History | International Aviation HQ

Remembering Hawker Aircraft: Britain’s Most Popular Aircraft Manufacturer

31Jul

By Gareth Seagull3 Comments

History

Remembering Hawker Aircraft: Britain’s Most Popular Aircraft Manufacturer

Famous for producing the likes of the Hurricane, Tempest, Sea Hawk, Harrier and Sea Fury, Hawker Aircraft was one of the largest aircraft manufacturers of its time, famous for almost solely producing military aircraft. Despite the death of their co-founder and namesake, Harry Hawker, on July 12 1921 - less than a year after Hawker Aircraft was established, his death fueled the company to push the limits of our technology further to produce better aircraft. Indeed, at one point in the 1930's, Hawker-made aircraft were so good that they accounted for over 84% of the aircraft in the RAF's fleet! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Hawker Aircraft: Sopwith Aviation Company Having had an interest in aviation since he saw John Moisant fly the wo...

28Jul

By Alexander Pask4 Comments

History

Remembering Hawker Siddeley: The Rise (And Fall) of Britain’s Aviation Powerhouse

Whilst a giant from the day it was founded until the day it ceased trading, Hawker Siddeley were one of Britain's preeminent aircraft manufacturers, arguably being the largest in Britain during the 1960's and 1970's. Yet, for most of its existence, Hawker Siddeley didn't produce aircraft under its own name - instead letting its subsidiaries produce their own aircraft under their own name. It was only in the mid-1960's when Hawker Siddeley began making its own aircraft! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Hawker Siddeley: Hawker Aircraft In June 1912, Thomas Sopwith, a wealthy British sportsman with an interest in aviation, established the Sopwith Aviation Company with the help of Fred Sigrist, an aircraft engineer and Sopwith's close friend. ...

Remembering Hughes Aircraft Company: How Howard Hughes Became an Aviation Pioneer!

10Jul

By Alexander Pask2 Comments

History

Remembering Hughes Aircraft Company: How Howard Hughes Became an Aviation Pioneer!

Howard Hughes was one of the most important aviation pioneers of the 20th century. Not only did he run two airlines (TWA and Hughes Airwest), but he also ran the Hughes Aircraft Company - known for being one of the largest aircraft manufacturers of its time! Despite that, the death of Howard Hughes in 1976 profoundly impacted the company, with it being dismantled and sold on within 20 years of his death, with only portions of the business surviving to this day... (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Hughes Aircraft Company: Howard Hughes Known as an eccentric even back then, Howard Hughes had inherited his father's drill bit manufacturer, Hughes Tool Company, in 1924 at the age of 18. Not really interested in spending the rest of his life mak...

Remembering de Havilland: The Rise And Fall of a British Aviation Powerhouse!

30Jun

By Alexander Pask5 Comments

History

Remembering de Havilland: The Rise And Fall of a British Aviation Powerhouse!

Today, at least in Britain, the name "de Havilland" is synonymous with aviation. Indeed, throughout its existence, the de Havilland Aircraft Company was one of the most prestigious British aircraft manufacturers, behind only its parent company: Hawker Siddeley. Despite having once been one of the largest aircraft manufacturers of its time, the company hasn't existed for almost 60 years, with very few people outside the avgeek community even remembering their name... (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Before The de Havilland Aircraft Company In 1907, Geoffrey de Havilland borrowed £1,000 (£125,000 adjusted for inflation) from his maternal grandfather as an advance on his inheritance. Using this money, and the next two years of his life, Geoffrey bu...

Herb Kelleher: The King of American Low-Cost Airlines

16Jun

By Salomón MarcoNo Comments

History

Herb Kelleher: The King of American Low-Cost Airlines

Today, Southwest Airlines is the undisputed king of American low-cost aviation. Yet without Herb Kelleher, Southwest as we know it today would've never been born. Imagine that! Having founded Southwest Airlines (then called Air Southwest Co) in 1967, Herb would be the driving force in getting the airline off the ground (no pun intended) and growing it into one of the "Big Four" airlines. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Early Life Herbert David "Herb" Kelleher would be born on March 12 1931 as the youngest of four children to Irish-American soup factory foreman, Harry Kelleher, and his wife, Ruth. Born in the township of Haddon Heights, just outside Camden, New Jersey, the Kelleher family would soon move to the neighboring Audubon, due to Ha...

