Shout out to @spitfirefilly.bsky.social as I've read her excellent book "Eagle Days". Dr. Taylor, thanks for this work. Its focus on the Luftwaffe fills a void of long standing in the scholarship on the B.o.B.; at the same time your work is always very approachable for the general reader. Well done!

RIP Sergei Sikorsky

Ahoy, @spitfirefilly.bsky.social, look what my excellent county librarian has acquired at my behest. I shall dig into it and react back in a couple of days...this is going to be fun!

I recently passed thru the finished terminal and found it delightful.

Shoutout to @lauriestories.bsky.social as I've recently read her very fine "The Aviator and the Showman" which covers the marriage of Amelia Earhart & George Putnam in great depth. Ms. Shapiro, your work gives me some new tour points as a docent at NASM. Thanks for your thorough research. 1/3

Dumbing down of documentation is a pet peeve of mine.

All hail the great Fred Weick!

This attitude blows up rockets and kills the crew. We *know* this because we've seen it happen. This is the consequence of letting a fool who understands nothing about NASA to lead it.

Hey, remember the last time NASA did this? Seeing safety as the enemy of progress? They made a big fanfare of sending Christina McAuliffe, a schoolteacher, to space. They then blew her up in front of her watching students. She died, along with Scobee, Smith, Onizuka, Resnik, McNair, and Jarvis.

Ahoy, @lauriestories.bsky.social, my esteemed county librarian has just lent this to me. The queue is pretty active (3 copies in circulation, 14 folks waiting.) I'll get into it tonight & check back in a few days.

The most powerful message I’ve seen

Listen to this man. He has the receipts.

Ahoy, @acdc.bsky.social, you may want to check this out!

Shoutout to @ldfreedman.bsky.social as I'm done reading his fine work, "The Future of War". Prof. Freedman, now 8 yrs on from the pub date your work stays very useful; your teaching has helped me organize my thinking around some very current violent events. Thanks for all the work you put into it.

"Pipeline to Battle" by Maj. Peter Rainier is just a terrific old book. Do seek it out, you won't regret it. (Full of charming bits like this one singled out by Chris):

Well, I for one am not surprised (obviously)

If it bothers you when people believe things, especially important things, on the basis of no good evidence--or, worse, against the evidence--and, especially, speak and act on these beliefs, you may appreciate the concept of the "ethics of belief": 1000wordphilosophy.com/2022/01/28/e...

The Aug employment report shows the strain from growth negative policies--restrictive immigration means construction job losses, trade war means mfg job losses, budget cuts mean state & local govts and health care sputter as job engines. The economy is v close to a tipping point

Sept. 3, 1925: The Navy airship Shenandoah crashes in a storm over Ohio, killing 14 of its crew of 43 and destroying a showpiece of U.S. aviation technology. The helium-filled craft is torn apart by updrafts and turbulence in the night and falls to earth in three pieces. 1/9

Coli would be lost (with Charles Nungesser) in May '27 when L'Oiseau Blanc disappeared during an attempt at the Orteig Prize. Two weeks after that, CAL's attempt with 'Spirit of St. Louis' would succeed. 'Spirit' is on display at the Air and Space Museum on the Mall in DC.

Viggen had a licence-built P&W JT8D turbofan engine with a Swedish-designed afterburner added. Great powerplant.

Ahoy @ldfreedman.bsky.social, a friend suggested this of yours and my esteemed county librarian fetched it from the stacks for me. I look forward to diving in and will report back in a few days.

When Ted Turner asked Carl Sagan if he was a socialist, Sagan gave the answer America keeps failing to learn.

Shoutout to @annaleen.bsky.social whose splendid tale, "Automatic Noodle" I've just read. Annalee, your leading characters are so relatable; they make short work of any Uncanny Valley (esp. Sweetie...I'm a bit in love with them). Thanks for a delightful book

Ahoy, @annaleen.bsky.social, look at what my excellent county librarian has loaned to me this day. I had to wait a bit, as a fair number had queued for it. Will probably be back in a couple of days to cheer over it.

