day in History: First U.S. Airmail

On this day in 1918, the first official U.S. airmail flight departs from Washington, D.C.  Such a flight is ordinary today, but in the early 20th century, the success of such an undertaking was far from certain.

“When airmail began in 1918,” a USPS publication explains, “airplanes were still a fairly new invention. Pilots flew in open cockpits in all kinds of weather . . . . [They] followed landmarks on the ground; in fog they flew blind. Unpredictable weather, unreliable equipment, and inexperience led to frequent crashes . . . .”

Some credit Otto Praeger, Second Assistant Postmaster General, with pushing airmail into existence. Praeger was all enthusiasm for the mail: He knew nothing about planes or their limitations.

The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-airmail-service

This Day in History: Charles Lindbergh's Historic Flight

On this day in 1928, Colonel Charles Lindbergh is awarded the Medal of Honor. In an odd twist, he’d already received a Distinguished Flying Cross for the same action: He’d finished a historic nonstop transatlantic trip from New York to Paris.

He was young, and he’d flown alone. He wasn’t supposed to accomplish something like that! And yet he did.

Lindbergh was one of several pilots competing to win $25,000. A French-born American had offered the prize to the first pilot of any Allied country who could make a nonstop trip from New York to Paris.  The competition was intense, but Lindbergh was determined to win.

The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-lindbergh-flight

This Day in History: Thomas Selfridge, aviation pioneer

At about this time in 1882, a future aviation pioneer is born. Thomas E. Selfridge’s name isn’t well known, but he was among those working to make human flight possible in the early 20th century.

“Though young,” a cataloger for the Smithsonian writes, “he was one of the very few at the time who accurately foresaw a military role for powered aircraft.”

Unfortunately, U.S. Army Lieutenant Selfridge would not live to see the fruits of his labor. Instead, he was among those early pioneers who lost their lives. He unfortunately holds a dubious place in history as the first passenger casualty of flight.

At the time of his passing, Selfridge was the “United States Army’s expert on aviation,” a historian at the U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio, explains. “He would have been a significant figure in American military aviation [had he lived].”

The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-thomas-selfridge

This Day in History: First untethered spacewalk

On this day in 2017, a pioneer passes away. Bruce McCandless II is best known as the NASA astronaut who made the first untethered spacewalk.

No one had ever done such a thing before. Usually, a long cable keeps astronauts safely bound to their spacecraft. But on February 7, 1984, Captain McCandless would leave the Space Shuttle Challenger and float freely in space, relying only on a propulsion system strapped to his back.

McCandless had been in Mission Control when Neil Armstrong accomplished a similar feat on the moon’s surface. Now, nearly 15 years later, it was his turn.

“It may have been one small step for Neil,” McCandless joked as he left the Space Shuttle that day. “But it’s a heckuva big leap for me.”

The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-challenger-spacewalk

This Day in History: Chuck Yeager's Supersonic Flight

On this day in 1947, a United States Air Force pilot nearly loses control of his plane while conducting a test flight. Always coolheaded, Chuck Yeager nevertheless got his plane to the ground—and learned from the experience. Just four days later, the World War II flying ace would become the first person to break the sound barrier.

Breaking the sound barrier today can be normal, but the accomplishment was extraordinary in 1947. No one then knew if a human being could survive the experience.

The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-chuck-yeager

This Week in History: The X-15 Hypersonic Plane

At about this time in 1963, a NASA test pilot soars into space. Joseph A. Walker was then flying an experimental spaceplane, the X-15. The trip made him the first to twice pass the Kármán line, the internationally accepted altitude where outer space begins.

Do you know about the X-15 hypersonic plane? Three were built, then piloted by NASA and U.S. Air Force pilots. From 1959 to 1968, these planes would conduct 199 different missions in Earth’s upper atmosphere.

“The North American Aviation X-15 rocket planes,” a NASA website concludes, “designed to explore the problems of atmospheric and space flight at supersonic and hypersonic speeds . . . contributed directly to the success of the Apollo lunar missions.”

The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-joe-walker-x15

TDIH: Lucky Lady II's trip around the world

On this day in 1949, a B-50 bomber wraps up a historic non-stop trip around the globe. The Cold War was just beginning, and the flight was a huge triumph.

That flight put Russia on notice: Mess with the United States at your own peril. Americans can reach any city on the planet if war breaks out. “[W]e have an international air force,” General Hoyt Vandenberg told reporters after the plane landed on March 2.

Lucky Lady II completed the flight, but she wasn’t supposed to be the one making the trip. She got called in because the primary aircraft, Global Queen, couldn’t finish the task. Instead, engine trouble over the Atlantic had forced Global Queen to make an emergency landing at the Azores islands.

It was Lucky Lady’s turn.  The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-lucky-lady-ii

This Day in History: An Aviation First

On this day in 1911, an airplane lands aboard an American warship for the first time.  Eugene B. Ely was the pilot who accomplished this feat—and USS Pennsylvania was the vessel that welcomed him. Interestingly, Ely had made the attempt despite the fact that he couldn’t swim, hated the water, and sometimes suffered from seasickness.

“It was easy enough,” Ely reportedly said when the landing was done. “I think the trick could be successfully turned nine times out of ten.”

Hmm.  Not a comforting statistic for the tenth plane?

It was still quite an accomplishment. Remember, Ely’s landing would have occurred less than eight years after the Wright Brothers’ famous flight at Kitty Hawk. And it occurred less than two years after Glenn L. Martin launched his homemade plane into the air.

The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-eugene-ely

This Day in History: Amelia Earhart’s Record-Breaking Flight

On this day in 1935, Amelia Earhart departs from Honolulu. The flight that followed would make her the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to the mainland.

She’d been preparing for months.

“I have long preached,” she later wrote, “that two-thirds of the success of any expedition is in the preparation.” And there was a lot to do!

Each of nine tanks on her plane had to be checked, not only at different altitudes, but also at different capacities. Did they operate smoothly when full—and also when nearly empty? Moreover, Earhart herself had to determine how much gasoline and oil her plane could be expected to use in a variety of circumstances.

Today, we might expect a specific model of airplane to come with specs dictating what the fuel efficiency would be under certain conditions. Earhart had no such luxury.

The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-amelia-earhart-hawaii

This Day in History: Operation Carpetbagger

On this day in 1944, an American B-24 Liberator lands in England, having completed a top-secret overnight mission. The plane had been painted black, making it hard to spot against the nighttime sky. The B-24’s ball-turret had also been removed, replaced with a cargo hatch.

The objective of the secret flight was simple: Resupply underground resistance forces in Nazi-held territory. The flight was the first of many in an effort that would span months. Taken together, these missions came to be known as Operation Carpetbagger.

It became one of World War II’s best-kept secrets.

The missions were so covert that the crews themselves often had no idea where they were going or what they were carrying.

The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-operation-carpetbagger

This Day in History: Forgotten Aviation Hero Wiley Post

At about this time in 1898, a future aviation entrepreneur is born in a small farming community in Texas. Wiley Post would rise above poverty, prison, and even losing an eye to become one of our nation’s most accomplished aviators. Indeed, aviator Howard Hughes would say that Post completed “the most remarkable flight in history.”

How surprising that so few today know Post’s name.

He started humbly enough. He dropped out of school in 8th grade and was working for a construction company in Oklahoma when World War I began. He wanted to fly for the Army, but it didn’t work out. After the war, he was struggling financially and landed in prison for armed robbery.

Afterwards, he began getting gigs as a parachuter, earning as much as $200 per jump. The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-wiley-post