Our favourite features from the PM archives.

1

APRIL 1971

The Incredible Skyshark – First Amphibious Jet

The Skyshark was due to become the world’s first amphibious jet, able to land on terra firma and water, and reach cruising speeds up to 885 km/h at of 30 000 feet. Key to its performance would’ve been its telescoping the wing, but sadly to project never came story fruition. The full this was featured in a issue, including schematic of the jet.

2 APRIL 1973

What It Takes to Build and Fly a Radio-Controlled Model Copter

Here we dived into the sport of R/C whirlybirding with our kitbuilt Whirlybird 505. At first, fixed-wing model enthusiasts weren’t impressed with mini helicopters. But popularity grew fast, and ready-to-assemble kits became hot favourites with aviation hobbyists.

3 APRIL 1955

He Irrigates With Clocks

Here we met John Gentry, a Texas farmer who began irrigating his crops using a clock system. It enabled him to set clocks to drop steel head gates at specific times, allowing water to flow into his fields. He wasn’t the first to develop an automated sprinkler system, but his clock method was certainly ingenious.

4 APRIL 1981

Space Shuttle: 9 Critical Components That Must Not Fail

Before the first Space Shuttle mission commenced this month in 1981, NASA had identified a few key components that absolutely couldn’t fail. This graphics-driven story revealed those components – many of which had never flown in space before – and their functions.

5 APRIL 1966

The New ‘007’ Is a Computer

Years before Knight Rider was a hit, police were already using computer technology to track down car thieves and crooks. Patrollers would radio number plates to operators, who would crosscheck them with stolen cars and traffic violators on a UNIVAC computer. A variation of this is still used today.