Category Archives: NEW VIDEOS

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More of Jenny’s Barnstorming Antics by Popular Demand!

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Seems our viewers enjoy watching how the Jenny helped excite the American public in its central role as the principle Barnstorming machine across the post WWI countryside. So, here’s another of these exciting video displays for your edification and enjoyment.

In this ten (10) minute composite clip, made by the Prelinger Archivisits (San Francisco) from various aviation archives of some 80 to 90 years ago, all black and white silent film, you’ll easily see why the American Public fell in love with the excitement and adventure of this new thrilling and extremely dangerous sport.

It’s important to remember that while almost every adult in America had heard of airplanes by the end of WWI, it was estimated that only about 1 to 2% of the public had ever actually seen a flying machine.  Barnstorming rapidly managed to change that small percentage and, in what seemed like only a few years of this new exposure, the American public had clearly fallen in love with flying – – – and aviation in general.  The airplane quickly became more reliable, safer, and began to show that it had actual business potential – not just military value.

As mentioned, the above Prelinger film is silent, so the scoring was added by us to help make the viewing more fun.  The music is all from the same silent film era as was the movie about barnstorming itself.  Because there was no scoring of films yet taking place when these clips were made, when they were shown in theaters, there would be a resident pianist to provide the musical accomaniment.  So, we’ve cheated a bit and actually put that “live” piano onto the film as an attached soundtrack.

The first sound track piece is Kevin MacLeod at the movie theater piano and it’s called “Breaktime.”  The other two pieces are also typical of the piano scoring or companion theater accompaniment of this era: the second tune is called, “Fig Leaf Times Two,” and the last segment is entitled, “Lively Lumpsucker.”

Enjoy!

YANKS SMASH TRUK WW II NEWSREEL – Operation Hailstone

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Once again thanks to one of our top Aviation News Scouts, retired USAF Pilot, Virg Hemphill, we bring you this WWII newsreel (for you youngsters among us – these black and white films were our only way to “see” what was going down across the globe during WWII).

These “newsreels” were almost exclusively shown each week at our local movie theaters along with the featured films of the day.  TV had not yet been made available to the publc, although its crude prototype had been on display at the 1939 World’s Fair in NYC.  Please enjoy and learn some more U.S. and world history right here with this latest “The News Parade” newsreel from Virg.  It’s only ten (10) minutes long.

“Operation Hailstone“ was considered one more retaliatory strike against the Imperial Japanese Naval Forces, for their attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941,  Truk Island was part of the Caroline Island group in the South Pacific, which had been occupied by the Japanese since the end of WWI, when it was taken from the Germans.  Japan had been our ally during that first world war.  Operation Hailstone took place on February 16 and 17 of 1944.

27 years after the Jenny was perfected here in Columbus, NM, we see, in this newsreel, the huge leap forward our military accomplished in respect to their aircraft inventory and its capabilities.

Curious about Truk today?  There’s now an active scuba diving resort where this once fierce battle raged some 74 years ago.  Here’s their site.

The below Chart of USN Aircraft is thanks to the Aviation Central Website for A/C Displays.

                                                          USN Aircraft Deployed in WWII

 

Visually Step Back into the Chaotic Skies Over Europe in WWI

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Thanks to our modern era’s radical revolution in the digital photographic sciences – and a group of extraordinarily talented aircraft replica builders, pilots, – – – and videographers, the Down Under folks of  New Zealand’s HISTORICAL AVIATION FILM UNIT (HAFU) have enabled all of us to step right back in time, letting us witness what our ancestors of that Great War era saw – and heard – with their own eyes and ears.

With the explicit permission from Allan Udy (Videographer and Editor with HAFU), to use their exclusive and copyrighted creative material, we are able to share some of these outstanding video experiences with you. If you would like to see more of these WWI videos, please let us know, so we can include more of them in future posts.

If you take the time to visit and explore both their website and fascinating collection of their historical video creations and other photographic art, you’ll not be disappointed.

The following initial video Trailer (part I of II) introduces you to some of the more famous WWI fighter aircraft that cavorted about the bloody skies over France, Belgium and Germany during that “War to End All Wars.”  It is only 3:59 long, but packed with impressive action AND SOUND.

So make sure to watch these films full screen and with your sound turned up.  How HAFU gives its viewers such accurate aircraft engine and wind sounds is a trade secret, but it has memorable effects.  These two videos are but Trailers or peeks at their full length video collection, which you can purchase directly from HAFU.

Mr. Udy just brought to our attention that it is important to mention that the aircraft are built (in many cases), maintained and operated by The Vintage Aviator Ltd (TVAL) from New Zealand.   “At HAFU we’re just the ‘hangers-on’ that get to film these beautiful machines.”  So, our apologies to Allan if we conveyed the impression that HAFU also built and piloted these brilliant replications.