Remembering AgustaWestland: The Rise (And Fall) of a Helicopter Giant!

2Jun

By Christopher Harrow2 Comments

History

Remembering AgustaWestland: The Rise (And Fall) of a Helicopter Giant!

Today, AgustaWestland is remembered for having produced some of the best and most versatile helicopters to have ever flown, including the AW101, AW109 and AW139 - all of which have been used in many different roles by hundreds of operators! Whilst AgustaWestland is technically still around today, instead operating as Leonardo's helicopter division, the AgustaWestland name still lives on through the history and helicopters this giant produced... (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-AgustaWestland: Agusta Having built and flown his first aircraft in 1907, aviation enthusiast and European nobleman, Count Giovanni Agusta, would spend the 1910's and 1920's raising enough money to found his own aircraft manufacturer. Founded in 1923, the count woul...

Remembering Canadair: The Rise And Fall of a Canadian Icon!

26May

By Alexander PaskNo Comments

History

Remembering Canadair: The Rise And Fall of a Canadian Icon!

Today, Canadair is remembered for being the Canadian aircraft manufacturer that made Canada an aviation powerhouse, even if its size and scope paled in comparison to the likes of Boeing and Lockheed, who it regularly did business with. Operating between 1944 and 1986, the company would go from being a state-owned company, to a privatized one, only to be renationalized before being sold on and dismantled by its present owners. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Canadair: Canadian Vickers In 1911, British shipbuilding and weapons conglomerate, Vickers, were invited by the Canadian government to establish a Canadian subsidiary, in the hopes that Vickers would begin building ships for the Royal Canadian Navy. This Canadian subsidiary would th...

Remembering The Douglas Aircraft Company: The Company That (Nearly) Beat Boeing

12May

By Christopher HarrowNo Comments

History

Remembering The Douglas Aircraft Company: The Company That (Nearly) Beat Boeing

At its height, just prior to WWII, Douglas Aircraft Company produced 80% of the US's commercial aircraft, and many of the US military's cutting edge fighters, dwarfing rival company, Boeing, in almost every regard. Despite this, the company is arguably most famous for its merger with McDonnell Aircraft, forming McDonnell Douglas, which soon became Boeing's main competitor in both the commercial and military scenes (before their own merger in 1997!) (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Douglas Aircraft Company In 1915, former US Naval officer Donald W. "Don" Douglas would join the Connecticut Aircraft Company (the precursor to today's Sikorsky Aircraft Company), where he'd help design the US Navy's first airship, the DN-1. Three years later,...

Remembering Convair: The Rise And Fall of an Aviation Giant

5May

By Alexander PaskNo Comments

History

Remembering Convair: The Rise And Fall of an Aviation Giant

Born from the ashes of WWII, Convair grew to become one of the largest aircraft manufacturers of its time. Yet, within 43 years of it being founded, the company had ceased all operations, with the world forgetting Convair ever existed. A pioneer in both military and civil aviation (even if the latter was a resounding failure) the company was able to expand into the space industry, producing rockets used during the height of the Space Age... Incredibly, a few of the rockets Convair designed are still used by NASA today! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Convair: Consolidated And Vultee In 1923, former US Army Aviator-turned industrialist, Reuben H. Fleet, chose to use his knowledge and passion for aircraft to form a brand new aircraft manu...

27Feb

By Alya KulikovaNo Comments

History

Juan Trippe: The Man Who Built Pan Am

Today, Juan Trippe is known for a number of things. Primarily, this is for being the driving force behind Pan Am for almost 40 years, but also, for being the guy who helped to create the 747! According to most aviation historians, Trippe is regarded as being one of the fathers of the American airline industry. This is alongside people like Eddie Rickenbacker, Jack Frye and Pat Patterson. Due to this, Trippe has been immortalized in a number of aviation movies, including Martin Scorsese's The Aviator and Pat O'Brien's The China Clipper. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Early Life Juan Terry Trippe was born on June 27, 1899 to Charles and Lucy Trippe. His mother was a homemaker, whilst his father was a New York-based investment banker and stockb...