La Jetée Press

La Jetée Press We publish deep dives into the most fascinating moments of aviation history, paired with photography

06/07/2026

BRANIFF HIGH ALTITUDE - Photo 2: Initially, the new Boston to Europe service was highly successful for Braniff International. Load factors were far greater than forecast and even somewhat kept pace with .disastrous fuel price increases and a global recession that particularly struck the US hard in March and April of 1980. Although leisure travel had decreased significantly across the world, the summer of 1980 season seemed very promising to Braniff and as a result service was doubled to Europe from Boston and increased significantly from DFW to all European cities. Braniff 747s flew mostly full throughout the summer travel boom months but by the fall of 1980, traffic decreased significantly and cuts were made for the first time at both the Boston and DFW hubs to Europe. Braniff touted its highly enhanced service to Europe from both Boston and DFW with this attractive ad designed by Wells, Rich, Greene/Southwest, the Airline's advertising firm.

Braniff Airways Foundation
Copyright 1926 2026

Photo 1: Braniff Airways, Incorporated, Copyright
Photo 2: Braniff Airways, Incorporated, Copyright
Braniff International Heritage Archives
Now Associated with The University of Texas at Dallas System
Braniff Airways Space Sciences Endowment

braniffinternational.com
braniffboutique.com
flybraniff.com
braniffinternationalhotels.com

06/07/2026

Seating charts for American's 707s: 123 and 323B - scanned from American Airlines Seating Guide (August 1977).

Photograph of the Project 863 radar's phased array, this is the array that was behind the massive glassfiber radome that...
06/07/2026

Photograph of the Project 863 radar's phased array, this is the array that was behind the massive glassfiber radome that took up most of the forward fuselage's right side.

For the range and target discrimination needed to monitor Soviet ICBM re-entry vehicles, 863 had a maximum power output of 7 MW but it was a low pulse frequency radar (fewer pulses for a given time frame), so it's average energy output came out to 90kW.

By comparison, the peak power output of the AEGIS radars like what is on the Arleigh Burke and Ticonderoga class warships have a lower peak output but higher pulse frequency, so the average energy output is higher than Rivet Amber's radar.

The massive Hughes radar never got a formal DoD designation as it was a one off doing a very secretive mission.

This diagram of the internal configuration of the RC-135E Rivet Amber shows the location of the Hughes Project 863 radar...
06/06/2026

This diagram of the internal configuration of the RC-135E Rivet Amber shows the location of the Hughes Project 863 radar in the foward fuselage looking starboard. The operators or "Ravens" would have sat in the aft cabin at consoles on the starboard side.

One of the most diverse families of military aircraft variants are the RC-135 variants based on the C-135 Stratolifter/K...
06/06/2026

One of the most diverse families of military aircraft variants are the RC-135 variants based on the C-135 Stratolifter/KC-135 Stratotanker airframe. Many of the RC-135 variants were national level intelligence assets because of their small numbers and unique capabilities.

In 1966, the RC-135E variant went into service with the code name "Rivet Amber". A one of a kind aircraft, the entire forward fuselage between the flight deck and the wings was equipped with a massive 7 Megawatt Hughes phased array radar that weighed over 35,000 lbs designated "Project 863". It was the most powerful airborne radar ever flown as it could track a soccer ball sized target from 300 miles.

By comparison, the SPY-1 radar of AEGIS destroyers like the Arleigh Burke class are 6 Megawatt radars. Soviet interceptor pilots kept their distance from Rivet Amber for fear of getting roasted by the radar.

The radar was designed to monitor Soviet ICBM re-entry vehicles and the four engines of the RC-135E couldn't generate enough electrical power. A Lycoming T55 turboshaft in a pod under the inner right acted as a 350 kVA generator. A similar pod on the inner left wing housed a heat exchanger to dissipate the heat generated by the radar.

A large glassfiber radome took up most of the right forward fuselage. Once in flight, there was no way for the flight crew to access the aft crew cabin and vice versa.

Rivet Amber was the heaviest RC-135 variant ever flown.

After a mission on 5 June 1969 from Shemya in the Aleutians, some skin damage suggesting structural issues was noted on the tail but it was felt safe enough to allow the Rivet Amber to ferry to Eielson AFB in Fairbanks with the radio call sign "Irene 92".

Irene 92 reported vibration in flight and then the crew were ordered to don oxygen masks.

Irene 92 never made it to Fairbanks and no trace of the aircraft or crew were ever found. It's believed she suffered the loss of her vertical fin in flight.

Images: USAF, Robert Hopkins





06/05/2026

Snow desk!

Yes, Danny?

I'm calling Patroni.

Stand by on mobile phone.

Roger.

Hello. Joe?

Hi, Mel.

Save your breath.

Danny gave me the p**p.

Tonight I'm not available.

Joe, I need you right away.

I got 14 on the ground

and 18 stacked upstairs.

I've got our five kids

stacked away at my mother's

so that me and Marie

could be alone for a while.

Tell Marie I'm sorry

to louse up her evening

but I need two-niner badly.

Can't the Global crew handle it?

Well, they're having a conference

now to decide what to do.

But I need somebody who knows,

a genius like Patroni.

