Harold Gillam flew Alaska's most brutal conditions for fifteen years before a January 1943 crash in the coastal mountains claimed the territory's most storied bush pilot.
TaildraggerGregory 'Pappy' Boyington led VMF-214, a squadron assembled from castoffs, to 97 aerial victories in 84 days - and was shot down over Rabaul before learning he'd earned the Medal of Honor.
TaildraggerRoscoe Turner won the Thompson Trophy three times between 1934 and 1939, setting a record no pilot ever broke - in an era that was simply too dangerous to last.
TaildraggerThe de Havilland Mosquito was a WWII British bomber built from birch plywood that outran Luftwaffe fighters - a private venture the Air Ministry initially rejected.
TaildraggerSlow, underpowered, and nearly obsolete, the SBD Dauntless sank three Japanese fleet carriers in five minutes at Midway on June 4, 1942.
TaildraggerOn July 23, 1983, a metric conversion error drained Air Canada Flight 143 of fuel at 41,000 feet - and a glider pilot's instincts saved all 69 people aboard.
TaildraggerThe B-17E known as the Swamp Ghost crashed in a Papua New Guinea swamp in 1942 and was recovered 64 years later, nearly intact, due to rare bog preservation conditions.
TaildraggerBeryl Markham completed the first solo nonstop east-to-west Atlantic crossing on September 4–5, 1936, flying 3,600 miles in 21 hours against prevailing headwinds.
TaildraggerDon Sheldon of Talkeetna, Alaska spent two decades flying climbers onto Denali's glaciers and built the historic Mountain House on the Ruth Glacier in 1966.
TaildraggerOn August 1, 1943, five U.S. bomb groups flew a 50-foot attack on the Ploesti oil refineries, earning five Medals of Honor in a single afternoon.
TaildraggerThe F4U Corsair was rejected by the Navy for carrier use, given to the Marines, and became the most feared fighter in the Pacific - serving through two wars across 13 years of production.
TaildraggerIn 1924, eight U.S. Army Air Service pilots completed the first aerial circumnavigation of the globe in open-cockpit Douglas World Cruisers, covering 26,345 miles in 175 days.
TaildraggerThe Enola Gay's story spans the most consequential bombing mission in history, decades of outdoor neglect, a painstaking restoration, and a museum controversy that cost a director his job.
TaildraggerOn August 16, 1942, a Navy K-class blimp landed itself in a California street - its two-man crew gone without a trace, no distress call, no bodies ever found.
TaildraggerMore than 100 WWII aircraft sank during carrier training on Lake Michigan - and decades later, cold freshwater kept many of them intact.
TaildraggerWiley Post lost his eye in a 1926 oil field accident, used the settlement to buy an airplane, and went on to fly solo around the world and discover the jet stream.
TaildraggerOn April 16, 1912, Harriet Quimby became the first woman to fly the English Channel - a landmark achievement largely buried by the sinking of the Titanic.
TaildraggerClyde Pangborn completed the first nonstop Pacific crossing in 1931, flying 4,558 miles in 41 hours after deliberately dropping his landing gear over open ocean.
TaildraggerThe Lockheed P-38 Lightning produced America's greatest ace, executed the killing of Admiral Yamamoto, and flew further than any Allied fighter of WWII.
TaildraggerOn December 14, 1986, Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager departed Edwards AFB and flew nonstop, unrefueled around the world in 9 days, 3 minutes, and 44 seconds.
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