Model Aircrafts and Ships

Former President Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on the 6^th of February 1911 in Tampico, Illinois to John Reagan and Nelle Wilson Reagan. He was nicknamed Dutch by his father due to his fat little Dutchman appearance and Dutchboy haircut.

Ronald Reagan once affiliated with entertainment. In 1932, he worked at a radio stations WOC in Davenport Iowa and WHO in Des Moines as an announcer. And in 1937 he took a screen test that led to a seven year contract with Warner Brothers.

On the 29^th of April 1937 he enlisted himself in the Army Enlisted Reserve as a private assigned to Troop B, 322^nd Cavalry at Des Moines, Iowa. On the 18^th of April 1942 he was ordered to active duty for the first time but he was classified for limited service only due to his nearsightedness.

In 1950s he had fewer film roles and so he moved to television and hosts the General Electric Theater. His final work as a professional actor was as a host and performer on the television series Death Valley Days.

On the 26^th of January 1940, Reagan marries Jane Wyman. Together they had two children, Maureen and Christine and adopted a third, Michael. On the 28^th of June 1948, they divorced following arguments about Reagan’s political ambitions.

Nancy Davis Reagan

On the 4^th of March 1952, Reagan married Nancy Davis. They had two children, Patti and Ron. Observers described the relationship of the couple as close, real, and intimate.

Political Career:

January 3, 1967 to January 7, 1975 – 33^rd Governor of California

- “to send the welfare bums back to work”

- “to clean up the mess at Berkeley”

- He froze government hiring and approved tax hikes to balance budget.

January 20, 1981 to January 20, 1989 – 40^th President of the United States

- “I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.”

Post Presidential Years:

November 4, 1991 - Ronald Reagan Presidential Library was dedicated and opened to the public.

1994 – He was diagnosed of Alzheimer’s disease.

- “I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead. Thank you, my friends. May God Always bless you.”

On the 5^th of June 2004, Reagan died at his home in Bel-Air, California. He died at the age of 93 after 10 years of Alzheimer’s disease. His burial site is inscribed with the words he delivered upon opening of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

“I know in my heart that man is good. That what is right will always eventually triumph. And there’s purpose and worth to each and every life.”

Honors (to name a few):

Ships:

USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76)

Institutions:

- The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Center for Public Affairs (Simi Valley, California)

- Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historic Site (Dixon, Illinois)

Schools:

- Ronald Reagan Elementary School (Bakersfield, California)

- Ronald Reagan Sports Park (Diamond Bar, California)

- Reagan Physical Education Center (Illinois)

Roads:

- Ronald Reagan Freeway (California)

- Ronald Reagan Highway (Illinois)

“If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea. — CAL”

February 04 1902 – Charles Lindbergh, American pilot (d. 1974).

Charles Lindbergh: the Lone Eagle

Charles Augustus Lindbergh was born on the 4^th of February 1902 in Detroit to Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Sr. and Evangeline Lodge Land. During his early age, he already showed his exceptional mechanical ability. At the age of 18, he entered the University of Wisconsin and study engineering but he later left school and became barnstormer as he was more interested in the exciting, young field of aviation than school.

1924 – He enlisted in the US Army so he can be trained as an Army Air Service Reserve pilot.

1925 – He graduated from the Army’s flight training school and he was awarded as the best pilot in his class.

After Army Training – He was hired by the Robertson Aircraft Corporation of St. Louis and he flies the mail between St. Louis and Chicago. He gained reputation as a cautious and capable pilot.

In 1919, Raymond Orteig, owner of New York City Hotel offered $25,000 to the first aviator to fly nonstop from New York to Paris and it cost the lives of the pilots who joined the competition and some got injured. And until 1927 no one won the said competition.

Charles Lindbergh believed that he could win it only if he had the right airplane and so he persuaded St. Louis businessmen to help him in finance and he chose Ryan Aeronautical Company to manufacture the special plane which he also helped to design. He named it the Spirit of St. Louis. He tested the plane by flying from San Diego to New York City with overnight nonstop in St. Louis on the 10^th and 11^th of May 1927. It took 20 hours and 21 minutes which is a transcontinental record.

