About the author

Hello all,

My name is Vahe Demirjian and I have marveled at Southern California's aerospace heritage since I moved down to Orange County in August 2002. Although the eastern United States was a hotbed of early heavier-than-air aviation stemming from the Wright brothers' historic flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on December 17, 1903, Southern California, however, became one of grand hearths of US aviation development thanks to both the Great Depression and World War II. After all, my father worked at Scientific Platers doing polishing for components of warplanes built in California and elsewhere.

Although I am familiar with great American aircraft built in Southern California like the Douglas DC-3, Consolidated B-24 Liberator, Convair F-102 Delta Dagger, Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, Rockwell International B-1 Lancer, Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit, and North American B-25 Mitchell, my cut-throated foray into SoCal aviation history began when I read Ray Wagner's volume American Combat Planes. Since then, I've developed my grasp of how aviation development took hold in California, and its centrality to understanding how World War II and Cold War impacted the US on the home front. The purpose of my blog, however, is to comment on gazing at southern California's aviation heritage. I hope this blog will give newcomers to aviation a glimpse into Southern California's history of aircraft development and the pioneers who made it possible.