Today in History – August 31, 1921 – Lt. John A. Macready performed the first crop dusting flight on a surplus World War I Curtiss JN-6H (Jenny), taking off from McCook Field near Dayton, Ohio. The goal was to attack the Catalpa sphinx moth by dusting an orchard with a load of lead-arsenate from a [...]

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Today in history- Aug 30, 1983- Guion “Guy” Bluford became the first African America to travel to space , 22 years after the first American traveled to space. This twenty plus year’s gap makes his accomplishment an important milestone in African American history. Born November 22,1942 with a mother for a teacher and an engineer [...]

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Today in History – August 28, 1883 – John J. Montgomery makes first controlled “heavier than air” glider flight at Wheeler Hill, California. He sails a distance of 603 feet at an altitude of about fifteen feet. He continued to perfect the design by making and testing modifications. In 1894, he published a summary of [...]

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Today in History – August 27, 2003 – World’s largest battery is connected to provide emergency power to Fairbanks, Alaska’s second-largest city. Backup power is critical here as Alaska could become an “electrical island” when the power lines go down. In fact, environmental conditions cause a total city blackout every two or three years. In [...]

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Today in History – August 23, 1977 – Gossamer Condor achieves first human powered flight around a figure eight. This team effort, under the leadership of Paul B. MacCready, Jr., won the $50,000 Kremer Prize and captured the world’s attention. Bryan Allen maintained a head-height during the 7 1/2 minute figure eight flight. British millionaire [...]

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