In a previous column, I discussed the penetration of the ubiquitous, war-surplus Curtiss OX-5 engine into the new aircraft market, which lasted into the 1930s. Not only was the OX-5 engine used as a powerplant option on new aircraft, it... Continue Reading →

Dennis Parks is Curator Emeritus of Seattle’s Museum of Flight. Aviation was introduced to California — and Californians were introduced to aviation — via a spectacular 11-day event held at Dominguez Ranch outside of Los Angeles in January 1910. Continue Reading →

Dennis Parks is Curator Emeritus of Seattle’s Museum of Flight. When Wilbur Wright arrived in France May 29, 1908, to carry out demonstrations for a French syndicate interested in building Wright Flyers, it would be the first time one of... Continue Reading →

Dennis Parks is Curator Emeritus of Seattle’s Museum of Flight. Before they pioneered the airplane, inventors such as Orville and Wilbur Wright and Glenn Curtiss had another technical fascination: Bicycles. Continue Reading →

Dennis Parks is Curator Emeritus of Seattle’s Museum of Flight. Ever since the conception of the light airplane in the 1920s, the magnitude of flights achieved by pilots using light planes never ceases to surprise, especially when used for around-the-word... Continue Reading →

Dennis Parks is Curator Emeritus of Seattle’s Museum of Flight. In the May 13, 1920, issue of the English magazine Flight, a survey of a new type of aircraft they called the “sporting aeroplane” was published. The article provided a... Continue Reading →

Dennis Parks is Curator Emeritus of Seattle’s Museum of Flight. After the end of World War I, surplus warplanes were dumped on the market at a fraction of their original cost, leaving manufacturers with little demand for new aircraft. Without... Continue Reading →

Dennis Parks is Curator Emeritus of Seattle’s Museum of Flight. During the closing years of the 19th century, there were important events that brought the development of aircraft to the edge of powered flight. It was a period of great... Continue Reading →

Dennis Parks is Curator Emeritus of Seattle’s Museum of Flight. The period after the end of World War II saw a rapid growth in the use of corporate-owned aircraft for executive transportation. That need was fed mainly by conversions of... Continue Reading →

Dennis Parks is Curator Emeritus of Seattle’s Museum of Flight. Starting in 1908 and 1909, aviation began to have an impact on the public conscience and imagination, evidenced by its appearance in popular culture of the day, including music, books... Continue Reading →