Lex Anteinternet: December 10, 1919. Air First and a Coal Day

Lex Anteinternet: December 10, 1919. Air First and a Coal Day:

December 10, 1919. Air First and a Coal Day

The prize posted by the Australian government of 10,000 Australian pounds (then the unit of currency in Australia) for the first aircraft piloted by Australians to fly from England to the Australia was claimed by the crew of a Vickers Vimy bomber, entered into the contest by Vickers.



The plane was crewed by pilots Cpt. Ross Macpherson Smith and his brother Lt. Keith Macpherson Smith, with mechanics Sgt. W. H. Shiers and J.M. Bennett.  The plane made the trip from Hounslow Heath to Australian starting on November 12, 1919.



Cpt. Smith was killed test piloting a Vickers Viking seaplane in 1922.  Lt. Smith became a Vickers executive and an airline industry figure, dying of natural causes in 1955 at age 64.



Elsewhere, questions began to come up about the nature of diplomatic officer Jenkin's kidnapping even as Republicans continued to press for action of some sort against Mexico.  And as the mine strike ended, kids in Casper were let out of school due to lack of coal for heat.

Blog Mirror: This Day In Aviation History: 10 December 1919

10 December 1919

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association 2020 Fly Ins include Casper, Wyoming

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the non profit body that represents private aircraft owners, announced its 2020 Fly Ins and included the Natrona County International Airport among them.

For those not familiar with private aviation, that's a big deal.  It'll bring at least 500 small aircraft to the Natrona County International Airport on June 19-20.

The AOPA has stated about the event:

Cowboy up!

Casper, WyomingJune 19 and 20, 2020
Dust off your boots and hitch up your chaps. The historic city of Casper, Wyoming, will host an AOPA Fly-In on June 19 and 20. This is a Western town, with roots in the era when pioneers came west to search for gold and when the horse was essential transportation. It’s also the crossroads of the Oregon, California, Mormon, and Pony Express trails. We’ve saddled up with the city of Casper to hold our fly-in the same weekend as the College National Finals Rodeo. The fly-out opportunities are as wide as the state: Yellowstone, the Bighorn Mountains, Devils Tower, and the Grand Tetons are nearby.

The weekend of the College National Finals Rodeo is already a big one in Casper, and this promises to make the weekend a bigger one yet, given the influx of small aircraft.  For aircraft spotters in the area, like every AOPA Fly In, it'll provide a real entertaining weekend, rodeo aside.

Holscher's Hub: Pentax: Built like a tank

Holscher's Hub: Pentax: Built like a tank: So states a professional photography blog naming the Pentax K1 full frame one of the three bests cameras of 2019. And they are. The revi...

Lex Anteinternet: Apollo 12 Returns to Earth. November 24, 1969

Lex Anteinternet: Apollo 12 Returns to Earth. November 24, 1969:

Apollo 12 Returns to Earth. November 24, 1969

Apollo 12 and the USS Hornet.

On this day in 1969, the Apollo 12 crew rode their module back down to Earth.

The recovery was affected by the USS Hornet, the U.S. Navy's aircraft carrier that famously was used in World War Two.  The Hornet had been commissioned in 1943, decommissioned in 1947, and then recommissioned with a new angled flight deck 1953. At the time of her recommissioning she was a small aircraft carrier and she was decommissioned again in 1970, just the following year after this mission.  She was struck from the roles in 1989 and is now a museum ship in Alameda, California.

The Apollo 12 mission was a successful one, particularly in light of its frightening start when the Saturn rockets were struck twice by lightening during the launch.  Seismographers were left on the moon when the lunar capsule was launched back to the orbiting module and the launching apparatus' vibrations on the surface of the moon lasted for over an hour.

Lex Anteinternet: November 19, 1969. Apollo 12 Lands on the Moon.

Lex Anteinternet: November 19, 1969. Apollo 12 Lands on the Moon.

November 19, 1969. Apollo 12 Lands on the Moon.

Lex Anteinternet: November 14, 1969. Apollo 12 launched.

Lex Anteinternet: November 14, 1969. Apollo 12 launched.:

November 14, 1969. Apollo 12 launched.

It was, of course, a mission to the moon.

Lightening struck the Saturn rocket twice as it was lifting off, taking all three fuel cells offline.  Irrespective of that, it flew normally.

Lex Anteinternet: November 10, 1919. First flights, births and obse...

Lex Anteinternet: November 10, 1919. First flights, births and obse...:

November 10, 1919. First flights, births and observances.

"Henry Lee Milledge, the 16 month old son of Maj. John Milledge, Air Service, is believed to be the youngest passenger every carried in an Aeroplane. The flight was made at Bolling field in the Curtis "Eagle." The baby was carried in the arms of Maj. Milledge"

It isn't the intent of this blog to be the "100 Years Ago Today Blog", or something like that, but as we close in on the last year that's the central focus of this site, 1920, we continue to note some interesting items that occurred a century ago, as they occurred.  Some are just things that are interesting, like little Henry Lee Milledge's first flight. 

He's crying, and I don't blame him.

Lex Anteinternet: November 9, 1919. Edgar S. Paxson died. (Air Mail Item)

Lex Anteinternet: November 9, 1919. Edgar S. Paxson died.:

November 9, 1919. Edgar S. Paxson died.

And the Army Air Corps, which was responsible for air mail, had acquired a new twin engine aircraft for that purpose, shown here at Bolling Field outside of Washington, D. C.

Blog Mirror: Cody man inducted into Wyoming Aviation Hall of Fame

Cody man inducted into Wyoming Aviation Hall of Fame

National Aviation History Month

November is National Aviation History Month