More Than Bessie Coleman: 7 Other Famous Black Female Pilots

dto2-willa-brownWilla Brown (Jan. 22, 1906 – July 18, 1992)

In 1936, Brown became the first woman to obtain a private pilot’s license in the U.S. She was part of the National Airmen’s Association of America in 1939 whose sole purpose was to integrate army so that Black pilots could get the chance to fly. In her military career, Brown was an advocate for all Black pilots male or female.  Brown became the  head of the Civilian Pilot Training Program in Chicago where Black pilots were selected for the Tuskegee training program. She went on to become a coordinator for the Civil Aeronautics Authority and a member of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Women’s Advisory Board.

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Janet Bragg (March 24, 1907 — April 11, 1993)

Bragg was the first woman admitted to Curtiss-Wright School of Aeronautics in Chicago in 1928 and to hold a commercial pilot’s license. Bragg was rejected from four different organizations based on race. This rejection may have lead to her second career path as a registered nurse. After graduating from Spelman College, Bragg went to Illinois and continued practicing as a nurse until becoming an insurance health inspector in 1941.

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Dorothy Layne McIntyre (b. Jan. 27, 1917)

At 22 years-old, Layne McIntyre became the first Black woman to earn a pilot’s license under the Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA). She ended up going into aircraft mechanics at the Baltimore War Production school.

10 Great Black Photographers

cmw_01_bodyCarrie Mae Weems (b. April 20, 1953)

Weems has been a photographer and artist since the 1965 and her work has been featured in over 50 exhibits throughout her career. In 1983, she created her first collection of photographs and spoken word called, Family Pictures and Stories. Some of her other works include, Sea Island Series (1991-92), the Africa Series (1993), From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried (1995-96), Who What When Where (1998), Ritual & Revolution (1998), the Louisiana Project (2003), Roaming (2006) and others. Weems has earned many awards for her work, including becoming a MacArthur Fellow in 2013.

James_Van_Der_ZeeJames Van Der Zee (June 29, 1886 – May 15, 1983)

Van Der Zee was a major artist in the Harlem Renaissance. During the 1920s, he documented some of the most famous Black people of the time, including Florence Mills, Hazel Scott, Marcus Garvey, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Countee Cullen and Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Even though his work was popular, Van Der Zee never garnered major financial success. In the 1970s, he went back to portrait photography, photographing celebrities like Bill Cosby, Lou Rawls, Cicely Tyson and Jean-Michael Basquiat.

5 High-Quality Gaming Laptops Under $1,500

For the most dedicated gamers out there, a new gaming laptop can run from $1,500 to as much as $5,000. But having superior graphics and sound should not destroy you financially. Here are some high-quality gaming laptops that are under $1,500.
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ASUS ROG G751JL-DS71 17.3-Inch Gaming Laptop

Price: $1,199

Specifications: Latest NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M, 2GB GDDR5 Discrete Graphics,
Intel Core i7-4720HQ, 2.6GHz (turbo to 3.6GHz), 16 GB RAM (upgradable to 32 GB),
1000 GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive (additional 2.5-inch bay to install secondary hard drive)

Why You Should Buy: This laptop has a sleek and clean design with a Blu-ray player, huge trackpad for your finger and game play, and a very high-quality ventilation system for long extended hours of play. Those looking for a high-quality laptop with high- and constant-resolution specs, this is a great buy.

5 Virtual Reality Headsets That Are Available Now for Under $100

In recent years, Virtual Reality has begun to dominate the tech and entertainment industry. For example, Oculus Rift has become a household name when it comes to VR, but it won’t hit shelves until next year. For those who can’t wait, there are cheaper and more accessible VR headsets. Here are a few.
61af0nYZ4oL._SL1128_Homido Virtual Reality Headset

Price: $79

Specifications: Virtual Reality VR Headset for 360 viewing and gaming, farsightedness and nearsightedness settings, optical settings adjustment 3D glasses, heavy duty design and compatible with most phones.

Why You Should Buy: The Homido Virtual Reality Headset is the most expensive headset on the list, mainly because it has the highest quality of design and durability. This headset comes with its own app made by the manufacturer, and has adjustable features that control the lenses. The great thing about this particular VR headset is that it can work with all other apps. Also, the high quality design has ventilation holes to help cool down your phone if overheated. For those who want a nice bridge to the Oculus Rift, the Homido Virtual Reality Headset is a great intermediary.

 

This Is The Secret To Taking Professional Photos On Your iPhone

 

The Olloclip brand includes a growing line of ground-breaking tools and accessories for the mobile photographer. Leveraging the phenomenal success of its flagship product, the 4-IN-1 Photo Lens, the company continues to innovate with products like the new wearable 4-in-1 lens for iPhone 6 & 6 Plus and other revolutionary products like the Telephoto + CPL lens, Macro 3-IN-1 lens and Quick-Flip™ case — all designed to push the parameters of what’s possible in mobile photography.

Skydrop Is The Smart Sprinkler System You Need To Save You Water and Your Brown Lawn

 

Water Smarter! The Skydrop smart watering sprinkler controller is an amazing innovation that brings home automation to your sprinklers. Skydrop is very simple to use with its interactive jog dial and menu screens to give you full control of your landscape watering. Also, skydrop actually monitors and analyzes local weather every day to determine the optimal watering schedule for you – which saves you time, water and money.

Want To Be A Youtube Star? This Is The Gear You’ll Need To Make Things Happen

 

Designed as a camera that is at home on productions as diverse as “Cinéma Vérité”-style documentaries, reality TV, commercial and corporate applications Sony’s PXW-FS7 XDCAM Super 35 Camera System is a flexible 4K camera system. It features a Super 35mm size sensor that allows you to capture images with cinematic depth of field. The camera’s E-mount is machined from stainless steel and allows you to use E-mount lenses or with the use of optional adapters to accept most 35mm lenses including PL, EF, Leica, and Nikon. The camera can capture footage to optional on board XQD media cards in either UHD at up to 60 FPS or HD at up to 180 FPS. the camera can capture 4K (4096 x 2160) images and send the signal out over its SDI or HDMI connectors.

 

The new Atomos Shogun is the world’s first 12G SDI 4K HDMI I/O monitor recorder and deck and features a stunning 1920?1080 SuperAtom IPS 7″ touchscreen 325 PPI 179 degree viewing. 400nit brightness and multi-frequency (48/50/60Hz) operation, depending on video input, giving super-smooth monitoring and playback.

Outstanding contrast and resolution throughout the image area at all zoom settings are the hallmark of this high-performance Carl Zeiss mid-range zoom lens

The new Rokinon 24mm F1.4 Aspherical Wide Angle Lens is available for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax, Olympus & Samsung NX mounts. This manual focus lens features a large f1.4 aperture and is made of 13 elements in 12 groups. The 24mm focus is tailor-made for most of the sensors available on the market today. On full-frame cameras, the lens is a high-quality wide-angle lens perfect for street, landscape and architectural shooting.

 

The Sigma 18-35 is the first wide-angle to standard zoom lens to achieve a large aperture of 1.8

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Pistol Grip: http://amzn.to/1Ei

Is The Nest Thermostat The Key To Making Your Home More Futuristic?

 

The 2nd Generation Nest Learning Thermostat has a new, slimmer design, is enclosed by a solid stainless steel ring, and works with 95% of low voltage systems. The Nest Learning Thermostat learns what temperatures you like, turns itself down when you’re away and can be controlled from anywhere over Wi-Fi. By programming itself, the Nest thermostat can save up to 20% on your heating and cooling bill. You just have to teach it well.