We know a lot about what happened in the days leading up to Dec. 17, 1903—the day that two brothers named Orville and Wilbur Wright accomplished their first successful flight of a powered aircraft. The brothers were meticulous about taking notes and photos of their progress, and so we have photographic evidence of that day. The Wright Flyer was constructed of spruce and ash covered in muslin. Look for an explanation of how the Wrights controlled the airplane in the February issue of Flight Training magazine.—Jill W. Tallman
Archive for the ‘Photo of the Day’ Category
Photo of the Day: The Wrights’ historic flight
Tuesday, December 18th, 2012Photo of the Day: P-51 Mustang
Friday, December 14th, 2012
When AOPA unveiled its “March Madness”-style airplane face-off this year, some of our members were cynical. “Why bother?” one said. “It’s going to be the P-51 Mustang.” Turns out he was right—the Mustang walked away with the contest, beating out the Douglas DC-3. Mike Fizer shot this photo in Columbus, Ohio, for the Gathering of P-51s and Legends. A very few airplanes command the power to stop you in your tracks whenever you see one, and the P-51 is preeminent among them.—Jill W. Tallman
Photo of the Day: Maule M-4
Monday, December 10th, 2012
There are taildraggers, and then there’s the Maule. The Maule family has been building sturdy tailwheel airplanes known for their short takeoff and landing (STOL) capability from the factory in Moultree, Georgia, since the 1950s. This one provides side-by-side seating, somewhat unusual for a taildragger but a definite selling point. Alton Marsh, who’s flown more than a few Maules in his career, describes the characteristics of the Maule M-4 shown here in the article, “Back to the Future,” which originally appeared in the March 2005 AOPA Pilot magazine. ( http://www.aopa.org/pilot/features/2005/feat0503.html ) —-Jill W. Tallman
Photo of the Day: Anchorage nose art
Friday, December 7th, 2012
On May 19, 2007, AOPA Pilot editors were literally all over the map–all of us were stationed at airports around the United States to capture images and words for what would become “A Day in the Life of America’s Airports.” Then-Senior Editor Machteld Smith got a plumb assignment: She went to Lake Hood Seaplane Base in Anchorage. The nose art you see here is one of numerous photos taken that day. You can see a slideshow and a video on the website, ( http://www.aopa.org/pilot/dayinthelife/ ), as well as check out the other locations where we turned up.—Jill W. Tallman
Photo of the Day: Pattern or practice area?
Thursday, December 6th, 2012
So, what’ll it be today? A trip or two (or 10) around the pattern, or a jaunt to the practice area to practice maneuvers? Maybe a little of both? If you’re flying solo, make sure you have a plan for your valuable Hobbs time. Don’t just fire up the airplane and start taxiing. Sure, all flight time is good time, but it’s also somewhat expensive time. So figure out what you’re going to do before you do it, and make your solo time count. Photo by Mike Fizer.—Jill W. Tallman
Photo of the Day: Red Bull Air Race
Tuesday, December 4th, 2012
When the Red Bull Air Races arrived in the United States in 2010, Alton Marsh and Chris Rose will tell you that they were something to see. Not only were thousands of people treated to the sight of super-fast airplanes roaring around pylons, but the air race grounds themselves were the size of a small town, requiring 12 days to set up and three days to tear down. You can read about what Marsh and Rose witnessed in this article from the August 2010 AOPA Pilot.
Sadly, the races were scratched in 2011 and 2012, but there remains hope that they will go on in 2013. We’re keeping our fingers crossed.—Jill W. Tallman
Photo of the Day: A sea of Swifts
Thursday, November 29th, 2012
The group photo of Swift pilots you see here was taken on November 4 to commemorate “World Domination: The Day of the Swift.” This friendly Facebook event was started by a Fort Myers, Fla.-based Swift owner who got to wondering one day how many Swifts were flying at the same time. He decided to see if he could get international interest among Swift owners to fly on the same day; thus the name “World Domination.” Perry Sisson asked participating pilots to email photos and updates; he estimates that 100 Swifts were flown on that one day in the United States, Canada, Brazil, and France.—Jill W. Tallman
Photo of the Day: Get Your Glass Piper Archer
Tuesday, November 13th, 2012
AOPA’s 2008 sweepstakes airplane was notable for several reasons. We had previous refurbished Pipers, but this was the first time we had awarded an airplane with a brand-new “glass” panel–an Avidyne multifunction display and Aspen Avionics’ first-ever certified primary display. Another notable first for this aircraft was that its winner is a lady. And, unlike many previous winners of AOPA sweepstakes airplanes, she has kept N208GG. Karoline Gorman is an air traffic controller for New York Center and a passionate advocate for animal rescue, and she enjoys flying N208GG on rescue missions.—Jill W. Tallman
Photo of the Day: Fall foliage flight
Thursday, November 8th, 2012
Flying is fun no matter what the season, but there’s something especially satisfying about getting a bird’s-eye view of autumn colors in their fleeting glory. Some years are better than others for spotting fall leaves–our dry summer in the Northeast did not produce the kind of spectacular colors you see here. Nonetheless, fall is a great time for flying.—Jill W. Tallman
Photo of the Day: Beech Staggerwing
Thursday, October 25th, 2012
With all of the turmoil surrounding Hawker Beechcraft these days, it’s time to pause, take a breath, and look at one of Beech’s most beautiful offerings: the Staggerwing. “For most pilots, the Beech Staggerwing reigns as the classic to beat all classics,” says AOPA Pilot Editor at Large Tom Horne in his October 1999 pilot report. And he’s right. Instantly recognizable–almost as much as the Piper Cub–the airplane was formally known as the “negative stagger Beech,” but you and I (and everybody else) just call it the Staggerwing.—Jill W. Tallman
