Damn gurrrrl
The Loire-Nieuport LN-10. Source: Ron Eisele and airwar.ru.
Pictures
Archives, Periodicals, Pictures, Tools and methods
Partial Aeroplane archive
A few months back I wrote about alternatives to the (still missing, still missed) FlightGlobal archive of Flight magazine, a key source for aviation history (for me, anyway). I forgot to mention that Flight‘s great rival, The Aeroplane (founded and edited by the egregious C. G. Grey), is also partially accessible through the Internet Archive.
1900s, Aerial theatre, Australia, Before 1900, Periodicals, Pictures
Fiasco at Chowder Bay — V
The ‘flight’ — The machine reached the edge of the slope, shot out a few yards into the air with the impetus it had acquired, and then dropped with a crash onto the rocks.1 I am very nearly done with N. R. Gordon, who built at least five completely unsuccessful flying machines over a period
1900s, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, After 1950, Before 1900, Books, Civil aviation, Pictures, Reviews
Empires of the Sky
Alexander Rose. Empires of the Sky: Zeppelins, Airplanes, and Two Men’s Epic Duel to Rule the World. New York: Random House, 2020. The two men of the title both led a great aviation enterprise. Both dreamed of spanning the world with their passenger aircraft. Both struggled at times, and prospered at others. But one was
1900s, 1920s, Australia, Periodicals, Pictures
Fiasco at Chowder Bay — IV
When we first met N. R. Gordon, it was in Sydney in 1894 and he was preparing a steam-powered ornithopter for flight. When we last saw him, it was 1900 and he was filing a patent application for a human-powered ornithopter. Here he is again, in May 1907, this time at Footscray in Melbourne’s west,
1910s, Archives, Art, Film, Music, Periodicals, Phantom airships, mystery aeroplanes, and other panics, Pictures, Videos
Britannia must rule the air!
This stirring scene is the cover for the sheet music for a song published in 1913, Britannia Must Rule the Air, written by Frank Duprée and composed by Charles Ashley. It shows a reasonable (if stubby) approximation of a Zeppelin in the process of being destroyed by gunfire from two aeroplanes, a Farman-type biplane and
1900s, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, Aerial theatre, Australia, Before 1900, Blogging, tweeting and podcasting, Conferences and talks, Contemporary, Pictures, Publications
History from below, looking up
On Wednesday, 27 May 2020, I was privileged to give a seminar to the Contemporary Histories Research Group at Deakin University on my aerial theatre research — via Zoom, as is the current fashion. I really enjoyed giving it, and I think it was a great success (and thanks to everyone who listened in and
Aerial theatre, Australia, Before 1900, Periodicals, Pictures
Fiasco at Chowder Bay — II
So, who was behind the Chowder Bay flying machine? In November 1894, the month before the ill-fated flight attempt, stories appeared in the Sydney press about what sounds like a very similar ‘flying machine’ being exhibited in a vacant lot behind the Lyceum Theatre. Given the reported plans for a launch over Sydney Harbour, it’s
Aerial theatre, Australia, Before 1900, Periodicals, Pictures
Fiasco at Chowder Bay — I
This photograph shows a steam-powered ‘flying machine’ which was to make the world’s first heavier-than-air flight from the cliffs at Chowder Bay, Sydney Harbour, Boxing Day (26 December), 1894. Spoiler: it didn’t. The attempt was widely advertised, even in the other colonies: the Brisbane Week reported that
1910s, Aerial theatre, Australia, Pictures, Tools and methods
Return to call of the clouds
Last year I looked at a couple of fantastic photographs from the State Library of South Australia’s collection, taken at Harry Butler’s ‘Aviation Day’ display at Unley on 23 August 1919. They’re fantastic because they focus not on the flying but on the crowds watching it. Now I’ve found two more photos taken on the