"In the 1920s, America began coast-to-coast Airmail service, but the pioneer pilots had trouble navigating the route, since navigation charts of the day were fugazi and you couldn't exactly pull over to ask a farmer for directions.
And traveling at night, when it would have been most efficient, or in bad weather was impossible. To solve this Congress then funded these gi-normous arrow-shaped Airmail Beacons, some up to 70 feet long, to trace a route across the country.... The arrows were painted bright yellow and each was accompanied by a tower up to 50 feet in height. At the top of each tower was a powerful gas-powered light, and at the bottom of the tower, a shed to hold the gas." More at - Core77 [HT: Doc Mercury]Posted by gerardvanderleun at September 8, 2013 10:23 AM
They point the way Lindy went... Jeppesen, too. West, over the horizon, for the final check ride. They are the quiet sentinels of glory in the clouds... Reminders of early paragons of the aileron.
Posted by: Captain Dave at September 8, 2013 6:18 PMCool ... I hadn't known about these.
(And yea G, comment glitch resolved!)
Gerard, I am really surprised that you would give the so-called "doc mercury" any oxygen, since he has bashed you so despicably and publicly in the past.
He is an odious individual, IMHO. Worthy of the pejorative: "troll". But it's your site, so if you want to turn the other cheek...
Posted by: Arthur September at September 8, 2013 7:55 PMI have to give credit where credit is due. Can't just pretend I didn't get the pointer from Maggie's Farm.
Posted by: vanderleun at September 8, 2013 11:10 PMSpeaking of Trolls, I had to look up Croatia.
Thanks for all you do.
Posted by: Grace at September 9, 2013 10:19 AM
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