Does history - not an historian. Does aviation - not a pilot. Writes, reads, learns, communicates. @AvCulturesConf Org. Freelance. Fully Vaccinated. He/him.
Goldfields, Vic, Aus
Joined May 2013
- Tweets20.9K
- Following1.9K
- Followers1.5K
- Likes12.3K
James D Kightly retweeted
This Saturday, 17 February (starting Friday in the Americas!) @AvCulturesConf is hosting a FREE Spotlight event looking at #AviationArchaeology. Expert presentations from the UK, US, Aus & Hong Kong! Register here: aviationcultures.org/spotlig…
James D Kightly retweeted
I borrowed this book from the @velibrary for a quick summer read. It's a good brief overview that's well illustrated from the Qantas heritage collection.
James D Kightly retweeted
Io Saturnalia!
I cooked some Ancient Roman recipes for us and two friends so that we could celebrate Saturnalia with a mini feast. Lots of wonderfully strange and alien flavour combinations packed with the ever-present asafoetida and fish sauce. We had: 🧵
James D Kightly retweeted
Of course all of this is built on the insight - learned in 1917 and again in 1941 - that when the United States decides to go isolationist and disengage and let the other major powers do what they want abroad, we end up getting dragged in later anyway and at greater cost. 13/
James D Kightly retweeted
Perhaps the most horrifying was seeing 'Santa' (parachutist George Sellars) narrowly miss going through the glass roof of the Winter Gardens on 20 Nov 1937. Farmers' Robert Laidlaw reportedly said, "I'm going to be the first man to kill Santa Claus." #FarmersSantaParade90
James D Kightly retweeted
Do NOT miss this! Join us at RAeS HQ on Friday 10 November for a special screening of 1969's Battle of Britain movie incl a Q&A with aviation historian
@SarahLouMiller #WW2 #history #AeroSocLates #RAF aerosociety.com/events-calen…
James D Kightly retweeted
Hi, Jon! RAF recruits who failed their colour-blindness test were excluded from flight training. But a few snuck in, such as Flt Lt William Nelson. He initially flew in Bomber Command & later switched to Spitfires - the only Jewish Canadian fighter pilot in the Battle of Britain!
Hey, @SpitfireFilly, we are prototyping "pilot traits" for our Battle of Britain game. Do you know of any stories of color-blindness factoring into the piloting experience in WWII?
James D Kightly retweeted
I've been asked to do a regular column on forgotten or overlooked bits of tech and business history that changed stuff forever.
So what's your favourite weird nugget of obscure history or people in tech or business?
This is LITERALLY your chance to make me write about it 😄
James D Kightly retweeted
It seems obligatory to announce the submission of one's thesis. Many thanks to @1940Andy, @clark_aviation, @RadarArchive and others not on this platform, especially @katrinanavickas for her supervision. Just the viva to deal with, so like WW1 it may be over by Christmas...
James D Kightly retweeted
Mustang: The Untold Story.
An article by @NavalAirHistory
aspectsofhistory.com/mustang…
Read Mustang
amazon.co.uk/dp/1913295885
@AvMuseumVB
#militaryhistory #ww2 #militaryaviation
James D Kightly retweeted
The Australian War Memorial’s recently restored V2 Rocket and Meillerwagen will be on display at #BigThingsInStore on 2 September!
Book tickets at: brnw.ch/21wC0zG
James D Kightly retweeted
Happy #InternationalDogDay from a very handsome chap and some guy who flew Spitfires. @SocietySpitfire @RAFHornchurch @pettore @JohnNicholRAF
James D Kightly retweeted
Lovejoy (1986-94). Of all the series Dad worked on this undoubtedly was the one which required the most research. Roger might visit a stately home where everything was being sold off, from the mahogany doors to marble chimneypieces, noting the 'types' who attended these auctions.
James D Kightly retweeted
Head around the side of Lincoln Cathedral and you'll find a rather unusual sight. This skull with pound signs in its eyes, clutching a gold coin between its teeth, was installed during the financial crisis as a commentary on the role bankers' greed played in the crash.
James D Kightly retweeted
Day 8 of Drawing August. Noodle slurper drawn from imagination. #drawingaugust I’ve been drawing each day but slow to post them so far. Sluuuuuurp!
James D Kightly retweeted
Communication - like water, energy, health, transport - are too important to be in the hands of private companies, who consistently show themselves incapable of pursuing both private profit and public good (which are too often diametrically opposed)
James D Kightly retweeted
An unusual view of a Savoia-Marchetti S.66 (I-ABRA) from the 1932 Salon de l'Aviation. Wings are not attached to the aeroplane making it look even more peculiar.
[photographie de presse] / [Agence Meurisse]
📷gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bt… 👁🗨 @GallicaBnF
James D Kightly retweeted
Despite a near inevitable ebbing away of followers and interactions to the few tweets that we're mustering at present, we'll still try & tick-over the timeline with another delve into the #NAMarchive
#EveryNAMvisitCounts
