Category Archives: aviation history

A literary connection: Wind, Sand and Stars to China’s Wings

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Gregory

I’m ginning up a little radio blurb discussing three books from aviation’s “Golden Age,” and to that end I’ve been reading Antoine de Saint Exupery’s classic Wind, Sand and Stars for what must be the fifth or sixth time since … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, aviation history, China, China's Wings, Enduring Patagonia, World War II, Writing, Reading, and Research | Leave a comment

One of the great moments of my life

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Gregory

This afternoon, I completed the first part of the two-fold mission I set for myself when I embarked on this China’s Wings project. My son Ryan and I drove to Moon Chin’s house on the other side of San Francisco … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, aviation history, China, China's Wings, CNAC, Enduring Patagonia, World War II | 6 Comments

A book at last!

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Gregory

This is a strange experience. There it is. China’s Wings. A book at last No longer in my imagination.

Posted in Aviation, aviation history, China, China's Wings, CNAC, Enduring Patagonia, off topic, Uncategorized, World War II, Writing, Reading, and Research | Leave a comment

A CNAC Short Snorter signed by movie star Jinx Falkenburg

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Gregory

Kai Friese, a writer and CNAC enthusiast in New Delhi, brought this to my attention yesterday — a short snorter signed by Ridge Hammell, Jimmy Scoff, Bob Jenkins, and Billy MacDonald (all of whom are CNAC pilots and characters in … Continue reading →

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China’s Wings on Facebook

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Gregory

I’ve built a Facebook page for China’s Wings, and if you “like” it with the button at the bottom of the sidebar on the right (or find and like it through FB search), you’ll find a photo album of CNAC-related … Continue reading →

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CNAC wreckage in the Himalayas

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Gregory

Recently, I posted the news that the wreckage of CNAC #60 had been found in a remote corner of Yunnan Province. The plane, a C-47, went missing on November 17, 1942. An article and three photographs about the discovery were … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, aviation history, China, China's Wings, CNAC, Uncategorized, World War II | Leave a comment

China’s Wings excerpt

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Gregory

An email this morning from Tracy Devine, my delightful and talented editor at Bantam,  brought to my attention a China’s Wings excerpt posted by Powell’s Books. Here it is, Saint Patrick’s Day, 1931, which is Chapter One, in its entirety. … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, aviation history, China, China's Wings, CNAC, Writing, Reading, and Research | 2 Comments

CNAC and the Flying Tigers

Posted on January 15, 2012 by Gregory

CNAC and the Flying Tigers… and that’s the American Volunteer Group, the real Flying Tigers,  not just any old US Army Air Corps pilot who served in China during World War II. (Ask any member of the AVG — they’ll … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, aviation history, China's Wings, CNAC, World War II | 3 Comments

The Maiden flight of CNAC’s Douglas Dolphin over Shanghai, 1934

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Gregory

Down at the bottom you’ll find CNAC’s first Douglas Dolphin on its maiden flight in 1934, but it’s old Shanghai that makes this picture so enjoyable. How many buildings can you identify?

Posted in Aviation, aviation history, China, China's Wings, CNAC | Leave a comment

CNAC wreckage found in Western China

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Gregory

Bob Willett, CNAC association member and author of An Airline at War: The Story of the China National Aviation Corporation and Its Men, and Clayton Kuhles of MIArecoveries.org, recently discovered the wreckage of the first CNAC airplane lost on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, aviation history, China, China's Wings, CNAC, World War II | 1 Comment