Opening in 1962 at a time when cities strove to make their mark on the Jet Age with striking terminal designs, the Lindb...
06/05/2026

Opening in 1962 at a time when cities strove to make their mark on the Jet Age with striking terminal designs, the Lindbergh Terminal at Minneapolis-St Paul (now Terminal 1) came from local firm Cerny and Associates but is most often associated with architect Lyle George Landstrom.

After serving in Korea, Landstrom got his architecture degree at the University of Minnesota and went to graduate school at the Harvard School of Architecture. Finishing top of his class, he been invited to submit designs for the new USAF Academy but selected to return home and join Cerny and Associates to work with John Rauma on the new Minneapolis-St. Paul terminal building.

Consisting of a folded concrete roof that enclosed a great hall oriented from landside to airside with glass facades that evoked the linearity of air travel, the Lindbergh Terminal opened the same year as Eero Saarinen's terminal at Washington Dulles, but over the years, the Lindbergh Terminal proved more functional and enduring despite the accolades lavished on Dulles.

It was one of the few airports of its day to separate arriving and departing traffic on two levels landside and its modular design allowed for easy expansion in the 1970s as passenger traffic grew. Each section of the folded concrete roof was a 30-foot bay that could repeated on each side without compromising the integrity of the style.

The Lindbergh Terminal's modern yet functional jet age design led to it starring as the fictional Lincoln International Airport in the 1970 movie "Airport" based on Arthur Hailey's best-selling novel of the same name.

Images: MSP Airport, IMDB, Universal Pictures






USAF photo of the Pave Knife laser designator pod used in Vietnam. Officially designated the AN/AVQ-10, the Pave Knife p...
06/04/2026

USAF photo of the Pave Knife laser designator pod used in Vietnam. Officially designated the AN/AVQ-10, the Pave Knife pod replaced a cumbersome handheld unit that the weapons system officer of the Phantom had to use to designate targets. The handheld use was variously called Pave Light, ALD (Airborne Laser Designator), or more popularly by Phantom crews, the Zot-box after the sound the anteater in the comic strip "BC" made when it shot out its tongue to nab a bug.

The aerospace division of the Ford Motor Company, Phico-Ford, was responsible for Pave Knife as it was a recognized leader in the industry in electro-optics as it was responsible for the IR seeker of the AIM-9 Sidewinder.

Quite impressively, Pave Knife's design, fabrication, test and system integration took only 6 months and it was delivered under budget as well!

Quite remarkably, the first combat use of precision guided munitions by US forces wasn't laser guided bombs in Vietnam i...
06/04/2026

Quite remarkably, the first combat use of precision guided munitions by US forces wasn't laser guided bombs in Vietnam in 1972 but radio-controlled bombs in the Second World War.

Beginning in 1942, the USAAF began work on radio controlled bombs for pinpoint targets. To speed development, the early guided bombs would only correct left or right (azimuth) and as such, were grouped under the name "Azon" (azimuth only). In 1943, the bomb was designated VB-1 Azon.

VB-1 was a standard 1000 lb bomb with a bolt-on guidance unit replacing the box fins. The unit had gyroscopes, radio receiver, control fins and a flare to allow tracking by the bombardier who used a joystick to correct the VB-1's track. VB-1 was ordered into production in late 1943.

The first bombs arrived in the Italian theater in February 1944. Since the Azon only corrected laterally, they were ideal against railroads and bridges. The first combat drops were by B-17s in April 1944 with mixed results- weather and heavy defensive fire made employment challenging. Azon drops were expanded to B-25s, B-26s and B-24s- best results came from the B-25s, but the shrinking target set ended Azon operations as most bridges and rail lines were needed for the advance into Germany.

Azon was more successful in the China-Burma-India theater with B-24s making the first combat drops in December 1944 against rail lines and bridges. The lighter defensive fire and better weather led to far better results.

The first Azon bombs had only 5 possible radio channels which meant a formation could only drop 5 Azons at a time. By the time of use in the CBI theater, the number of radio channels were increased to allow more Azons to be dropped by a single formation.

All of the B-24 squadrons of the 7th Bombardment Group, the main USAAF bomber force in the CBI, wanted Azon capability as a result, but the end of the war and limited stocks prevented full expansion to all of the squadrons.

Images: USAF, George Reynolds, AWST




06/04/2026

BRANIFF HIGH ALTITUDE - Photo 2: Braniff's expanded service to Latin America was included in the June 1, 1965 Domestic and International Timetable. On April 5, 1965, the executive management of Braniff Airways, Inc., changed and a new marketing plan was put into place that would revolutionize the way the carrier presented itself to the public. The new campaign, dubbed the End of the Plain Plane, was in the process of being implemented by the time the new service to Latin America had begun on June 1, 1965, and included a new "Transition Look" for its timetable while the New Look was being perfected. Braniff’s Domestic and International Route Map, which depicts the expanded LAD service also received the new Transition Look.

Braniff Airways Foundation
Copyright 1926 2026

Photo 1: Photographer Jay Sherlock, Copyright
Photo 2: Braniff Airways, Incorporated, Copyright
Braniff International Heritage Archives
Now Associated with The University of Texas at Dallas System
Braniff Airways Space Sciences Endowment

braniffinternational.com
braniffboutique.com
flybraniff.com
braniffinternationalhotels.com

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