Air-Minded: Hijinks & One-Upmanship
Another phrase for highjinks and one-upmanship is esprit de corps. And where would we be without it?
Another Nickel on the Grass
I disagreed with most things John McCain stood for as a politician, but although I consider myself socially progressive I was also a career military officer and that informs a lot of my thinking. If I held public office half my socially progressive brothers and sisters, probably more, would hate my guts. So I try […]
Air-Minded: IL-2 Restoration Photoblog
Work continues on Pima Air & Space Museum’s IL-2 Shturmovik. The fuselage is largely finished, the engine is in, the wings have been fabricated from original blueprints and are awaiting installation, and the propeller, damaged when the Shturmovik’s pilot crash-landed on a frozen lake near the Russian village of Zamejie on January 28, 1944, is being hammered […]
Air-Minded: Son of Non-Starter (Updated 7/25/18)
See my earlier speculations on the possibility of new F-15s for the USAF: The Non-Starter Option? Non-Starter Option Revisited The first post addressed three “legacy” fighter aircraft still in production for overseas customers (F/A-18, F-16, and F-15), and wondered if the US military might be talked into extending the lives of its own fleets by buying new ones. […]
Air-Minded: PASM Photoblog XIII
I included an image of Pima Air & Space Museum’s Curtiss F6C-4 Hawk in a recent Air-Minded entry. At the time it was still in restoration, and the photo wasn’t mine. The Hawk is now on display, just inside the main entrance, and I’m able to share some of my own photos: The Curtiss F6C Hawk was […]
Air-Minded: Fitting In, Part I
The first woman military pilots knew — or quickly learned — what kind of culture they were getting into, which explains the “keep your head down” ethic they embraced (and probably still do since their numbers remain so small).
Eighty Thousand Gnocchi in Three Key States
So far, it’s been a quiet Saturday morning. I have yet to replenish the bird feeders, but most of the outdoor chores are done and Mr. B has been walked. I feel I should update my blog and newsletter privacy policies and send every reader an email about it, but I’d have to write a privacy policy first […]
Air-Minded: PASM Photoblog XII
There’ve been some changes at Pima Air & Space Museum, where I work as a volunteer docent. Our T.35 Vampire, once used as a trainer and staff support aircraft by the Royal Australian Air Force, has been moved indoors, and not a moment too soon: de Havilland used molded plywood in its construction, and those panels were taking a beating […]