- 5,064
- Panama City, FL
Coast Guard aviation 100 years? I had no idea!
I did get to see a bit of the Navy's celebration back in 2011, when a replica of the Curtis Pusher, used by Eugene Ely for the first shipboard landing and takeoff, flew in the Blue Angels homecoming air show. This was not the actual "first naval aircraft," but it was the one that demonstrated that an airplane could land and take off from a flat deck on a ship. (The first naval aircraft, requisitioned in May 1911, was the A-1 Triad, a reproduction of which hangs in the lobby of the Naval Aviation Museum at Pensacola NAS.)
They also had the Tailhook Legacy flight up, and had them timed to pass by in the distance behind the crowd at the same time the Curtiss was back there in its circle. Curtiss model D, SB2C Helldiver, F4U Corsair, and F/A-18E Superhornet in the same air!
In doing some reading just now, I've found that the Coast Guard's first aircraft was a Curtiss flying boat, designed for anti-submarine operations, borrowed for patrol work. Another Curtiss flying boat, which is in the museum in Pensacola, is the one which completed a transatlantic crossing in 1919, and was piloted by a Coastie!
It could be said that the Coast Guard goes all the way back to 1903, as it was men from a lifeboat station that provided "muscle" for the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, hand-lugging the airplane down to the beach, helping the launch push, and one of those guys took The Picture, using a camera belonging to one of the brothers.
I did get to see a bit of the Navy's celebration back in 2011, when a replica of the Curtis Pusher, used by Eugene Ely for the first shipboard landing and takeoff, flew in the Blue Angels homecoming air show. This was not the actual "first naval aircraft," but it was the one that demonstrated that an airplane could land and take off from a flat deck on a ship. (The first naval aircraft, requisitioned in May 1911, was the A-1 Triad, a reproduction of which hangs in the lobby of the Naval Aviation Museum at Pensacola NAS.)
They also had the Tailhook Legacy flight up, and had them timed to pass by in the distance behind the crowd at the same time the Curtiss was back there in its circle. Curtiss model D, SB2C Helldiver, F4U Corsair, and F/A-18E Superhornet in the same air!
In doing some reading just now, I've found that the Coast Guard's first aircraft was a Curtiss flying boat, designed for anti-submarine operations, borrowed for patrol work. Another Curtiss flying boat, which is in the museum in Pensacola, is the one which completed a transatlantic crossing in 1919, and was piloted by a Coastie!
It could be said that the Coast Guard goes all the way back to 1903, as it was men from a lifeboat station that provided "muscle" for the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, hand-lugging the airplane down to the beach, helping the launch push, and one of those guys took The Picture, using a camera belonging to one of the brothers.
Pretty cool spot. Didn't knew about its existence before seeing that photo. Checked if it was affordable with the company I like to fly with but 1700euros seemed like a bit too much. To Sint Maarten or New York with KLM is around €1000 and Las Vegas with Delta for around €1200, I found it a bit expensive 
Though with Lufthansa I can get there for €540 with a stop in Munich and Athens. Would have to do the last part with a prop operated by Olympic..
