Today in History (Aviation Style)

June 4


In 1783... In Annonay, France, the Montgolfier brothers, Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Etienne, give the first public demonstration of their hot-air balloon by sending up a large model made of linen lined with paper.

In 1784... First untethered balloon flight by a woman. Madamne Elisabeth Thible, a French opera singer.

In 1920... The Army Reorganization bill was signed by President Wilson to designate the USAS, comprised of 1,516 officers and 16,000 enlisted men.

In 1927... First transatlantic passenger. Charles A. Levine was piloted by Clarence D. Chamberlin from Roosevelt Field, N.Y., to Eisleben, Germany, in a Wright-powered Bellanca.They fly 3,905 miles in 42 hours, 15 minutes.

In 1930... Altitude record of 43,166' attained by USN Lt Apollo Soucek in a Wright Apache over Anacostia DC to regain his record from 1929.

In 1932... William G Swan, at Bader Field, Atlantic City NJ, makes the first Rocket-powered glider flight. He also carried some pieces of mail, which would undoubtedly qualify this flight as the first rocket air mail, as well. A second successful flight followed the next day.

In 1935... The Key brothers (Fred and Algene) fly twenty-seven days without landing, setting a world record for sustained flight in a Curtis Robin J-1, "Ole Miss."

In 1954... Arthur Murray flies X-1A rocket plane to record 27,000 m.

In 1969... 22-year-old man sneaks into wheel pod of a jet parked in Havana & survives 9-hr flight to Spain despite thin oxygen levels at 29,000 ft.
 
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ausrere said:
In 1932... William G Swan, at Bader Field, Atlantic City NJ, makes the first Rocket-powered, manned flight in his rocket-powered glider. He also carried some pieces of mail, which would undoubtedly qualify this flight as the first rocket air mail, as well. A second successful flight followed the next day.
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according to wikipedia, the first rocket powered flight ever was at the Wasserkuppe in Germany in a sailplane designed by Lippisch.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ente
 
tonycondon said:
according to wikipedia, the first rocket powered flight ever was at the Wasserkuppe in Germany in a sailplane designed by Lippisch.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ente
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I'm at the office, and I can't remember which newsletter I got this from. But I took a quick look at NASA's site and they list it as the first rocket-powered glider flight. I think the newsletter was just worded poorly. I fixed it to read as NASA reports it.

Thanks

PS. I should have probably added a disclaimer at the beginning of this thread, but better late than never:

**I'm no history expert. I can not vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of any of this information. I'm just passing on tidbits I've gathered from many other sources!**
 
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Lisa-

Thank you for posting this stuff. The discussions that ensue are also interesting.

-->Jack
 
ausrere said:
June 4


In 1784... First untethered balloon flight by a woman. Madamne Elisabeth Thible, a French opera singer.
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Little known footnote to the event, the balloon was actually tethered until her husband took a few whacks with an ax and sent her flying....;)
 
Cap'n Jack said:
Lisa-

Thank you for posting this stuff. The discussions that ensue are also interesting.

-->Jack
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You're welcome. I'm a bit of a closet history buff..so it's fun for me. I like doing it because I'll come across something that I've never heard of before and it causes me to go digging on the internet to learn about it. I just wish I'd been this interested in learning other subjects when I was in school! :D
 
June 5

In 1783... Joseph & Jacques Montgolfier make 1st public balloon flight.

In 1909... John Berry and Paul McCullough win the U.S.’s first National Balloon Race, covering 377.9 miles – from Indianapolis, Indiana to Fort Payne, Alabama – in 25 hours 35 minutes.

In 1909... The first monoplane flight of over one hour is made by Englishman Hubert Latham on the Antoinette IV for one hour, seven minutes, 37 seconds.

In 1944... The 1st B-29 bombing raid: 1 plane lost due to engine failure.

In 1963... President Kennedy announces that his administration would seek funds for the sponsored development of a supersonic transport aircraft.

In 1969... The Tupolev Tu-144 supersonic airliner becomes the first aircraft of its class to fly through the sound barrier when it exceeds Mach 1 at a height of 36,000 ft.

