Aircraft Factory Lipstick

Cessna factory worker Mina Weber takes a moment during her shift to apply lipstick in a stockroom, using the reflection of raw sheet aluminum that would later be used to manufacture Cessna airframe in Wichita, Kansas. The bandana worn on her head to prevent her hair from becoming entangled in machinery would become a trademark of “Rosie the Riveter” workers during WWII. Note the early Cessna shoulder patch showing a twin-engine airplane and early company typography.

Cessna factory worker Mina Weber
Cessna factory worker Mina Weber takes a moment during her shift to apply lipstick in a stockroom
Helicopter-Rescue-Operations
July 10, 2025

Helicopter Rescue Operations Without a Tail Rotor

An McDonnell-Douglas MD-900 Explorer EMS helicopter conducts rescue operations in Lofer, Austria. While the word “Notarzt” on the side directly translates to “emergency doctor,” it unintentionally also identifies a key feature of the MD-900 – the “NOTAR” system that replaces the tail rotor.
Shuttle-Trainer-Gulfstream
July 9, 2025

NASA’s Shuttle Training Aircraft – A Gulfstream Business Jet, Repurposed

The Bell-Boeing CMV-22B Osprey tiltrotor takes on US Navy aircraft carrier cargo and personnel transport duties as it replaces the Grumman C-2 Greyhound fixed-wing aircraft.
actively-flying-Trimotors
July 9, 2025

Three Ways the Ford Trimotor Revolutionized Air Travel

While many undoubtedly recognize the Ford emblem and the vehicles it adorns, Ford manufactured another machine that few may recognize today, but which revolutionized the 1920s and 1930s. It was a flying machine called the Trimotor.