le dragon volant du piz maluns. Via: Deadlicious

"My Soul is in the Sky" The story of the Colditz Glider. Via: MKF

By René Magritte. Via: X-Planes

Edmond Charles Genet’s “Aeronaut” - a “Fish-shaped, horse-powered, paddle-wheel dirigible”. This is believed to be the first U.S. patent issued for an aeronautical invention, though it appears the documentation has been lost in time

It appeared in his book of 1825 titled “Memorial on the upward forces of fluids, and their applicability to several arts, sciences, and public improvements”

“From a scientific viewpoint this is the most important American publication in the field of aviation, for it is the first printed suggestion of the correct theory of the heavier than air machine..”

Via: Xplanes

It Came in the mail last week...

I entered the contest when was ten (I had to eat thousands of boxes of poor quality macaroni), and then last week this very old, dead letter office stamped, and forwarded multiple times package was on my doorstep. Its almost entirely made of cardboard (with a few zinc fasteners some some pie-tin quality fuel lines). Like many childhood dreams it was probally better being just a fantasy to get me through the long boring summers and my grandmothers house.

Sure, it flies okay, but it shakes quite a bit at mach 2, the radio only gets staticky Buddy Holly tunes and only one of the landing gear really worked properly. Sadly, I put the launching pad too close to the lawn sprinkler and it got wet. It was in the recycling bin a week later .

..and I was a little sadder.

Wake me in a thousand years..

When the worlds sky is full of machines like the work of Harry Grant Dart. See his work at lambiek The last one to go to sleep please set the alarm. We'll wake up together, and while we're are still in our pajamas and with bed-head we'll shuffle out into the futuristic light, and look into the sky and hope....

Via: MKF