In 1989... The massive Antonov An-225 Mriya flies in to Paris-Le Bourget for the 1989 Paris Air Show, carrying the Soviet Shuttle Buran on its back. When it takes of from Kiev to fly to Paris, the combination has a takeoff weight of 1,234,600 lb., the greatest weight ever lifted into the air.
 
In the aftermath of the main fighting of the Battle of Midway -

In 1942 on this date (June 5), TF 16 under command of Rear Admiral Spruance pursued the Japanese fleet westward, while work continued to salvage the damaged Yorktown. Both Akagi and Hiryu, damaged the previous day, were scuttled by Japanese destroyers early on the 5th.
 
June 6:

In 1903... After several stationary stability trials, Ferdinand Ferber makes the first full trial of his glider No.6. It fails to take off in Nice, France.

In 1910... Robert Martinet wins the first cross-country air race, between Angers and Saumur, France (27 miles), in a Farman; he takes 31 minutes and 35 seconds.

In 1914... 1st air flight out of sight of land (Scotland to Norway).

In 1936... Aviation gasoline 1st produced commercially Paulsboro NJ.

In 1942... The first nylon parachute jump occurred (Hartford, Ct)

In 1944... A huge airborne armada, nine planes wide and 200 miles long, carries American and British troops across the British Channel for the D-Day invasion of Europe.

In 1964... Silver City Airways (British) announces that it has recorded the one-millionth car it has flown between the UK cross-Channel car ferry by air in 1948.

In 1964... U.S. reconnaissance jets shot down over Laos. Two U.S. Navy jets flying low-altitude target reconnaissance missions over Laos are shot down by communist Pathet Lao ground fire prompting retaliatory strikes on Pathet Lao headquarters. The downings were made public, but full extent of the U.S. involvement in Laos was not. US fighter-bombers were in fact flying combat missions in support of Royal Lao forces and did so until 1973.

In 1966... Gemini 9 landed in the Pacific after 45 orbits of Earth during the 72 hour 20 minute flight.

In 1967... 1st transcontinental carrier-to-carrier jet flight. From USS Bonhomme Richard in the Pacific to USS Saratoga in the Atlantic, 03h:28m, in a Vought F8U Crusader flown by USN Capt Robert Dose & LCdr Paul Miller. Distance unstated.

In 1971... Air West filght 706 collides with Navy Phantom jet over LA, 50 die.

In 1976... Royal Air force receives 1st F-16.
 
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June 7:

In 1912... Captain Charles Chandler of the U.S. Army Signal Corps test fires a Lewis gun fitted to a Wright Model B biplane flown by Lieutenant Thomas Milling in Maryland. It is the first time a machine gun has been fired from an airplane in the U.S.

In 1920... The U.S. Army orders 20 GAX (Ground Attack Experimental) triplanes from Boeing as the Model 10, an order later reduced to 10 before the first was delivered in May 1921.

In 1927... The Supermarine S.5 racer, constructed to take part in the 1927 Schneider cup race, makes its first flight in Suffolk, England, piloted by Flight Lieutenant O. E. Worsley.

In 1945... 1st Navy jet airplane. Ryan FR-1 Fireball, a fighter propelled by both a turbojet and a reciprocating engine.

In 1981, Israeli military planes destroyed a nuclear power plant in Iraq, a facility the Israelis charged could have been used to make nuclear weapons.

In 1989... Suriname SLM-173 (DC-8) crashes near Paramaribo Airport killing 173.
 
ausrere said:
June 6:

In 1944... A huge airborne armada, nine planes wide and 200 miles long, carries American and British troops across the British Channel for the D-Day invasion of Europe.
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Lisa, they did mention it on your aviation notes...
 
woodstock said:
Lisa, they did mention it on your aviation notes...
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Yeah, but I was expecting several clear records. Like "Most aircraft in the air at one time" or "first use of xx type aircraft" or "Most parajumpers dropped at one time". That sort of thing. I can imagine it was the first time an armada nine planes wide and 200 miles long was ever undertaken, but I was a little surprised there wasn't mention of clear aircraft specific records.

I can't imagine that many aircraft airborne all at once though. Don't you know it was a very impressive sight!
 
