Leslie Irvin and the first intentional free-fall parachute jump on April twenty-eighth, nineteen nineteen
On April 28, 1919, Leslie Irvin made the first intentional free-fall parachute jump, proving humans stay conscious in free fall.
The Hangar
Aviation history and storytelling with Taildragger. Warbird restorations, legendary pilots, famous flights, and the stories that shaped aviation from the Wright Brothers to the Space Shuttle.
Operation Vengeance and the P thirty-eight Lightnings that killed Admiral Yamamoto
How 16 P-38 Lightnings flew 435 miles at wave-top height to intercept and kill Admiral Yamamoto in April 1943.
The Farnborough disaster of nineteen fifty-two and the day the DH one ten broke apart over the crowd
The 1952 Farnborough airshow disaster killed 31 people and transformed airshow safety regulations worldwide.
Wiley Post and the one-eyed Oklahoma farm boy who flew around the world twice and discovered the jet stream
Wiley Post lost an eye in an oilfield accident, bought his first airplane with the insurance money, and changed aviation forever.
Ernie Gann and Fate is the Hunter, the pilot who wrote the truth about luck
Ernest K. Gann's Fate is the Hunter remains the finest aviation memoir ever written, a brutally honest account of luck, skill, and survival.
Jackie Cochran and the orphan girl who became the fastest woman alive
Jackie Cochran rose from barefoot orphan to the fastest woman alive, breaking the sound barrier and holding over 200 flight records.
The Cornfield Bomber and the F one oh six that landed itself after the pilot punched out
The true story of an F-106 Delta Dart that recovered from a flat spin and landed itself in a Montana cornfield after its pilot ejected in 1970.
The first flight of the Airbus A three eighty on April twenty-seventh, two thousand five
On April 27, 2005, the Airbus A380 — the largest commercial airplane ever built — made its maiden flight from Toulouse, France.
The Hawker Hurricane restorations and the Battle of Britain fighter that had to be rescued from obscurity
The Hawker Hurricane scored 60% of Battle of Britain kills yet nearly vanished — here's how restorers are saving it.
The nineteen ten Los Angeles Air Meet at Dominguez Field and the week that made America fall in love with flight
The 1910 Los Angeles Air Meet at Dominguez Field drew half a million spectators and ignited America's love affair with flight.
The bombing of Guernica on April twenty-sixth, nineteen thirty-seven and the afternoon that changed aerial warfare forever
On April 26, 1937, the Condor Legion bombed the Basque town of Guernica in a three-hour attack that changed aerial warfare forever.
Tom Reilly and the XP-82 Twin Mustang that took twenty years to fly again
How Tom Reilly spent two decades restoring the world's only flyable XP-82 Twin Mustang from a rusted hulk in an Ohio field.
Bob Timm and John Cook and the Cessna one seventy-two that stayed airborne for sixty-four days
In 1958-59, Bob Timm and John Cook kept a stock Cessna 172 airborne for 64 days, setting a record that still stands.
Eugene Bullard, the first Black combat pilot who flew for France because America wouldn't let him
Eugene Bullard, born in Georgia in 1895, became the first Black combat pilot in history, flying for France because America refused him.
The Eighth Air Force's last bombing mission over Europe on April twenty-fifth, nineteen forty-five
On April 25, 1945, the Eighth Air Force flew its final bombing mission over Europe, striking the Skoda works at Pilsen, Czechoslovakia.
The Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovik pulled from a Russian lake and the quest to fly the most-produced warplane in history
The story of how the most-produced military aircraft in history was pulled from a Russian lake and restored to flight.
Jimmy Angel and the crash landing on top of the world's tallest waterfall
Jimmy Angel crashed his Flamingo monoplane atop Venezuela's Auyán-tepui in 1937, proving the world's tallest waterfall existed.
Operation Eagle Claw and the desert disaster that rebuilt American special operations aviation
Operation Eagle Claw's 1980 desert failure killed eight Americans and reshaped U.S. special operations aviation forever.
Pappy Boyington and the Black Sheep who owned the skies over the Solomon Islands
The story of Pappy Boyington, the Marine Corps' top ace of WWII who turned a squadron of misfits into legends over the Solomon Islands.
The Grande Semaine d'Aviation at Reims and the week in nineteen oh nine that invented the airshow
The 1909 Grande Semaine d'Aviation at Reims, France, was the event that transformed flying from a curiosity into a global industry.