On the 20^th of May 1927, he took off the Spirit of St. Louis from Roosevelt Field near New York City and he landed at Le Bourget Field near Paris on the 21^st of May. The nonstop New York to Paris flight in the Spirit of St. Louis made him the first man to fly the Atlantic solo. Thousands of people gathered to meet him and he became an international hero and the most famous man in the world during that time.

Spirit of St. Louis

On the 27^th of May 1929, he married Anne Morrow Lindbergh, daughter of the diplomat Dwight Morrow. He thought her how to fly and they went on many expeditions together. Anne became famous for her poetry and other writings. The couple had six children: Charles Augustus Lindbergh III (1930-1932); Jon (16^th August 1932); Land (1937), studied anthropology; Anne (1940-1993); Scott (1942); and Reeve (1945), writer.

Lindbergh had an affair with Brigitte Hesshaimer, a German hat maker and they had three children: Dryk (1958); Astrid (1960); and David (1967). They managed to keep the affair secret even with their children but Astrid later read a magazine and found out the truth. She did not disclose the affair until both Brigitte and Anne Morrow Lindbergh had died.

Charles Augustus Lindbergh died on the 26^th of August 1974 of lymphoma on the Hawaiian island of Maui. He was buried on the grounds of Palapala Ho’omau Church in Kipahulu, Maui.

Charles Lindbergh’s grave

February 01 1981 - Donald Wills Douglas, Sr., American aircraft manufacturer died (b. 1892)

Douglas Wills Douglas, Sr. was born on the 6^th of April 1892 in Brooklyn, New York. He was the second son of an assistant cashier of the National Park Bank. He started his education at Trinity Chapel School in New York City. At the age of 17, he entered the US Naval Academy where he spent much of his time building and testing model airplanes but in 1912 he left the Naval Academy and look for aeronautical engineering works.

Donald Wills Douglas, Sr.

Donald Douglas later realized that he needed to learn more about it and so he completed a four-year bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in only two years and he was immediately hired as an assistant professor in aeronautics in MIT due to his academic performance.

Work History:

1915 – Consultant to the Connecticut Aircraft Co.

August 1915 – Joined Glenn L. Martin Co. as chief engineer.

1916 – Served briefly as chief civilian aeronautical engineer for the Army Signal Corps Aviation Section in Washington, D.C.
- Chief Engineer in charge of building the MB-1 twin-engine bomber for the US Army.

1920 – He worked as a laborer, hoeing potatoes, and washing cars.
- Davis-Douglas Co. was formed

1921 – Davis lost interest and sold out the company to Douglas and the Douglas Co. was founded.

The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer. It was founded in July 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas Sr. The Company was most famous for their Douglas Commercial much known as the DC series of commercial aircraft which includes the DC-3, a transport aircraft where the C-47 Skytrain was developed from.

Douglas DC-3

In 1967, due to quality and cash flow problems plus the combined shortages due to the Vietnam War, Douglas agrees to a merger with McDonnell Aircraft Corporation and form the McDonnell Douglas. In 1997, the McDonnell Douglas merged with Boeing.

Some Aircrafts built by Douglas Aircraft Company:

TBD-1 Devastator

A Torpedo Bomber used by the United States Navy.

A-26 Invader

A-1H Skyraider

It was an attack aircraft used by the US Navy.

Douglas DC-6B

It was a piston-powered airliner and transport aircraft.

C-124 Globemaster

A-4 Skyhawk

It was an attack aircraft used by the US Navy.

George Herbert Walker Bush was born on the 12^th of June 1924 in their Victorian house in Massachusetts to Senator Prescott Bush and Dorothy Walker Bush. He began his formal education at the Greenwich Country Day School in Greenwich where his family moved shortly after his birth.

In 1936, he attended Phillips Academy and there he held a large number of leadership positions which includes being the captain of both the varsity baseball and soccer teams.

In June 1942 after graduating from Phillips Academy, he joined the US Navy and became a naval aviator on his 18^th birthday. On the 9^th of June 1943, he was commissioned and ensign in the US Naval Reserve at Corpus Christi, Texas and it made him the youngest naval aviator to that date. He piloted one of four Grumman TBM Avenger on one of his mission. In September 1945, he was honorably discharged from the service and he then entered Yale University.