1942 - Battle of Midway ends with loss of USS Yorktown (CV 5).
1944 - Construction of artificial harbors and sheltered anchorages begins off Normandy coast.

OK, the ending of the Battle of Midway is aviation related, but the construction of the "Mullberries" isn't directly related to aviation, but it is historically significant.
 
July 7, 1945 - Fred Glover's P-51D, repainted to represent John Godfrey's VF-P, was flown to Paris and displayed with other 8th Air Force aircraft under the Eiffel Tower. (of the 4th Fighter Group based at Debden)
 
This morning, Neal Boortz received an E-mail from a gentlemen. The man stated he was headed to the funeral of an old friend yesterday morning when he heard the FDR prayer for the first time, ever. On the morning of FDR's actual broadcast of that prayer, this man was piloting a P-51 over the English Channel, headed toward France to provide air support for those making the ground invasion.

I doubt very seriously anyone reading this can fathom the memories this man has. Nor, the thoughts he had that morning as he went into battle; never knowing if he was going to return home. He went because he was called and he did his task to the best of his ability. Without men like him, we would not be the strong nation we are today.
 
June 8:

In 1905... Gabriel Voisin succeeds in lifting off from the river Seine in his box-kite glider when towed by a motorboat.

In 1920... Lieutenant John Wilson makes a world record parachute jump from 19,861 feet in San Antonio, Texas.

In 1921... First flight of an Army Air Service pressurized cabin airplane, a DH-9A piloted by Lt Harold R Harris.

In 1928... 1st US-to-Australia flight lands (Sir Charles Kingford).

In 1959... X-15 makes 1st unpowered flight, from a B-52 at 11,500 m.

In 1982... Brazilian B-727 flight crashes into mountain; 135 die.

In 1988... Nippon Airways announces that painting eyeballs on Jets cut bird collisions by 20%.
 
ausrere said:
In 1988... Nippon Airways announces that painting eyeballs on Jets cut bird collisions by 20%.
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i just thought of a great paint scheme for the cherokee when i recover it...
 
June 9:

In 1861... Two members of the First Rhode Island Regiment, James Allen and Dr. William H. Helme, make the first U.S. Army trial captive balloon ascent.

In 1908... The Aeronautical Society of the United States is established in New York.

In 1916... With an envelope capacity of 170,000 cu. ft. and an endurance of 11 hours, the first of 45 Coastal (C)-type, nonrigid British airships ordered for the Royal Naval Air Service makes its first flight from the airship station at Pembroke.

In 1923... First autogyro flight. Juan de la Cierva, a brilliant Spanish mathematician, made the first successful flight in a rotary wing aircraft in Madrid.

In 1928... Charles Kingsford-Smith & Charles Ulm are 1st to fly across the Pacific when they end their flight from California to Brisbane.

In 1931... 1st rocket-powered aircraft design patented (R Goddard).

In 1974... The first flight of Northrop YF-17 experimental lightweight fighter is made. It is built to test what might be called the aerodynamics of agility, with all of the factors of weight, materials, and design geared to making it as agile as possible.
 
June 10:

In 1908... First flying club and civil airport established. Aeronautical Society chartered at New York City, and Morris Park air field established. Our first real airport.

In 1913... Marcel Brindejone des Moulinais wins the Pommeroy cup in Warsaw for the longest flight between sunrise and sunset, flying 900 miles from Paris.

In 1953... The final experimental test flight for the turbojet powered #3 Douglas D-558-I Skystreak is flown by A. Scott Crossfield.

In 1989... First female USAF test pilot. Capt Jacquelyn S Parker graduated from the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB CA.
 
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ausrere said:
In 1953... The final experimental test flight for the turbojet powered #3 Douglas D-558-I Skystreak is flown by A. Scott Crossfield.
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When I see this I'm reminded what such long career spans these men experienced. It was only a year ago Crossfield died over northeast Georgia. Had he chosen to avoid that storm cell, I wonder how much longer he'd be around.
 
ausrere said:
June 6:

In 1944... A huge airborne armada, nine planes wide and 200 miles long, carries American and British troops across the British Channel for the D-Day invasion of Europe.
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Perhaps there's an error in the article you copied....

