Antiquarian Aeronauts, Where Are You..;

[TEShaw]

…Flying?

Many spectacular places in this world look much the same as they did back in 1910-13. The first time an aeroplane flew over must have been a stunning moment that can be simulated now.

There was a ‘first-time’ when a daring stick-and-rudder pilot flew over some great old city, some ancient rock or river (Wolfgang Langewiesche stuff); perhaps surveying a river-crossing in a jungle, or the route of the Panama Canal.

Someone first flew up the Zambezi or Pearl Rivers (Joseph Conrad stuff).

There are old newspaper records of aviators flying to places as remote as Enid, Oklahoma in 1910.

Some heedless devil first buzzed The Isle of Capri, or stunned the populace of Kyoto.

And then there’s the fantastic:

a French spy flies a Bleriot with Swiss markings from Basil, observing over Strasbourg in anticipation of some future international acrimony…

or, a modern flight simulator uses the Ju-52 to emulate a Ford Tri-motor reaching the South Pole. (or nearly so)…

or, that same simulator flies a Nieuport over Cappy and sees the chateau and the open flat spaces so easy to fly from…

And then there’s the more fantastic:

Some difficulty with the Vienna photogrammetry? Well, you’d need a Taube anyway. So…

There’s a 1912 Curtiss flying boat in a museum in New Zealand which would be useful exploring the rivers of New Guinea…

Ryan N-X-211 wins the Orteig Prize by a night landing at Le Bourget AND THEN flies a tour of world capitols…

Air-races? Then, the Bendix Trophy and the Schneider Trophy, and William Faulkner’s “Pylon” air-racers of the 1930’s…

Salute.

[FlightSimmer676]

I remember fondly the Schneider add-on for FS9 - very dificult planes to keep out of the Solent!

[Forrestwood30]

theres some you can do now that are largely forgotten. Example… the winners of the 1969/70 London (Gatwick) to Sydney air race were two brits in a Britten-Norman Islander with an elapsed time of just under 76 hours The race was to c0mmemorate the first London to Sydney flight(50 years earlier) by Ross and Keith Smith of Australia in 1919.

[BubbaBlitz7348]

Back when we had the Spirit of St Louis in the sim I made like Jimmy Stewart and flew from New York to Paris non stop never leaving the chair, ah good times.