Good Sunday afternoon fellow ECAHF’ers. This aviation history vignette is less about history than it is about “current operations”. And it’s a story not about me although I was a bit player in it, emphasis on the word “bit”. So, I hope by telling it I don’t come off as “tooting my own horn” because […]
KSOP and KFQD Disaster Relief Operations Read More »
Good morning fellow ECAHF’ers. Ever jump out of an airplane while parachuting or skydiving? Some of us jump for sport or a one-time, “bucket-list” thrill. Military parachutists (those graduating from a military “jump school”) often claim they have voluntarily jumped out of “perfectly good airplanes”. The US Army’s jump school at Fort Moore (formally Fort
On This Day In Aviation History: The First Working Parachute Read More »
I love serendipity. And it… “serendipity”, or chance, Providence, fate, fortune, Karma, whatever you want to call it…happens often to most of us during our lives (if we recognize it). And it happened again to me today. This time, serendipity exposed itself as we flew home from the kitschy “UFO Capital of the World” on
Good morning fellow ECAHF’ers. All of us older than 29 or 30 years old remember exactly where we were and what we were doing on this day 23 years ago. I was on active duty in the Marines and flying a Beechcraft KingAir simulator at McConnell AFB in Wichita, Kansas at the moment the first
23 Years Ago in American and Aviation History Read More »
Smokey Bear turned 80. He was flown from New Mexico as a cub to begin his long career. Good afternoon fellow ECAHF’ers. Who doesn’t know about Smokey and his enduring message of fire safety? Smokey is one of the most successful marketing ideas of all time. And like most things, timing had a role in
Smokey Bear is Part of Aviation History! Read More »
Good morning fellow ECAHF’ers. Most of us fly. Well, at least most of us fly for business or pleasure on commercial airliners. But few of us have been inside an Air Traffic Control (ATC) airport control tower or in an enroute ATC facility controlling flight operations. What happens in these facilities is not “controlled chaos”
The FAA is Fired on this Day in Aviation History Read More »
Good morning fellow ECAHF’ers. While few of us send letters anymore, we may still hear complaints about the cost of first-class postage going up. In fact, some of you may be unaware that the price for a first-class stamp just over a week ago on July 14, 2024 went from 68 to 73 cents. “Five
Airmail Took Some Time Read More »
Good morning fellow ECAHF’ers. We cannot and should not allow today’s major aviation history event to go by unnoticed. With less computer power than a modern, mid-sized car, today in 1969, like all of you alive at the time were too, I was glued (as a 16-year-old) to big floor console color TV with no
On This Day in Aviation History: the Moon Read More »
Good morning fellow ECAHF’ers. Aviation history includes some wonderful moments of success, joy, grit, and triumph, all events we should celebrate. Unfortunately, like life, aviation history also includes tragedies, horrible mistakes, overconfidence, and incomprehensible sadness. And if we’re to be a truly great nation, we must be honest with and acknowledge our mistakes, be self-aware
Today in Aviation History: The USS Vincennes Read More »
Good morning fellow ECAHF’ers. Twenty years. That’s a long time. While a few of us may live longer, 20 years is a fourth or less of most of our lives. And how far we’ve come in that time. Twenty years is indeed a long time, but then again, it’s not that long. The past 20