We can't "change" history... :)

In the interest of authenticity, an "ARMADA" isn't 9 planes wide....
The battle would be over long before the last plane arrived, and we'd have lost, for lack of air support.
and they weren't alone either. They were supported by other aircraft.
It would have been miles wide

....of the 10,500 combat aircraft in the sky, if they were 9 planes wide,
it would take something like 19.4 hours for them to get in the fray..
( imagine an automatic rifleman in a room with one narrow entrance,
and send in a column of ducks.... "Sitting ducks".)

example : a "tight" formation of the 100th Bombardment group alone .
Tight formations were used to protect from German fighters, as they were more difficult to attack while tight.
<see photo> I count at least 20 aircraft ...and we can't see the other side of the plane, from which photo was taken.
..And this is but one, of many, many groups.
The Normandy beachhead area was over 45 miles wide.


(emphasis is mine)
<snipped>
Late in the evening of June 5, thousands of ships made their way across the English Channel. On that same night, a fleet of cargo planes, mainly C-47 Skytrains loaded with paratroopers, took off. In tow were American Waco and British Hamilcar gliders filled with soldiers or equipment. Fighters and bombers waited until dawn. One Air Force pilot wrote it looked like "an immense migration of birds."

Overhead, specially marked black and white striped Allied Expeditionary Air Force aircraft owned the sky. Tactical bombers were hammering the whole northwest coast. The 8th AAF, commanded by Lt. Gen. James Doolittle, alone had 1,300 bombers over the area by daybreak. The 9th AAF's fighters, P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs, roared and dived at German strong points unhindered by German Air Force Luftwaffe interference. The Germans had been driven from the sky. In the air, the troops were supported by more than 10,500 combat aircraft.
Normandy was not a victory for a single branch of the service, nor the victory of a single nation. Normandy was the classic example of modern combined arms, air-land and coalition warfare.
(Courtesy Air Force Print News)
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tonycondon said:
i just thought of a great paint scheme for the cherokee when i recover it...
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Ohhhh... If you let me do the paint, you can re-cover it in my garage this winter. :D We can do some 'cool' stuff. :yes:
 
Chache said:
Perhaps there's an error in the article you copied....
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Could be..hence my disclaimer. That particular quote comes from:

Leonard C. Bruno, On the Move: A Chronology of Advances in Transportation, Gale Research Inc., Detroit, MI, 1993.

via NASA's Centennial of Flight website.
 
Could the source have been in error and should have read "nine miles wide"? I read somewhere the beach invasion stretched to close to fifty miles wide.
 
KennyFlys said:
Could the source have been in error and should have read "nine miles wide"? I read somewhere the beach invasion stretched to close to fifty miles wide.
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I don't think so. I found this on the Air Mobility Command Museum, Dover AFB website:

http://www.amcmuseum.org/Collections/OralStories/ddayflights5.htm

"The Troop Carrier D-Day Flights
NINE PLANES WIDE—FIVE HOURS LONG "

"To visualize the enormity of this operation, besides being nine planes wide, it was strung out for something like five hours. The groups had to be coordinated from dozens of bases in England so that they would mesh into a solid train. The naval armada was even more awesome. Following the launching of the second front, Joseph Stalin was quoted as saying that never in military history had the world witnessed anything as grandiose or spectacular."
 
ausrere said:
I don't think so. I found this on the Air Mobility Command Museum, Dover AFB website:

http://www.amcmuseum.org/Collections/OralStories/ddayflights5.htm

"The Troop Carrier D-Day Flights
NINE PLANES WIDE—FIVE HOURS LONG "

"To visualize the enormity of this operation, besides being nine planes wide, it was strung out for something like five hours. The groups had to be coordinated from dozens of bases in England so that they would mesh into a solid train. The naval armada was even more awesome. Following the launching of the second front, Joseph Stalin was quoted as saying that never in military history had the world witnessed anything as grandiose or spectacular."
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Ummm.... Yes, the site contradicts itself. Not a big deal, but these are stories remembered and you know what time does to memory. for instance on page
http://www.amcmuseum.org/Collections/OralStories/ddayflights3.htm

GETTING THE GROUP TOGETHER​

We circled the field several times to get the whole 314th Group together, and then headed out on our planned course for our drop zone near Saint Mere Eglise. The planes jockeyed around until they were in position, and we settled down for the long ride to the South coast of England. The moon was shining brightly, so we could easily see all the planes in the big formation.