You might be inclined to think that the small nation of New Zealand, so far away in the South Pacific, couldn’t possibly lead the world in the number of WWI era flying aircraft replicas, but you would be wrong.  New Zealand has clearly earned her laurels for having this unique distinction.

Most of us may never have the pleasure of visiting this colorful and hospitable country, but as aviation and aviation history buffs, in particular, we can at least witness these impressive videos from Down Under.  The video below this is the part II Trailer of the HAFU Fighter group.  It is 4:12 in length.

 

QUESTIONS ? ? ?   (You can reply by simply writing your answers in the “Leave a Reply” field or box down below.)  Will you be the first to get the right answer(s)?

  1. What is a rotary engine?
  2. Why do some of these fighter’s engines cut on and off, often sputtering, rather than simply increasing or decreasing their speeds as do most and all modern aircraft engines?
  3. Why are the Fighter pilots looking at the camera on the close ups of them flying close by?
  4. Where is the vertical fin – and rudder – on some of the Fighters, the ones with the rounded rear vertical airfoil?
  5. Why was the famous “Red Baron’s” Fokker Triplane painted bright red and not camouflaged?  (Among the six or more Triplanes seen in the videos, only one is painted his color.)

FAS’s Jenny Used to Reignite America’s Romance with Flying

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After the Wright Brother’s history-setting 1st powered flight on December 14, 1903, the development of aviation in America almost came to a complete standstill within the next few years.

Why?  Because when various entrepreneurs attempted to enter the new American aviation industry, they were quickly sued for patent infringements by the Wrights.  The result was that the Europeans, unfettered by this U.S. Patent warfare, started into their own aviation development at a furious pace.  Before long, they were far ahead of our floundering new industry, one which had fallen into in-fighting over the Wright patent claims.  The lawsuits alone caused many new aviation enterprises to quickly fold or file for bankruptcy.

In fact, things were so bad in the U.S., that when it entered the Great War in Europe in 1917, our pilots had to fly either British or French airplanes, which, because of so much airplane maker competition, were far superior to our own equipment.

We had nothing over here but what had become a superb training and utility airplane, the inimitable JN-4 Jenny.  The original Jennies had been so significantly modified and improved by the First Aero Squadron during the Punitive Expedition out of Columbus, NM, that some 6800 of them were put into production and used to train almost 12,000 American and Canadian pilots to fly in WWI.

But the U.S. was engaged in WWI for only a short time, and when it ended in 1918, the U.S. Army had thousands of these practical flying machines, which they then promptly put up for sale on the surplus market.

For  very little cash, often as little as only $50, one could purchase a reliable and properly functioning JN4 Jenny.  This great surplus of inexpensive Jennies was used by returning WWI pilots to launch what became known as “Barnstorming” all across the U.S.  It was this barnstorming craze that, more than any other dynamic, helped fuel the great new romance of the American public with everything related to the new business of airplanes and flight.

The above 8:46 minute archival film helps one understand what this popular barnstorming was all about.

Latest Navy Blue Angels’ Video – Inside and Outside Action

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Thanks again to our Aviation Scout, Virg Hemphill, for finding this outstanding video segment of the US Navy Flight Demonstration Team busily practicing their maneuvers.  This is excellent video footage taken both inside their jets as well as of them from the outside.  This video is only 3:43 in length, and little descriptive text is required, since the film speaks for itself.  But this does show why it’s easy to become enthusiastic about flying these high performance Fighters.

Don’t hesitate to click your browser into Full-Screen Mode in order to get the best vantage of the cavorting jet fighters.  And remember to turn on your sound also.  You might wonder, if you’re not a pilot, why the Naval Aviator seen here is grimacing so often:  It’s because he is tightening his stomach muscles in order to prevent himself from “blacking out” from the high “G” forces (“g” is for gravity).  The aircraft you see here are the Blue Angel’s new McDonnell-Douglas manufactured F-18 Hornets.

Why do we Fly? – This Video Will Help you understand “Why”

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Courtesy of Fighter Sweep.com. 

The first two videos in this post are taken in high definition (HD) clarity, so don’t hesitate to open each of them to full screen – and keep your sound turned on for the full experience.  If you watch the videos on a mobile device or in your email notice, you will miss the full experience seen on a larger computer screen’s monitor.

Two USN Super Hornets in formation, left ship is breaking to land . . .

This featured image, above, of Two F/A-18C Hornets, assigned to the “Knighthawks” of Strike Fighter Squadron One Three Six (VFA-136), performing a carrier break maneuver at the conclusion of the tactical air power demonstration during the 2005 Naval Air Station Oceana Air Show. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 2nd Class Daniel J. McLain

Classic US Navy carrier break – – – and landing. Lots to see and enjoy in this 2:07 long video. just below.  Want to know what it is like landing on an aircraft carrier? Here you go – – –  Hold on!

