The Doolittle Raiders, the Silver Goblets, and the Last Toast in Dayton
How 80 men flew B-25 bombers off a carrier deck to bomb Tokyo in 1942 - and kept a 71-year promise to honor their fallen.
TaildraggerJimmy Doolittle
The Granville Brothers, the Gee Bee Super Sportster, and the Most Dangerous Race Aircraft of the Golden Age
The Gee Bee R-1 Super Sportster set a 252 mph Thompson Trophy record in 1932 - and the one man who flew it to its limit immediately retired from racing.
TaildraggerThe Granville Brothers Gee Bee Model R, the Thompson Trophy Races, and the Most Dangerous Airplane That Ever Won a Race at Cleveland
The Gee Bee Model R Super Sportster was the fastest piston aircraft in America in 1932 - and arguably the most dangerous machine ever to win the Thompson Trophy.
TaildraggerThe Gee Bee Model R, the Granville Brothers of Springfield, and the Racing Machine That Taught the Golden Age What Too Fast Really Means
The Gee Bee Model R set a world speed record of 252 mph at the 1932 National Air Races - and claimed the lives of nearly everyone else who flew it at the limit.
TaildraggerJimmy Doolittle, the Full Flight Laboratory, and the Fifteen Minutes at Mitchel Field That Taught Pilots to Trust the Gauges
On September 24, 1929, Jimmy Doolittle completed the first fully blind flight at Mitchel Field, proving that instruments - not instincts - could safely guide pilots through clouds.
TaildraggerThe Gee Bee Model R, the Granville Brothers' Barrel in the Sky, and the Thompson Trophy That Made Jimmy Doolittle Walk Away from Racing Forever
The Gee Bee Model R won the 1932 Thompson Trophy at 252 mph and became the defining image of American air racing's golden age - and its deadliest lesson.
TaildraggerThe Doolittle Raid, the B-25 Mitchells Off the USS Hornet, and the Eighty Seconds That Changed the Pacific War
On April 18, 1942, sixteen B-25 Mitchell bombers launched from the USS Hornet and struck Tokyo, cracking Japan's myth of invulnerability and setting in motion the chain of events that led to Midway.
TaildraggerThe Granville Brothers, the Gee Bee Super Sportster, and the Springfield Barrel That Made the Thompson Trophy Both Beautiful and Deadly
The Gee Bee Super Sportster was the fastest propeller-driven aircraft in America in the early 1930s - and its extreme design left fingerprints on every WWII fighter that followed.
TaildraggerJimmy Doolittle, the Hooded Cockpit at Mitchel Field, and the Blind Flight That Proved Instrument Flying Could Work
On September 24, 1929, Jimmy Doolittle flew the first fully instrument-guided flight in history - the 15-minute test that made modern IFR flying possible.
TaildraggerThe Granville Brothers, the Gee Bee Model R, and the Thompson Trophy That Proved the Most Dangerous Airplane of the Golden Age Could Be Flown
On September 4, 1932, Jimmy Doolittle flew the Gee Bee Model R to a 252.6 mph Thompson Trophy victory - then retired from racing on the spot.
TaildraggerThe Gee Bee Super Sportster, the Granville Brothers' Flying Barrel, and the Thompson Trophy That Doolittle Won and Nobody Else Could Keep Alive
The Gee Bee Super Sportster won the 1932 Thompson Trophy at 252 mph in Jimmy Doolittle's hands - and killed nearly everyone else who tried to fly it.
TaildraggerJimmy Doolittle, the Guggenheim Full Panel, and the September Morning at Mitchel Field That Made Blind Flying Possible
On September 24, 1929, Jimmy Doolittle completed the first fully hooded instrument flight at Mitchel Field, proving pilots could navigate safely without any visual reference to the outside world.
TaildraggerJimmy Doolittle, the Guggenheim Full Flight Laboratory, and the September Morning at Mitchel Field That Made Instrument Flying Possible
On September 24, 1929, Jimmy Doolittle completed the first fully blind flight at Mitchel Field, NY, proving instrument flying was a reproducible skill - not a gamble.
TaildraggerThe Gee Bee Racers, the Granville Brothers of Springfield, and the Flying Barrel That Could Win the Thompson Trophy and Break Your Heart on the Same Afternoon
The Gee Bee R-1 won the 1932 Thompson Trophy at 252 mph, outpacing military fighters by nearly a decade - and claimed the lives of nearly everyone who flew it.
TaildraggerJimmy Doolittle, the Hooded Cockpit, and the Blind Landing That Gave Every Pilot the Gift of IFR
On September 24, 1929, Jimmy Doolittle flew the first fully blind flight at Mitchel Field, demonstrating the instruments that became the foundation of modern IFR.
TaildraggerJimmy Doolittle, the Guggenheim Laboratory, and the September Morning That Invented Instrument Flying
On September 24, 1929, Jimmy Doolittle flew a complete circuit under a canvas hood at Mitchel Field - the first fully blind flight, and the foundation of every IFR approach flown since.
TaildraggerThe Gee Bee Model R, the Granville Brothers of Springfield, and the Barrel-Shaped Racer That Won the Thompson Trophy and Killed Almost Everyone Who Flew It After
The barrel-shaped Gee Bee Model R-One hit 252 mph to win the 1932 Thompson Trophy - and killed nearly every pilot who flew it after Doolittle walked away.
TaildraggerJimmy Doolittle, the Guggenheim Fund, and the First Blind Flight at Mitchel Field That Proved Instrument Flying Could Save Aviation's Future
On September 24, 1929, Jimmy Doolittle completed the first fully blind flight at Mitchel Field, NY, proving instrument flying could make commercial aviation viable in all weather.
TaildraggerThe Granville Brothers, the Gee Bee R-1, and the Race Plane That Defined the Golden Age of Air Racing
The Gee Bee R-1 won the 1932 Thompson Trophy at 252.6 mph - and its story reveals how civilian air racing built the foundation for WWII combat aviation.
TaildraggerJimmy Doolittle, the Covered Cockpit, and the September Morning in 1929 When Blind Flight Stopped Being a Theory
On September 24, 1929, Jimmy Doolittle completed the first fully instrument-guided flight under a canvas hood at Mitchel Field, proving blind flight could be a system, not a stunt.
Taildragger