First Woman to Break the Sound Barrier & Aviation Pioneer Early Life: Jacqueline Cochran, born Bessie Lee Pittman in the Florida Panhandle, was the youngest of five children in a working-class family. Her father, Ira Pittman, was a...
Conceptualization: The Bell P-39 Airacobra was conceived in response to a growing demand for high-performance fighters in the late 1930s. Aviation was rapidly advancing, and military pilots were looking for aircraft that could not only outpace but also outgun...
Born on December 5, 1879, in Hawthorne, Iowa, Clyde Cessna grew up in rural Rago, Kansas, after his family moved there when he was two. He displayed early mechanical skills, improving farm equipment and developing new farming techniques. He later...
Conceptualization: The Piper PA-18 Super Cub was conceived in the post-World War II era when the demand for versatile, rugged aircraft was rising. Private pilots, flight schools, and bush operators sought an aircraft that was easy to fly, affordable,...
Conceptualization: The Cessna 310 was introduced in the mid-1950s as a response to growing demand in the post-World War II general aviation market. Private pilots and business travelers sought faster, more capable aircraft, with particular emphasis on twin-engine models...
Conceptualization: The Grumman F6F Hellcat was born out of a pressing need for a superior fighter aircraft that could secure air dominance in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Early in the war, the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero...
It's been a while since we've had an Aviation Appreciation Friday post and who better to reintroduce our series with than one of the engineering masterminds of Lockheed's Skunk Works Division! Life: Kelly Johnson was born in the small mining town...
Conceptualization: The Lockheed U-2 was developed for Cold War-era intelligence needs. In the 1950s, the U.S. sought to gather high-altitude reconnaissance on the Soviet Union, which had become increasingly difficult using conventional aircraft. Traditional bombers repurposed for reconnaissance could not fly...
Conceptualization: The Pilatus PC-21 emerged from the need for a more efficient military trainer to bridge the gap between basic flight training and the demands of modern fighter aircraft. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, air forces sought...
