History - Jump Pilot George Quick and Skydiver Bert White - May 1930

If you love history, aviation or skydiving you will appreciate this picture. 

This is a classic picture of Jump Pilot George Quick (left) and Skydiver Bert White standing next to their airplane in California before their altitude record breaking skydive of 24,800ft.

The record was successfully made over the Mojave Desert, California USA May 25, 1930.

~ skydiverdriver.com

Gallery - Jump Pilot Sig Wilson Marquette MI Circa 1930s

A super cool photo of pilot Sig Wilson and #parachutist Marquette MI circa 1930 #avgeek #oldschoolskydiving #pilot

A photo posted by Chris Rosenfelt (@jumppilot) on May 11, 2015 at 10:45pm PDT

Should December be Aviation Month?

December is a significant month in aviation history.  On December 17th, 110 years ago, the "Wright Flyer" became the first heavier than air powered machine to achieve controlled sustained flight at Kitty Hawk North Carolina USA.  

On the 5th day in December 1879 an aviation pioneer Clyde Cessna was born in Iowa USA.  

Also, on December 22nd 1964 the "Blackbird" prototype SR-71A-LO first flew from Air Force Plant 42 Palmdale California USA at more than 1000 miles per hour up to higher than 45,000 feet and landed at Edwards Air Force Base.  

Yet again in December, and for all my Caravan C208 fans, don't forget that the first Caravan prototype (N208LP) flight happened on December 9th 1982! This is a short list of numerous milestones that occurred in the 12th month and my reason for nominating December, even though it normally does not have good flying weather, as Aviation Month.

All Hail the Pratt & Whitney PT6 Turboprop Engine!

All Hail the Pratt & Whitney PT6!

Below you will see one of the first photos of the infamous Pratt & Whitney PT6 turboprop aircraft engine and its designers. This engine is THE rockstar of the turboprop engine world! 

Important Dates:

• 1958 - Design started
• 1960 Feb. - First ran
• 1961 May - First flew
• 1964 - Entered service
• 2011 - 50th Anniversary 

On its first flight it was mounted as a third engine on the nose of a Beech 18. That would have been an interesting sight! The test aircraft was switched to a Beech King Air in 1980. The first production model was the PT6A-6 and used on the Beech Queen Air.

The original designers of the PT6

According to the manufacturer over 51,000 units have been produced (as of 2015) and the engine has flown over 400 million hours! Considering that it only has an in-flight engine shut-down once every 651,126 hours, it is one of the most reliable aircraft engines ever. There have been over 69 different versions built. Not all of the versions have been for aircraft, some variants have been used for helicopters, boats, hovercraft, land vehicles and auxiliary power units.

TBO (time between overhauls) ranges between 3600 to 9000 hours and hot section inspections are done between 1800 and 2000 hours.

The PT6-114A in the Cessna Caravan only weighs 350lbs and yet puts out almost 700hp! This engine is found in most of the turbo-prop airplanes in the United States, including the Cessna Caravan, de Havilland Twin Otter, Air Tractor, Beech 1900, Beech King Air, Beech 99, PAC 750, Quest Kodiak, Pilatus PC-12, Piaggio Avanti, Shorts 360, AgustaWestland AW139 and many more. ALL great aircraft mainly because of their heart.... the PT6. Keep up the great work Pratt & Whitney!

Be sure and check out our friends at pt6nation.com


CaravanNation.com

Jump Pilot George Quick and Skydiver Bert White - May 1930

If you love history, aviation or skydiving you will appreciate this picture. This is a classic picture of Jump Pilot George Quick (left) and Skydiver Bert White before their altitude record breaking skydive of 24,800ft.

The record was made over the Mojave Desert (CA) May 25, 1930.