Completely useless info....but still pretty neat!

[dannymax]

Anybody ever see one of these things? Apparently there are large concrete arrows, some as much as 70' long, placed in a rough line across the country...here's the story:

On August 20, 1920, the United States opened its first coast-to-coast airmail delivery route, just 60 years after the Pony Express closed up shop.

There were no good aviation charts in those days, so pilots had to eyeball their way across the country using landmarks.

This meant that flying in bad weather was difficult, and night flying was just about impossible.

The Postal Service solved the problem with the world’s first ground-based civilian navigation system: a series of lit beacons that would extend from New York to San Francisco. Every ten miles, pilots would pass a bright yellow concrete arrow. Each arrow would be surmounted by a 51-foot steel tower and lit by a million-candlepower rotating beacon. (A generator shed at the tail of each arrow powered the beacon.)


Couldn't get a pic to load so here's a link: https://www.google.com/search?q=con...AOK2oDwDw&ved=0CDIQsAQ&biw=1440&bih=684&dpr=1

 

[The Beekeeper]

That is cool, had not heard of them before, I think it would be neat to have one in your yard/property...................Tom.

 

[Kronx]

That is really cool! It's sort of amazing how fast we advanced in aviation. Most of the planes built today are still based off designs of the 50s and 60s. The F-15 for example, was designed in the '60s, went into service in the mid-70s and is still a premiere jet fighter today.

My grandfather and mother were both air traffic controllers. I sort of grew up around airports and aircraft. Living in St. Louis, it's no shock there's A LOT of Charles Lindbergh info around here. In the early days of aviation a lot of the pilots were also really great writers. And then as planes got to higher altitudes and navigation systems the numbers pilot/writers declined. It's just my personal opinion, but I often wonder if perhaps the old days of aviation where you had to navigate by seeing the land and flying at lower altitudes created a "connection" with the earth that brought out the poet in them.

 

[johnpclynch]

You can even find a few on google maps...

https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&so...,0.001592&z=20&iwloc=A&cid=420502738897366907

 

[Kronx]

If you ever come through St. Louis, you HAVE to go to Forrest Park. It's the true gem of the city IMO. the zoo(free), the art museum(free), the history museum(free), the science museum(free) are all there.

In the history museum they have an entire wing dedicated to Charles Lindbergh and his trans-atlantic flight. He started out as a postal pilot. It really gives you a great perspective on just how HUGE of a star world wide he became with that flight. It really was far more than I imagined. The one photo that just sort of took me back was the first one I attached. The photo is taken at Forrest Park, right in front of the Art Museum. If you've never been there, its impossible to really appreciate how big the lawn in front of it is. It's a big hill and at the bottom is lovely fountains and man made pond where people can rent row boats and such. But as you can see in the photo there is a ton of people there... and this is what kills me... they are there just to see him fly over! He's not going to be there to give a speech or make an appearance... he's just flying over.... he drew THIS sort of crowd for flyby! I dunno why that amazes me, but it really does.

The other photo is pretty iconic, but one I still find remarkable when I think when was the last time we've seen a celebration of something like that? What in my lifetime have I experienced on a scale such as this? Unfortunately they landed on the moon a year before I was born.

 

[MtnMax/Magniac]

That is really cool! It's sort of amazing how fast we advanced in aviation. Most of the planes built today are still based off designs of the 50s and 60s. The F-15 for example, was designed in the '60s, went into service in the mid-70s and is still a premiere jet fighter today.

How about the SR-71 Blackbird? Still the world's fastest. There are only 2 left in service after its official retirement, both owned (and still used) by NASA.

 

[m-cman]

How about the SR-71 Blackbird? Still the world's fastest. There are only 2 left in service after its official retirement, both owned (and still used) by NASA.

My uncle was a jet engine mechanic. He worked on the SR-71 engine development for Pratt Whitney. Never knew until it was de-classified. He told me some crazy stories. Like how they had to develop the ability to fly at high altitudes where air was so thin a normal jet wouldn't work. When sitting on the ground before taking off, the plane would be leaking fluids everywhere. At speed the heat would expand all the joints and seal the leaks. The first flight with the US flag painted on the tail came back with the metal where the white portion was had melted the metal from the extreme heat generated. They had to develop a white paint that didn't cause that. Many more stories.

He died in his early 60's from the effects of the chemicals being used. This was before OSHA. The last few years of his life, he was on oxygen, his lungs almost gone.

He left me some souvenirs that were given to the people on the project. A baseball cap and a SR71 tie pin among others.

I have many wonderful memories of him....

 

[Traumahawk]

How about the SR-71 Blackbird? Still the world's fastest. There are only 2 left in service after its official retirement, both owned (and still used) by NASA.

That is a Helluva plane.

 

[dannymax]

You can even find a few on google maps...

https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&so...,0.001592&z=20&iwloc=A&cid=420502738897366907

John...how the heck did you find that....:ummm:

 

[BigIke]

Cman thanks for sharing, that is an awesome story! Thanks for you Dad's service.

 

[johnpclynch]

John...how the heck did you find that....:ummm:

Did a bit of reading on google, found some GPS co-ordinates and then opened up the map of the area and went looking for the high ground

 

[dannymax]

Did a bit of reading on google, found some GPS co-ordinates and then opened up the map of the area and went looking for the high ground

Ah...the logical approach! Never would have thought of that.....:rofl_200: