Category: History / Research

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“The Flying Machine: Early Aero Quarterly” Winter 2018 Edition Now Available!

Aerodynamic Media, LLC is proud to announce the release of the sixth issue of The Flying Machine: Early Aero Quarterly.

Issue #6 Contents:

36 Pages – Wright Tour Guide: Examining Sites and Artifacts Connected to the Wright Brothers and the Birth of Powered Flight (Part 1); Fighter World Sopwith Camel Project; Avro Rigging Notes (Part 2); News Briefs: Owls Head Transportation Museum Projects, Restoration of King/Coughlin Sopwith Pup, New Displays at Udvar-Hazy; Products

The Flying Machine focuses exclusively on “aeroplanes” manufactured prior to 1920, as well as the current work of historians, builders, restorers, museums and collectors to preserve and promote interest in the early years of flight. Published in print and digital formats, The Flying Machine is offered on a pay-per-issue basis – no subscription required!

Join us as we pay tribute to early aircraft and the visionaries, geniuses and daredevils who conquered the air while producing some of the most fascinating, ingenious and beautiful machines in aviation’s short history.

Click here to purchase!

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Group Planning Another Search for Pittsburgh’s Legendary “Ghost Bomber”

The B-25 Recovery Group believes it has narrowed down the possible location of Pittsburgh’s famous “ghost bomber” and are reportedly considering another search.

The aircraft, TB-25N S/N 44-29125 (similar to the type seen above), was on a training flight from Nevada to Harrisburg when it ran out of fuel and ditched in Monongahela River near Homestead, Pennsylvania on January 31, 1956. While four crew members managed to make it to shore, two tragically perished in the freezing waters.

Subsequent searches for the aircraft were fruitless, and its whereabouts have become one of the area’s most enduring mysteries. Since 1995, the B-25 Recovery Group has been conducting research and mapping the riverbed with sonar in search of the missing bomber. Their investigation suggests that the machine came to rest in a submerged gravel pit and was eventually buried by silt. The team is focusing on a 50 x 200′ location off the Glenwood Bridge and may return this October to conduct another search.

After obtaining permits, the group hopes to drill in a grid-like pattern every 7.5′ – a method that they believe will locate the aircraft no matter what condition it may be in.

(via TribLIVE Additional Information via B-25 Recovery Group)

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WW1 Ace’s Letters Sharing Combat Experience to Hit Auction Block

An archive of letters from WW1 American ace Lt. Edgar Taylor sharing his wartime experiences is set to hit the auction block.

Taylor was born to English parents in Rhode Island in 1897 and enlisted in the RFC in 1917, where he was assigned to 79 Squadron flying Sopwith Dolphin D3727. During the month of August 1918, he claimed four balloons and a Fokker D.VII before being killed in action on August 24.

The earliest letter in the collection is dated April 14, 1918, before he was transferred to France, while the second was written on May 23, detailing “a little adventure” which saw his guns jam while attacking an enemy aircraft, leaving Taylor “very much disappointed.” The collection records Taylor’s experiences and routines at the aerodrome, as well as harrowing details of his combat flights, one of which was revealed in a letter dated June 14, 1918: Continue reading WW1 Ace’s Letters Sharing Combat Experience to Hit Auction Block