On November 14 1910, Pilot Eugene Ely was the first person to fly off a ship turning the USS Birmingham into the world’s first aircraft carrier [1220 x 926]
On November 14 1910, Pilot Eugene Ely was the first person to fly off a ship turning the USS Birmingham into the world’s first aircraft carrier [1220 x 926]
On November 14, 1910, Eugene Ely sat in a flimsy Curtiss pusher biplane on a wooden platform built over the bow of the USS Birmingham. When he took off, his wheels actually dipped into the salt water because the drop was so steep. He couldn’t see because of the spray on his goggles, but he managed to stay airborne and land on a nearby beach.
Two months later, he upped the ante by landing on the USS Pennsylvania using a primitive “hook and wire” system—the direct ancestor of the arrestor gear used on every carrier today.
1 Comment
On November 14, 1910, Eugene Ely sat in a flimsy Curtiss pusher biplane on a wooden platform built over the bow of the USS Birmingham. When he took off, his wheels actually dipped into the salt water because the drop was so steep. He couldn’t see because of the spray on his goggles, but he managed to stay airborne and land on a nearby beach.
Two months later, he upped the ante by landing on the USS Pennsylvania using a primitive “hook and wire” system—the direct ancestor of the arrestor gear used on every carrier today.
Here’s and interesting breakdown of the event and its impact [https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kMuFbhNnU_Y](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kMuFbhNnU_Y)