Michael W. Hankins
Dr. Michael W. Hankins is the Curator for US Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps post-World War II Aviation at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum.
Mike is the author of Flying Camelot: The F-15, the F-16, and the Weaponization of Fighter Pilot Nostalgia, from Cornell University Press, available now in print and audiobook!
“In this lively, absorbing account, Hankins demonstrates the influence of a specific culture that celebrated the fighter pilot as a “knight of the air” who thrilled to aerial combat.”
-Lawrence Freedman, Foreign Affairs
“Forget ‘The Right Stuff,’ this is the Real Stuff. Equal parts cultural, technological, societal, and military history, Flying Camelot is a brilliant and illuminating account of fighter pilot culture and the development of governmental weapons systems.”
-Brian Laslie, NORAD and USNORTHCOM,
author of Air Power’s Lost Cause
“[Dr. Hankins] writes in an engaging and accessible way that makes some occasionally highly-technical discussions quite lucid and illuminating.”
-Sir Richard Williams Foundation
News:
- 50th Episode of “From Balloons to Drones”
The latest episode of the From Balloons to Drones podcast is up today, and it’s our 50th episode! Join us for a look back at previous shows and a good discussion about the role of historians and the state of the field of airpower history.
You can listen to the show on Soundcloud, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- New Podcast: Air Force Disappointments, Mistakes, and Failures
The latest episode of the “From Balloons to Drones” podcast is out now! This time we interview esteemed aviation historian Kenneth P. Werrell.
Werrell takes us through his latest book, Air Force Disappointments, Mistakes, and Failures, to tell us about aircraft designs that never took off. From those that were cancelled before going into production, or those that simply didn’t perform as well as imagined, some of the aircraft on the list might be surprising. All of them have fascinating stories.
You can listen to the show on Soundcloud, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts.
- Women in Military Aviation Talk
Last night I was very lucky to be able to host a great event: “The Path to Equality for Women Military Aviators,” featuring two great authors who have new books on the history of women in military aviation. The guests were Eileen Bjorkman, a retired Air Force Colonel and flight test engineer, whose latest book is The Fly Girls Revolt: The Story of the Women Who Kicked Open the Door to Fly in Combat. With her was Beverly Weintraub, author of Wings of Gold: The Story of the First Women Naval Aviators.
We had a great and wide-ranging talk about how the barriers against women flying in combat aviation were eventually removed. They had some great and fascinating insights. The event was part of the GE Aviation Adventures series at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.
Give it a listen on YouTube, and I hope you’re able to tune in for future lectures!
- New Podcast: Keep ‘Em Flying!
We’re back, baby! After taking a hiatus over the summer, the From Balloons to Drones podcast is back, and we kick things off with a great interview with U.S. Navy Commander Stan Fisher, author of Sustaining the Carrier War.
So many books talk about the battles, or give a pilot’s perspective, but in this episode, Fisher digs deep to tell us about the importance of the mechanics and skilled maintainers that kept U.S. aircraft in the air during World War II.
Check out the show on Spotify, on Soundcloud, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- My Favorite Things: The SR-71 Blackbird
For the Spring 2024 issue of Air and Space Quarterly, I was asked to write about one of my favorite artifacts in the National Air and Space Museum.
It was not a difficult choice.
Check out the article online here, or in the print edition, for a rundown on the history of the Museum’s Blackbird.