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Search results for: aviation
“Girl Pilot”: Mary Goodrich Jenson Breaks Barriers in Aviation and Journalism
…9, 1928 – Hartford Courant, Connecticut State Library Though she is well-known for her early accomplishments in aviation, Mary Goodrich (Jenson)—born in Hartford in 1907—loved the field of journalism from…
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The First Yale Unit: How U.S. Navy Aviation Began
…achieved many “firsts” in World War I as they proved the potential of aviation in national defense. This was a group of men who took it upon themselves to begin…
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Airborne Pioneers: Connecticut Takes Flight
…of Motor Vehicles, who for a while doubled as the state’s Commissioner of Aviation. In 1927, Connecticut established a separate Department of Aviation to regulate the growing number of pilots…
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Plainville Has Been Flying High for Over 100 Years
The town of Plainville claims a special relationship with aviation culture that dates back to the earliest days of flight in the state. Pilots and aviation enthusiasts of all varieties…
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Road Signs of the Air
By Jane F. Cullinane for Connecticut Explored In the 1920s, when aviation was still in its infancy, most pilots navigated using road maps; they followed highways, rivers, and other landmarks…
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Igor Sikorsky and his Flying Machines
…of the helicopter in the United States and with the ongoing manufacture of helicopters at the Sikorsky Aviation Corporation in Stratford. Igor I. Sikorsky, ca. 1938 From Success in Russia…
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The Early Years of the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company
By Richard DeLuca In the spring of 1925, aircraft engine designer and aviation engineer Frederick B. Rentschler came to Connecticut to pursue an idea that became one of the most…
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Igor Sikorsky Dies – Today in History: October 26
On October 26, 1972, aviation pioneer Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky died at his home in Easton. Founder of the Sikorsky Aviation Corporation, Sikorsky moved the company to Stratford in 1929, and…
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Hamilton Wrecks Aeroplane – Today in History: April 22
On April 22, 1911, aviation pioneer Charles Hamilton crashed his brand new, all white, biplane the “Moth” at Andrews Field in New Britain. Hamilton, a New Britain native, began his…
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A Diversified Mind: Hiram Percy Maxim
…his mark on early aviation and wireless radio. Maxim’s broadly recognized achievements brought fame to Hartford, where he made his home from 1899 until his death in 1936. Early Years…
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Looking Back: the First “Aero Planes”
…New Britain. Soon New Britain and Bridgeport became the centers of aviation in the State. Hamilton was soon doing daring flight exhibitions that made him the best-known flyer in America….
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World War I Flying Ace Raoul Lufbery
…granted permission to enlist in aviation school. He initially trained on two-seaters and flew missions with a bomber squadron before transferring to combat fighter school in April 1916, where he…
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Helicopters, Guitars, and Guide Dogs: The Revolutionary Mind of Charles Kaman
Charles Kaman, an inventor and aviation pioneer, managed to combine all of his passions in life (namely flying, music, and dogs) into successful business ventures. An inductee into the National…
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From the State Historian: Discovering the Explorer Hiram Bingham III
…exploring altogether in 1915, turning first to aviation and then to politics. He earned a pilot’s license in 1917, and as an army lieutenant colonel he commanded the Allies’ largest…
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A Busy Airfield in Bethany
…its first few years, the airfield in Bethany served the interests of small-time aviation enthusiasts. Its central location, however, soon made it a convenient stop for planes providing airmail service…
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Boone Guyton Tested the Limits of World-Famous Aircraft
Boone Guyton was one of the most prolific test pilots in US aviation history. A long-time resident of Woodbridge, Guyton piloted over 100 different models of planes, including the Japanese…
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Pratt & Whitney Debuts Wasp Engine – Today in History: December 24
On December 24, 1925, aviation engineer and head of the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company Frederick B. Rentschler debuted its first product: the Wasp engine. It featured a radial design,…
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Flying High with Early Dirigible
…blimps, which is part of the much larger story of Connecticut aviation. Ritchel’s other well-known invention was the fun-house mirror, which he called “Ritchel’s Laugh-o-Graphs.” Reflecting a distorted image of…
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Charles Ritchel and the Dirigible
…end to Connecticut’s first entry into the aviation industry. Richard DeLuca is the author of Post Roads & Iron Horses: Transportation in Connecticut from Colonial Times to the Age of…
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“Something to Show for Our Work”: Building Brainard Airport
…to regain their self respect,” Ryan declared, with no apparent irony. Detail from August 6, 1931, Hartford Courant article, “Aviation Field City Workers Gain A Point.” The men had a…
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Bradley International Airport Transforms Windsor Locks into Regional Gateway
…The airport also attracted several important aviation industries to the site, most notably the Kaman Corporation, which manufactured helicopters. On December 11, 1951, Kaman successfully operated the world’s first turbine-powered…
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Hamilton Breaks Air Records – Today in History: June 13
On June 13, 1910, Charles Keeney Hamilton of New Britain shattered aviation records. Flying from New York to Philadelphia and back, Hamilton completed the first round-trip journey ever made between…
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John H. Trumbull: Connecticut’s “Flying Governor”
…Politician Takes Flight In 1926, at the age of 53, Trumbull received his pilot’s license. An aviation enthusiast, Trumbull was a member of the State Aeronautics Commission, helped promote the…
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Igor Sikorsky
…the first successful test flight of a helicopter in the United States. Today, his Sikorsky Aviation Corporation (based in Stratford) is one of the leading helicopter manufacturers in the world….
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DN-1: The US Navy’s First Airship
…– Connecticut State Library. Germany was at the forefront of lighter-than-air aviation in the early 20th century due to the Swabian Count Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin’s engineering success. The first…
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Bradley Field Enters the Jet Age
by Richard Malley for Your Public Media After acquiring the World War II Bradley air base from the US Government in 1948, the State of Connecticut poured considerable resources into…
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Video – The Hindenburg Flies Over Hartford
YouTube – Hindenburg over Hartford, Connecticut 1936 LZ 129 Hindenburg, a large German commercial passenger-carrying airship designed and built by the Zeppelin Company, flew from March 1936 until it was…
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Bradley Airport’s Military Origins
In 1941, with war raging on the European continent, the United States government anxiously pursued opportunities to establish an air base in Connecticut to bolster defenses along the East Coast….
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Connecticut Daredevil Andrew Mamedoff Joins Royal Air Force
Last revised: April 3, 2023 Andrew Mamedoff was a daredevil, pilot, and war hero who grew up in Thompson, Connecticut. A penchant for danger followed him through a tumultuous youth…
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Hometown Hero: Wallingford Remembers Stanley Budleski
By Nancy Finlay Frank and Bogumita Budleski immigrated from Poland in the early 20th century. Their two children, Frances and Stanley, grew up on the family farm in the Yalesville…
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Silas Brooks, Balloonist
By Richard DeLuca For more than a century before the first heavier-than-air flight of the Wright Brothers in 1903, experiments in the new science of aeronautics focused on various lighter-than-air…
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World’s First Helicopter – Today in History: September 14
On September 14, 1939, the VS-300, the world’s first practical helicopter, took flight at Stratford, Connecticut. Designed by Igor Sikorsky and built by the Vought-Sikorsky Aircraft Division of the United…
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Parachutist Snagged in Midair – Today in History: September 13
On September 13, 1966, Charles (Chuck) Alexander became the first human to be captured by an aircraft in flight. A test parachutist for the Pioneer Parachute Company of Manchester, Connecticut,…
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