Bombers were flying high over our heads, and we could also see other Troop Carrier Groups heading with us toward the coast. I went back into the cabin several times to speak to the jump-master and say a few words of encouragement to the troopers. They had all signed their names on the white field of the blue star on the side of the plane.
Our air cover started to pick us up as we left England, and the fighters were weaving back and forth above us all the way to the drop zone. We flew over surface ships of all kinds, all headed in the same direction we were. More bombers overhead in a seemingly never-ending stream.​
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and another page,
http://www.amcmuseum.org/Collections/OralStories/ddayflights2.htm
inserts
[SIZE=+1]ANOTHER SUBJECT—Scuttlebutt In General[/SIZE]

Not everyone experienced the same thing.
Two examples of how the truth was often lost​

​
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and​


Divisions are often heard to say that there is much room for error here. The 101st was carried in flights that crossed the French coast when the fog was very thick, and the clouds were low. This meant that their delivery was probably less precise than the following flights.
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Therefore (I'm only guessing here) the "nine planes wide" thing may have been one persons view of the situation, while totally unaware of other goings on around him. After all, the weather was kinda cloudy.........that day.​


But thank you for exhibiting these great items here anyway!​


​
 
After reading that further, the last paragraph prior has:
There were eighteen planes from our squadron. We formed two V of Vs of nine airplanes following each other 1000 ft. back. Other groups in front and back of us, flew in similar patterns.
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Then the second paragraph after the one Lisa quotes starts with:
The lead plane of each nine was equipped with...
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So, I'm starting to think the Armada may have been several miles across but each group of planes were a nine-plane V formation. That seems to make more sense. Either way, they were still stacked something awful.
 
June 11:

In 1926... The first flight of the Ford A-AT trimotor, an all-metal monoplane which competes with the three-engine Fokker and becomes a pioneer American airliner. It is known affectionately as the “Tin Goose.”

In 1928... The first rocket-powered manned airplane flight is made by Frederich Stamer from the Wasserkuppe peak in the Rhön Mountains of Germany. His tail-first glider flies about one mile.

In 1931... The Handley Page HP-42 four-engine biplane enters service with the British airline Imperial Airways and sets new standards of passenger service and comfort. It carries 40 passengers.

In 1955... 1st magnesium jet airplane flies.

In 1970... the United States presence in Libya came to an end as the last detachment left Wheelus Air Base.

In 1971... British pilot Shelia Scott makes the first flight by a light plane from equator to equator via the North Pole. Flying in a Pipper Aztec D, she covers 34,000 miles (54,718 km).
 
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ausrere said:
June 4
In 1932... William G Swan, at Bader Field, Atlantic City NJ, makes the first Rocket-powered glider flight. He also carried some pieces of mail, which would undoubtedly qualify this flight as the first rocket air mail, as well. A second successful flight followed the next day.
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ausrere said:
June 11:
In 1928... The first rocket-powered manned airplane flight is made by Frederich Stamer from the Wasserkuppe peak in the Rhön Mountains of Germany. His tail-first glider flies about one mile.
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:dunno:
 
tonycondon said:
fascinating
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Ok..I couldn't stand it, so I dug a little more on these two entries. Here's what I found:

Published in the Beale Airforce Base magazine "High Flyer" on June 8, 2007 ws this article: http://www.beale.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-070608-079.pdf

It states:

In 1931, Stunt pilot William Swan flew the first flight in a rocket-powered glider at AtlanticCity, N.J. He climbed 100 feet and flew 1,000 feet before making a perfect landing. The glider,with 10 rockets able to produce 50 pounds of thrust each, only used one rocket for the flight.
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But, I also found this information from thinkquest.org and wikipedia (the same one you found earlier Tony):

http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312484/html/home.html


In June 1928, the first manned flight in a rocket-powered glider was achieved. Friedrich Stamer was the pilot, and flew about one mile. Launch was Achieved by an elastic launch rope and a 44 pound thrust rocket, then a second rocket fired while airborne. Hermann Oberth began acting as consultant to Fritz Lang's Frau im Mond (Girl in the Moon) to build a rocket for premiere publicity. The prototype exploded on the launch pad.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lippisch_Ente
The Ente (German: duck) was the world’s first rocket-powered aircraft. It was designed by Alexander Lippisch as a sailplane and first flown under power on June 11, 1928, piloted by Fritz Stamer.

