As many know, Croydon Aerodrome in the 1920s & 30s was a cutting edge airport featuring the world’s first control tower, developing the concept of Air Traffic Control, and inventing the radio call “Mayday”. It was also the major aviation hub for London, and the gateway through...
Imperial War Museum (IWM) – Duxford is primarily an aircraft museum, but the westernmost building is not, like the others, a giant hanger full of aircraft. Instead it is where the lion’s share of the IWM’s military vehicle collection is displayed – in the Land Warfare building....
Engineers can be SO cool! This is a fascinating video of a company called ALE*, who specialised in moving/lifting/sliding heavy stuff, swapping out a 7.5 ton crankshaft from an engine on the cruise liner MS Zaandam. This is small-scale, bread & butter stuff (they did two cruise...
I came across an interesting anecdote in a book, In the Cockpit – Flying the World’s Great Aircraft*, which gives a pilot’s view and experience of flying a range of over 50 amazing military aircraft from biplanes to jets. The chapter on the 1st World War Handley...
Make sure your shoelaces are done up tightly! It worried me that mine could have been tighter!
Not so much a brand museum as an art installation
Stow Maries Great War Aerodrome, near Maldon in Essex, has won £4.3m of National Lottery funding that will enable it to be transformed into a major visitor attraction. The near-complete example of a First World War aerodrome, untouched and largely forgotten for 60 years, was built in...
Despite Menorca’s key military position in the 17th-19th centuries, I hadn’t really expected too much from the Museu Militar de Menorca in Es Castell, but it’s actually rather good. Like many islands in the Mediterranean, Menorca was a fortress and its military history reflects that, not only...
I love a good view from a hotel window or balcony, but I especially love interesting views where you can watch activity – on the street, in the harbour, on the ski slope, etc. This is a great view for a geek like me. It’s from our...
It seems almost inconceivable that the United States Army doesn’t have a national museum! Everyone else has one. The Marines have one, the Air Force has one, the Navy has one… hell, even Navy Aviation and US Army Aviation have them! Most countries have one. I’ve been...
I didn’t know this until I happened to go for a Sunday walk in east London recently and stumbled on the plaque and signage – the very first flight made by a British aeroplane, with a British engine and a British pilot was made here by Alliott...
"To be of full value to its user, a parachute must inspire absolute and implicit confidence in its correct functioning." - Air Ministry Manual. A masterclass in under-statement!
A new, specially designed, luxury tourist train was launched yesterday in Japan. The Royal Express will operate from Yokohama station in Yokohama and Itokyu Shimoda station in Shimoda City at the southern tip of the Izu Peninsula with its full of hot springs and picturesque coastlines. Around...
On Thursday this week, an amazing piece of space history goes on sale at Sotheby’s Auction house in New York – the original flight plan from the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission. It’s one item in a ‘Space Exploration’ auction of space memorabilia and artifacts, some of which...
This is a niche blog about technically-minded travel. It reflects my own interests in the mechanical, technical, historical, engineering, transport and military world.
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