Author Archives: atcDave

About atcDave

I'm 5o-something years old and live in Ypsilanti, Michigan. I'm happily married to Jodie. I was an air traffic controller for 33 years and recently retired; grew up in the Chicago area, and am still a fanatic for pizza and the Chicago Bears. My main interest is military history, and my related hobbies include scale model building and strategy games.

Messerschmitt Me 262A-2a

Posted on September 6, 2021 by atcDave

One well known part of the Me 262 story is how Hitler insisted on ordering the type into service as a bomber, rather than as a fighter which it was clearly better suited for. Let’s look at one such bomber, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 10 Comments

Sd.Kfz. 2 Kettenkraftrad

Posted on September 2, 2021 by atcDave

A quick look at Germany’s lightest artillery tractor.

Posted in Uncategorized | 13 Comments

Grumman F4F-3S Wildcatfish

Posted on August 22, 2021 by atcDave

Japan may have been the only nation with a fully successful float-plane fighter, but others tried. Let’s look at a US Navy attempt.

Posted in Fighter, prototype, USA | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

Ilyushin Il-2 Stormovik

Posted on August 19, 2021 by atcDave

With over 30000 examples built (over 40000 if we count the Il-10 follow-on), the Soviet flying tank remains the most produced combat aircraft in history. Let’s take a look at an early example

Posted in Bomber - Tactical, Soviet Union | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat

Posted on August 15, 2021 by atcDave

The Hellcat is best known for its central role in devastating Japanese air power in the last two years of the Pacific War. But it also served, if briefly, against the more land locked opponent. Let’s take a look at … Continue reading →

Posted in Fighter, USA | Tagged , , | 21 Comments

Thunder Over Michigan 2021

Posted on August 8, 2021 by atcDave

After missing 2020 for obvious reasons, Thunder Over Michigan was back this year! The format was different, it was a drive in event. You simply set up chairs, blanket or whatever right next to your parked car. There were concessions … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Show | Tagged | 8 Comments

Mitsubishi A6M1 Zero

Posted on August 1, 2021 by atcDave

Part of the first wave of great World War II fighters, the first flight of Mitsubishi’s famous Zero came on April 1, 1939. Let’s take a look at an important type that was so secret it was almost entirely unnoticed … Continue reading →

Posted in Fighter, Japan, prototype | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Gloster Gladiator Mk I

Posted on July 26, 2021 by atcDave

At the start of World War II every combatant still had hardware that looked like leftovers from the previous era. But some of those weapons were very effective in the right hands. Let’s look at a British plane and a … Continue reading →

Posted in Britain, Fighter | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Road Trip!

Posted on July 12, 2021 by atcDave

My wife, her parents and I spent a few days out of town this last week, and I wanted to share some things relevant, at least tangentially relevant, to this website. First day was at that long time favorite destination … Continue reading →

Posted in Miscellaneous, Museums | 6 Comments

Theme Build 3

Posted on July 10, 2021 by atcDave

Prototypes I think most often when we think of prototype aircraft its as the first example of some famous type. But of course the term actually has much broader usage. There are actually four completely different sorts of prototypes I’ll … Continue reading →

Posted in Theme Build | 2 Comments