TBF (TMB) Avenger

Soon after graduating from Yale University he became involved in politics. On the 3^rd of January 1967 to 1971 he was a member of the US House of Representatives from 7^th District of Texas. In 1971 to 1973, he became the 10^th US Ambassador to the United Nations. On the 30^th of January 1976, he became the 11^th Director of Central Intelligence Agency. On the 20^th of January 1981, he became the 43^rd Vice President of the United States with Ronald Reagan as the President. And on the 20^th of January 1989 he became the 41^st President of the United States with Dan Quayle as his Vice President.

CIA, Vice President, President Plaques

After his term, he retired to be with his wife at their home in Houston with a presidential office nearby. Since 1992, he made many public appearances and even more when his son became the President.

He was awarded the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award by former First Lady Nancy Reagan. And in 1993, he was awarded an honorary knighthood (GCB) by Queen Elizabeth II.

He was also present on various ceremonies during the construction of the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77), the last Nimitz class supercarrier of the US Navy that was named after him.

USS George H. W. Bush CVN-77

Francis Stanley “Gabby” Gabreski: Top American Fighter Ace

January 28 1919 – Francis Gabreski, American fighter pilot.

Francis Stanley “Gabby” Gabreski

Francis Stanley “Gabby” Gabreski was born today, 28^th of January 1919. He was the top American fighter ace in Europe during the Second World War, a jet fighter ace in Korea, and a career officer in the US Air Force with more than 26 years in the service.

Curtiss P-40 AVG Flying Tiger

Spitfire Mk IX

During his Royal Air Force (RAF) duty, he flew the new Spitfire Mark IX. And Gabreski learned during his duty with RAF that he had to keep calm during a mission. In his career with US Air Force, he became the commander of his former unit, the 56^th Fighter Group and he flew F-80 Shooting Stars.

Gabreski died on the 31^st of January 2002 of an apparent heart attack. He is buried in Calverton National Cemetery along with his wife Kay.

Leonid Kostyantynovych Kadenyuk: The First Astronaut of Ukraine

January 28 1951 – Leonid Kadenyuk, Ukrainian cosmonaut.

Leonid Kostyantynovych Kadenyuk

Leonid Kostyantynovych Kadenyuk was the first and only astronaut of independent Ukraine as of 2005. He holds the rank of Ukrainian Air Force Major General. He has been a career Soviet military pilot and cosmonaut since 1976. He started his service with the Soviet Air Force and later with the Cosmonaut Group. He remained in the Russian Space Forces and adopted Russian citizenship due to the break-up of the Soviet Union.

STS-87Mission

In 1995, he returned to his homeland and volunteered to take part of the first Ukrainian space mission. In 1997, he made his flight on NASA’s Space Shuttle Columbia as part of the international mission STS-87. The mission duration was 15 days, 16 hours, 35 minutes, and 01 seconds.

Space Shuttle Columbia

January 24 1888 – a German aircraft designer and manufacturer Ernst Heinkel was born.

Ernst Heinkel was born in Grunbach, Germany on the 24^th of January 1988. He started as an apprentice machinist at a foundry. He became interested with aviation through his fascination with zeppelins, a type of rigid airships.

In 1909, he attended an international airshow in Frankfurt am Main. In 1910, he built his first aircraft but unfortunately it crashed and burned. Still he did not loose confidence but rather he continue his work and then he became chief designer for the Albatros Aircraft Company located in Berlin just before the beginning of the First World War.

In Albatros, he designed the Albatros B-II. It was an unarmed reconnaissance biplane during the First World War. He left the Albatros and he designed several seaplanes for Hansa-Brandenburg Company in 1914. Later he was appointed as head designer in a re-established Caspar-Werke but left due to a dispute on ownership of a design.

In 1922, Heinkel established the Heinkel-Flugzeugwerke company. He looked for overseas contracts and so some of his seaplane designs are being licence-built in Sweden.

Heinkel He 111

Adolf Hitler came to power and the designs of Heinkel’s firm formed a vital part of the Luftwaffe’s growing strength that leads up to the Second World War. The design includes Heinkel He 59, a trainer, transport, ambulance, torpedo bomber type of aircraft; Heinkel He 115, a three seats torpedo bomber aircraft; and the Heinkel He 111, medium bomber and perhaps the most famous symbol of the German side of the Battle of Britain.

On the 30^th of January 1958, Ernst Heinkel died in Stuttgart, Germany.