We're 3/4 through this week's series looking at what happened next for the Big Hop competitors. Today it's Ted Brown, the Vickers navigator. If you haven't yet read The Big Hop, you know what to do! One of the most remarkable stories of the modern age. rooneyvision.substack.com/p/after-the-...

Shoutout to @nickharkaway.com as I've just finished his remarkable novel, "Gnomon". 8 years on now, Nick, your book is aging so very well...god help us all. (I will in due course consume the rest of your work; looking fwd to all.)

Ahoy, @airportarchitecture.byerussell.com, had occasion to go in & out of the new terminal at KMCI the past week and found it lovely. Passed thru its predecessor a few yrs ago, it was...adequate? Have you got before & after pics/info to share on Kansas City, MO?

Badass!

Ahoy, @jimleeke.bsky.social, the volumes below observed in the wild this day in the shop at the Nat'l Museum of the 1st World War in Kansas City, MO. (I can add that it is a very fine museum.)

This really hurts...

Hard endorse!

Ahoy, @nickharkaway.com, I've some travel the next few days so my esteemed librarian has fetched this from the stacks to help me keep occupied. Now looking forward to the airplane ride.

Shoutout to @vermontgmg.bsky.social whose history of development of the A-bomb, "The Devil Reached Toward the Sky" I've now finished. Garrett, this work is superb. I admire the skill with which you've assembled the story's structure. And the Hanford & Oak Ridge material is unmatched. Kudos to you!

A few pics from NASMs recently reopened WW1 gallery. 1st up the Albatros D.Va, displayed outside the gallery entrance. This mid-war pursuit saw combat - bullet holes were found in it. 1/6

Ahoy, @vermontgmg.bsky.social, look what my esteemed county librarian has lent to me this day! Will get into it tonight and will check back in a few days. I am so very much looking forward to reading this latest from you, Garrett.

Not the height of professionalism at sea...

Shoutout to @rooneyvision.bsky.social whose great history of the 1919 Alcock/Brown crossing, The Big Hop, I've now finished. David, you tell this story so well; many thanks for casting your net to take in the roles of those on the Sopwith, Martinsyde & HP teams. You broadened my take on the events!

Oh man

A few pics from the recently reopened galleries at the NASM building on the Mall in DC. 1st, the Douglas World Cruiser "Chicago" that completed the first trip around the globe by air in 1924. The li'l bird in back is the 1st Piper J-2 Cub from 1937 (i.e. 1st one after Bill P. bought the company.)

Ahoy, @rooneyvision.bsky.social, look what my terrific county librarian has lent to me (after a bit of a wait; folks have queued for it). Will get into it tonight, much looking fwd to it. Will check back in a couple of days.

Shoutout to @beckyaikman.bsky.social whose superb book, "Spitfires", I've just finished. Ms. Aikman, thanks for this excellent work. Your book really brings the American women ATA pilots to life for the reader. (And you add nicely to the ever growing saga of Miss Jacqueline Cochran.) Good show!

Even though I sell maps, it's only recently that I've thought of them as a reliable alternative to an increasingly vulnerable GPS.

The best history thread you will read today (also for God's sake Apple or Netflix, give David funding for a 26-part documentary on this).

…public use operators like police, fire, DHS, etc. All the US Army had to do was apply to the FAA for the exemption. 4. If you think the FAA is mostly to blame then you haven’t been paying attention to 60+ years of military engagement in civilian airspace. 5. I’m glad to see the NTSB work here.

1. The Army thinking it is ok to be off by 100 feet in altitude is disturbing. 2.Less than 500 feet as acceptable separation around this airport is disturbing. 3. Exemption to ADS-B req is due to a bill that Congress passed 5+ yrs ago & extends to other /1 www.military.com/daily-news/2...

Ahoy, @beckyaikman.bsky.social, look what my esteemed county librarian has lent to me today (after a bit of a wait; a fair number of folks were queued for it). Will dig into it tonight and report back in a couple of days.