Flight Journal Magazine - December 2018
Flight Journal Magazine - December 2018
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In this issue
65 Years Old and Still Kickin' Butt: The Lethal and Legendary MiG-21 Lives On; Treasure Hunt: The Never-Ending Search for Aviation Memorabilia; Top-Secret Cold War Recce Missions; Midway's Mysterious Tragedy is Solved by a $10 Bill; Stinson's SR-5 Straight Wing; Curtiss SC-1 Seahawk
Shooting Blanks Top-Secret Cold War Recce Missions
Right after the war ended, I learned to fly in a Piper Cub before I went into the Air Force. I started out in Stearmans, even though they were phasing them out. They just lined us up according to height, and the shortest one-third of the guys got into Stearmans. I was happy because I wanted to fly the Stearman, and we got a lot more acrobatics than the guys in the AT-6 did. I eventually flew the P-51s at Williams Field in Phoenix, Arizona. I was 19 years old and just having a ball, and it only got better from there because they had the F-80 Shooting Stars at Williams Field. I was selected to go into a reconnaissance squadron and flew the RF-80, which was a reconnaissance version of the F-80, out at March Field in California. I actually liked recon work better than the fighters because we were flying all over the United States taking pictures. The poor fighter boys would just go to the gunnery range, shoot into the sand, and head back.
10+ mins
Perennial Bad Guy: The MiG-21 65 Years Old And Still Kickin' Butt
If the United States has developed fighters that have staying power over many yearsthe venerable F-4, F-15, and F-16 come to mindthen the Russian MiG-21 must surely share that space. The MiG21 made its public debut in a Soviet air display in 1956. Known as an air-to-air missile fighter, the MiG-21 can also wage war with an internally mounted 23mm cannon. Some like to call the MiG21 the AK-47 of jet fighters. Like the famed short Soviet rifle, the MiG-21 has proven to be both lethal and long-lived around the world.
10 mins
Which Way Did They Go?: Midway's Mysterious Tragedy Is Solved By A $10 Bill
There is one mystery concerning the June1942 Battle of Midway that has long confoundedhistorians: Why did not even one Hornet divebomber attack the Japanese carrier force? Reportedly, they were on the same course as theplanes from Yorktown and Enterprise and took off at the same time. Numerous official and unofficialexplanations all came down to simple bad luck.There is no denying that luck and chance playeda major role at Midway. In the case of HornetsAir Group 8, however, so did bad judgment, poorleadership, and arrogance. It was a simple $10 billthat provided the missing clue to the mystery.
10+ mins
Reliable Reliants Stinson's SR-5 Straight Wing
The 1930s had more than its share of dichotomies that, from this end ofhistorys telescope, make little sense. The stock-market crash of 1929 seta record depression in motion that numbed America for most of the nextdecade. To make matters worse, nature decided to make mid-America intoa dust bowl, where real estate in one state often found its way to another.
2 mins
Flight Journal Magazine Description:
Publisher: Air Age Media
Category: Flying & Aviation
Language: English
Frequency: Bi-Monthly
Flight Journal is like no other aviation magazine in the world, covering the world of flight from its simple beginnings to its high-tech, no-holds- barred future. We put readers in the cockpit and let them live the thrill and adventure of the aviation experience, narrated by those who know the technology and made the history. The spectacular photography – from air-to-air shots to rarely seen archival photos–enhances each and every story. Each issue brings the stories of flight–past, present and future – to life.
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