After one false start, the aircraft took off and flew a 1,500 metre (4,900 ft) circuit of the Wasserkuppe's [Germany] landing strip.
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Maybe the 1931 flight was the first one in the U.S. ?? It doesn't say how that flight was launched, and/or if that's where the different qualifications are coming from. But all in all, it looks like the first manned aircraft to use rocket power was the "Duck" on June 11, 1928 in Germany.
 
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June 12:

In 1909... Louis Blériot flies his Blériot XII monoplane at Issy-les-Moulineaux with two passengers, Alberto Santos-Dumont and André Fournier. This is the first time a pilot has flown with two passengers.

In 1918... 1st airplane bombing raid by an American unit, France.

In 1919... France’s Baroness Raymonde de Laroche breaks the women’s altitude record by flying to a height of 16,896 feet.

In 1934... Black-McKeller Bill passes causes Bill Boeing empire to break up into Boeing United Aircraft [Technologies] & United Air Lines.

In 1950... 2 Air France DC-4s crash near Bahrain, about 100 die.

In 1972... First man-powered aircraft to fly across the English Channel. The Kremer Prize for the Channel crossing was won by Bryan Allen, who flew the Gossamer Albatross from Folkestone, England, to Cap Gris-Nez, France, in 2 hr., 55 min.

In 1994... First computer-designed commercial aircraft. Computer engineered Boeing 777-200 first flown.
 
June 13:

In 1912... Capt Albert Berry made the 1st parachute jump from an airplane.

In 1916... The Zeppelin-Lindau Dornier Rs II hydroplane, piloted by Schröter and Schulte, succeeds in taking off from Lake Constance, Germany, and makes a four-minute flight.

In 1927... Charles Lindbergh honored in New York City for his trans-Atlantic flight. 750,000 lbs of ticker-tape shower down.

In 1942... The U.S. Navy makes its first operational test with Loran (long-range navigation) equipment with a receiver mounted in a K-2 airship on a flight from the Lakehurst, N.J. Naval Air Station.

In 1944... Germany began launching flying-bomb attacks against Britain during World War II.

In 1946... 1st transcontinental round-trip flight in 1-day, California-Maryland.

In 1962... Capt. Richard H. Coan, USAF, sets a new closed-circuit distance record for helicopters when he flies a Kaman H-43B Huskie a distance of 656.258 mi. This beats the previous record of 625.464 mi. set by a Soviet Mil Mi-1.

In 1983... Pioneer 10 is first man-made object to leave the Solar System.

In 1990... Boeing 767 sets nonstop commercial flight record, Seattle to Narobi Kenya.
 
June 14:

In 1903... Arthur William Raynes McDonald, radar pioneer/pilot, was born.

In 1919... The first direct non-stop crossing of the Atlantic by airplane is made by a British two-man team. Capt. John Alcock and Lt. Arthur Whitten-Brown fly a Vickers Vimy bomber from St. Johns, Newfoundland to Clifden, Ireland. They fly some 1,950 miles in 16 hours, 27 minutes.

In 1923... The New Zealand Permanent Air Force is established.

In 1929... In efforts to encourage passenger traffic for their expanding international air routes, British Imperial Airways makes the first 30-minute “tea” flight over London, costing £2 2s, reduced in 1931 to £1 10s.

In 1941... Ground broken for Boeing Plant II (ex-AFLC Plant 13) Wichita, KS.

In 1944... First B-29 raid against mainland Japan.

In 1967... Mariner V launched from Cape Kennedy on a flight past Venus.

In 1985... Lebanese Shiite Muslim extremists hijacked TWA Flight 847.
 
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