Alan Shepard and the fifteen minutes that put America in space on May fifth, nineteen sixty-one
On May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American in space during a 15-minute suborbital flight that changed the course of history.
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.
William Rankin and the forty-minute fall through a thunderstorm at forty-seven thousand feet
In 1959, Marine pilot William Rankin ejected at 47,000 feet and survived 40 minutes inside a thunderstorm.
The XB-70 Valkyrie mid-air collision and the photo shoot that killed two pilots at Mach three's doorstep
The 1968 XB-70 Valkyrie mid-air collision killed two pilots during a routine GE publicity photo shoot over the Mojave Desert.
The ghost of Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 and the dead flight engineer who kept showing up in other airplanes
The true story of Eastern Air Lines Flight 401, the crash that changed cockpit procedures forever, and the ghost sightings that followed.
The Galloping Ghost and the Reno Air Race disaster of twenty eleven
The 2011 Galloping Ghost crash at Reno killed 11 people and ultimately ended unlimited air racing at Stead Airport.
Eric Winkle Brown and the Royal Navy test pilot who flew more aircraft types than anyone in history
Captain Eric 'Winkle' Brown flew 487 aircraft types and made 2,407 carrier landings, records no pilot will likely ever break.
Amy Johnson and the solo flight from England to Australia that began on May fourth, nineteen thirty
On May 4, 1930, Amy Johnson became the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia in a secondhand biplane with just 75 hours in her logbook.
Pancho Barnes and the fastest woman alive who built a desert saloon for test pilots
Pancho Barnes broke speed records, organized Hollywood stunt pilots, and built the legendary bar where test pilots gathered after breaking the sound barrier.
Just Jane the Avro Lancaster and the two brothers who bought an airfield to honor the one who never came home
The story of Just Jane, the Avro Lancaster that two Lincolnshire brothers spent decades restoring to honor their brother lost over Nuremberg in 1944.
Oakley Kelly and John Macready and the nonstop transcontinental flight that nearly killed them both on May third, nineteen twenty-three
On May 3, 1923, Lieutenants Oakley Kelly and John Macready completed the first nonstop transcontinental flight across the United States.
Saburo Sakai and the four-hour flight home with a bullet through his skull over Guadalcanal
How Saburo Sakai flew nearly five hours home with a bullet in his skull after being shot over Guadalcanal in 1942.
The Douglas World Cruiser Seattle and the crash on April thirtieth, nineteen twenty-four that almost ended the first flight around the world
On April 30, 1924, the Douglas World Cruiser Seattle crashed into an Alaskan mountainside, nearly ending the first-ever flight around the world.
The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and the seven-ton fighter they called the Jug
The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt was WWII's heaviest single-engine fighter, devastating in both air combat and ground attack roles.
The nineteen forty-nine Cleveland Air Races disaster and the crash that ended the golden age of air racing
The 1949 Cleveland Air Races disaster killed a pilot, a mother, and her infant son, ending America's golden age of air racing forever.
Douglas Bader and the legless ace who fought the Battle of Britain on tin legs
Douglas Bader lost both legs in a 1931 crash, then became one of the RAF's greatest fighter aces in World War II.
The Focke-Wulf Fw one ninety pulled from a Russian forest and restored to flight after sixty years in the dirt
How a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 crashed in a Russian forest in 1943 was recovered six decades later and restored to flying condition.
Operation Frequent Wind and the helicopter evacuation of Saigon on April twenty-ninth, nineteen seventy-five
Operation Frequent Wind on April 29, 1975 was the largest helicopter evacuation in history, airlifting over 7,000 people from Saigon in 18 hours.
The Phantom Fortress and the B-seventeen that landed itself with nobody on board
A crewless B-17 Flying Fortress landed itself in a Belgian field in 1944 after all nine crew members bailed out.
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.