A Working Bird to the End
If you were into airplanes at the time, the 1920s was an exciting time. The previous decade had seen the airplane enter as a rickety box kite that, by the end of the decade, had morphed into an amazingly lethal tool of the fighter pilot’s trade. The 1920s saw similar progress but in a less lethal vein. The concept was so new yet so basic that entrepreneurs ran with it and put an airplane manufacturer on almost every corner.
It is unknown exactly how many aircraft ventures were started and had failed in the ’20s. At the same time, however, famous names such as Cessna, Travel Air, and WACO had the staying power to continue into the ’40s. One of the companies on this short list was Fairchild.
This story is from the June 2019 edition of Flight Journal.
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This story is from the June 2019 edition of Flight Journal.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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Scourge of the Allied Fighters
IT HAD TO BE THE MOST HELPLESS FEELING in the world: you're at 25,000 feet over Europe knowing that your primary function is to drop bombs-or flying escort for the bombers while being a slow-moving target for some of the world's finest shooters. However, you have John Browning's marvelous .50 caliber invention to give some degree of protection. Unfortunately, you're absolutely helpless against flak. Piloting and gunnery skills play no role in a game where sheer chance makes life and death decisions. For that reason, the Krupp 88 mm Flak 18/36/37 AA cannon could be considered WW II's ultimate stealth fighter. You never saw it coming.
ZERO MYTH, MYSTERY, AND FACT
A test pilot compares the A6M5 Zero to U.S. fighters
Fw 190 STURMBÖCKE
The Luftwaffe's \"Battering Rams\" against the USAAF heavy bombers
American BEAUTY
\"Forgotten Fifteenth\" top-scoring Mustang ace John J. Voll
BANSHEE WAIL!
Flying Skulls over Burma
KILLER CORSAIR
Albert Wells, Death Rattlers Ace
BACKSTREET BRAWLER
A young man, his Hurricane and the Battle of Britain
Still Flying After All These Years
One of the oldest airworthy J-3 Cubs
NOORDUYN NORSEMAN
Canada's rugged, fabric-covered workhorse
A good landing is one you can walk away from
NO, THIS IS NOT A SCENE FROM A MOVIE where the hero staggers away from a \"good landing\" on Mindoro, Philippine Islands, after being shot down by a Japanese Zero.