And, here below, is what it’s like (6:36 long video) to bring this same hot Navy fighter back to your pitching and rolling carrier – when the weather tries to make you fail . . . Case II Recovery in Low Visibility, with a Pitching Deck Swings from 6-10 feet.

And, for a special bonus, here below (10:49 long) is a video of a group of high speed passes as seen from either shipboard or land – – – and from both inside – and outside – the cockpits.

 

 

The B-1, B-2, B-52 – – – What Will Be the Next U.S. Bomber?

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The above video in only 1:38 long. The above video is thanks to the Northrup-Grumman Corporation.

Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James recently announced that the B-21 bomber will be called the B-21 Raider. The name represents the historically important role the new long-range stealth bomber will lead for the next 50 years.

The name is a tribute to the sheer bravery and grit displayed by Jimmy Doolittle and the Doolittle Raiders during World War II; and the legacy will now be carried on by future Airmen. Assisting Secretary James on stage to announce the name was one of the original Doolittle Raiders, the last living Doolittle Raider, and Jimmy Doolittle’s co-pilot, 101-year-old Air Force Lt. Col. (Retired) Richard Cole.

The above video is 9:10 in length and is courtesy of Warthog Defense.

If one accepts the premise that the B-21 will be powered by twin unaugmented F135 engines, one can then assume that the new bomber will be larger than a Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle or General Dynamics F-111 “Aardvark,” but smaller than the B-1 Lancer or B-2 Spirit.

Given the types of threats from low frequency radars that are projected to be out there in the future and the limitations of current low observables materials, B-21’s subsonic flying wing design will be large enough to counter low frequency radars.

A tactical fighter-sized stealth aircraft must be optimized to defeat higher-frequency bands such the C, X and Ku bands as a simple matter of physics, but a strategic bomber like the B-2 or LRS-B can be larger to counter lower frequency radars. There is a “step change” in a stealth aircraft’s signature once the frequency wavelength exceeds a certain threshold and causes a resonant effect. Typically, that resonance occurs when a feature on an aircraft—such as a tail-fin—is less than eight times the size of a particular frequency wavelength. That means a bomber like the B-21 has to have allowances for two feet or more of radar absorbent material coatings on every surface or the designers are forced to make trades as to which frequency bands they optimize the aircraft to operate in. As such, to defeat low frequency radars operating in the L, UHF and potentially the VHF bands (this is easier said than done—and could in fact be impossible), a flying wing design is in effect, mandatory.

The above video is 10:57 long.  The new aircraft will be designed to have global reach, in part by incorporating a large arsenal of long-range weapons. The B-21 is being engineered to carry existing weapons as well as nuclear bombs and emerging and future weapons, Air Force officials explained. It if’s arsenal is anything like the B-2, it will like have an ability to drop a range of nuclear weapons, GPS-guided Joint Direct Attack Munitions and possibly even the new Air Force nuclear-armed cruise missile now in development called the LRSO – (Long Range Stand Off) weapon. It is also conceivable, although at this point it is speculation, that one day the B-21 will probably be armed with yet-to-be seen weapons technology. This information is courtesy of “US Military Technology.”

 

Do You Know the Real Reason Amelia Earhart is so Famous?

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It would surely be surprising if any of you FASF website viewers didn’t already know a great deal about the American Aviatrix, Amelia Earhart, but here’s an interesting video, 7:04 minutes long, that gives you some background about what it is that really made her such a world-wide female and aviation celebrity.

As a matter of coincidence, the video also reveals some of the events and phenomena relating to the instigating of the American public’s romance with aviation itself, and the actual activities within the post WWI aviation civilian community that opened the doors to both U.S. civil aviation’s rebirth, as well as how this came about.  If you make note as the video plays, at about the 3:45 minute mark into the film, you’ll get a brief explanation of how America’s romance with flying opened up the new era of commercial aviation’s first-ever profitability – – – and business viability.

And, of course, as did no other airplane at that point in history, if was the First Aero Squadron’s now military surplussed Jenny’s that opened up that great new era – – – and began America’s new romantic involvement with, and enthusiasm for aviation in general.

This SST Plane Could Fly Across the Atlantic in Only 3.5 Hours

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The below video tells the tragic story of why we no longer are able to fly across the Atlantic Ocean in only 3.5 hours, as we once did. The video is 10:22 in length, and we thought you might find it historically interesting to experience.  The Video was produced by Vox. What is “SST”?  It stands for Super Sonic Transport.  Enjoy.