Newsreel footage of early successes (and failures!) of flight
I found this interesting video on YouTube showing various attempts (some successful) to get a "flying machine" in the air.
The following comments are noteworthy as well (from the video comment section) in regard to the autopilot (self flyer) in one of the clips;
See video below at 8:31 - More on the 'Self-Flyer'. Found in some fairly modern articles (Whittier Daily News web article dated 1/13/13) & contemporaneous (Popular Aviation, October 1933, p. 234). The Whittier article says Dr. C.H. Vance of Pomona invented the autopilot device, and pilot Paul Munro flew the plane. The newsreel film was taken Nov. 3, 1932. On Nov. 12-13, 1932, Munro spent 37 consecutive hours piloting the Curtiss Robin, and was refueled in the air. He was the first pilot to fly solo and have his plane fueled in mid-air, (he had to leave the pilot seat to guide the fueling hose). He came down missing the solo-pilot endurance record by one hour, when the refueling plane couldn't find his plane.
The Sperry gyroscopic autopilot (which became standard equipment on most if not all large planes) was commercially introduced in 1932 but not fully perfected until some years later, so it's not such a surprise that this 'Self-Flyer' was a sensation in 1932.
I wonder if the pilot is actually Douglas 'Wrong-Way' Corrigan flying under a pseudonym. Corrigan had helped build Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis at Ryan Aircraft Co. nearby, and wanted to copy the feat. He was an aircraft mechanic in the area for some years, and was an expert stunt pilot while keeping his flying secret from his employers. In 1938, he famously flew a Curtiss Robin to Ireland while claiming (probably to thwart prosecution) he'd intended to fly westward from Long Island. On the other hand, he may not have even been in Southenr California in 1932. Sources say he operated a small passenger service on the east coast starting 1930, bought his Robin with an OX-5 (WWI-era V-8, considered antique in 1933, different engine than in the clip) on the east coast in 1935, and nursed it back to San Diego then. I tried comparing the clips of Munro here with photos of Corrigan. The pictures are a little fuzzy, so hard to say one way or the other.
Delivery of C-GMWW – Canada’s first B747-400
I love diving into any kind of history and, happily, we live at time when recorded history is readily available via video streaming services like YouTube.
It amazes me that, after seeing the film “Darkest Hour” depicting the events leading up to Winston Churchill’s ‘Never Surrender” speech, I was able to sit at my desk and listen to the actual speech. It follows that YouTube is one of the sources that I use frequently to gather material for this space.
While casually poking around YouTube one evening, I came across a great video taken by Paul Simpson inside the YVR Maintenance Hangar of the arrival of Canadian Airlines first B747-400 (C-GMWW Tail #881) in December 1990.
Although I am an original Air Canada employee and did not work in the YVR Ops Centre until late 2001, the video still brings back fond memories for me. Unfortunately, I have never met Paul Simpson, nor do I recognize any of the people in the video.
I did spend that last fifteen years of my career in this building and finished as an expediter working in the offices in front of the aircraft. If this video stirs nostalgia for me; I’m sure that it must be very touching for the people who were there at the time.
It would be great to hear from Mr. Simpson or any of the others who appear in his video.
|
Click the image below for Paul Simpson's video. Note: The video begins with footage of Fin 635 a B767-300. Fin 881 enters the hangar at 3:35. |
 |
|
Three generations of the Davis family
Mina sends this of her grandson, Tyler Davis, currently a Captain on the Embraer 190. |
 Steve sent us this photo that was taken in 2017, Kirk Davis, on the left, currently flying the Boeing 787, and yours truly, Steve Davis, on the right. |
|
Captain Steve Davis has sent this short personal bio - Hired by Trans-Canada Air Lines on November 17, 1952——retired March 30, 1993. Promoted on the North Star, age 25 years. I was invited to supervisor capacity by Captain Bill Brett, worked under Chief Pilot Frank Bond, while in this capacity, flew initial introductory flight to San Francisco, after a number years, returned to regular line flying on the L1011, retired on the Boeing 747 after over 40 years of service |
Our cartoon is by Jake Visser, CRA YYC which appeared in the “Canadian Flyer” magazine issued May 1997.
|
Abbotsford Air Show - August 10, 11 and 12, 2018
Events included for this year will be demos of the CF-18 Hornet, A-10 Thunderbolt II, Skyhawks parachute team and more. More information at www.abbotsfordairshow.com |
|
Farnborough Air Show - July 21 and 22, 2018.
More information at www.farnboroughairshow.com |
