Today in History (Aviation Style)

ausrere

ausrere

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Lisa
I just found a "Today in History" page on Roadrunners home page. I thought it'd be cool to share the aviation related ones we run across. Soo.....

Today in History (well, at least today where I'm at, for 1:15 more minutes):

"On May 21, 1927, Charles A. Lindbergh landed his Spirit of St. Louis near Paris, completing the first solo airplane flight across the Atlantic Ocean."
 
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Today in History, May 22:

"In 1969, the lunar module of Apollo 10 flew to within nine miles of the moon's surface in a dress rehearsal for the first lunar landing."
 
May 23rd:

In 1848... Otto Lilienthal, key figure in the history of flying, is born in Anklam, Germany. He became the first man to fly (glide) with both regularity and control. The Wright brothers regarded his 1899 book as their bible.

In 1908... The first airplane flight in Italy is made by Léon Delagrange in Rome.

In 1924... The first scheduled air service in Canada begins. Laurentide Air Service Ltd. offers flights between Angliers, Lake Fortune and Rouyn, Quebec.

In 1930 Amy Johnson becomes the first woman to fly from England to Australia.

In 1955... The first short-haul jet airliner to go into widespread service, the Sud-Aviation SE 210 Caravelle, makes its first flight at Toulouse, France.
 
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May 24th:

In 1976... Two Concorde supersonic airliners – one in British Airways colors, the other in those of Air France – land at Washington’s Dulles International Airport. They are the first Concordes to visit the USA.

In 1982... British Airways retires the Boeing 707; its last scheduled flight is from Cairo to Heathrow.


(Is anybody really interested in this??? If so, I'll keep posting it when I find aviation related stuff.. if not, I won't waste the bandwidth.)
 
You're doing good, and I'm wondering where you come up with all this information!
 
ausrere said:
In 1976... Two Concorde supersonic airliners – one in British Airways colors, the other in those of Air France – land at Washington’s Dulles International Airport. They are the first Concordes to visit the USA.
Click to expand...

Could not have been; I saw Concorde at DFW when they had the pre-opening open house there, 1973 (I think).

Maybe those were the first scheduled Concorde service here.

Trick question: What is the only US carrier ever to operate the Concorde in scheduled passenger service (no fair Googling it)? Remember, it has to be a US carrier.
 
SCCutler said:
Could not have been; I saw Concorde at DFW when they had the pre-opening open house there, 1973 (I think).

Maybe those were the first scheduled Concorde service here.

Trick question: What is the only US carrier ever to operate the Concorde in scheduled passenger service (no fair Googling it)? Remember, it has to be a US carrier.
Click to expand...
Okay, I have the answer, and I didn't Google it. Of course, I did use answers.com, and I may have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express, so I won't answer publicly! But Really, All iNeed Is Flight Following!
 
Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
 
SCCutler said:
Trick question: What is the only US carrier ever to operate the Concorde in scheduled passenger service (no fair Googling it)? Remember, it has to be a US carrier.
Click to expand...
I was thinking it might have been TWA but that didn't come up when I did try a Google search. The one I did find (I won't mention it yet) never actually painted the Concorde in its own livery colors.
 
You know you got it, but it's amazing how few ever realize this historic oddity.
 
Alrighty then:

May 25th:

In 1889... Igor Sikorsky, American aviation engineer who developed the first successful helicopter was born.

In 1905... Ferdinand Ferber makes his first aerial tests in Chalais-Meodon, France with his No.6 bis glider fitted with a 12-hp Peugeot motor.

In 1910... Orville Wright takes his 82-year-old father for his first airplane ride. Also on this day, Wilbur and Orville fly together for the only time in a six-and-one-half minute flight at Simms Station, near Dayton, Ohio.

In 1999... The first flight of Airbus A319-133X ACJ, or Airbus Corporate Jet, an airliner-sized business jet takes place.
 
gprellwitz said:
You're doing good, and I'm wondering where you come up with all this information!
Click to expand...

From several different "Today in History" newsletters, websites etc. I just grab the aviation related stuff in them when I see them.
 
ausrere said:
Alrighty then:

May 25th:

In 1910... Orville Wright takes his 82-year-old father for his first airplane ride. Also on this day, Wilbur and Orville fly together for the only time in a six-and-one-half minute flight at Simms Station, near Dayton, Ohio.
Click to expand...
Do you suppose Wilbur and Orville went up together just before taking Pop up for his ride -- just to be sure it would be safe to carry a non-pilot passenger?
 
KennyFlys said:
I was thinking it might have been TWA but that didn't come up when I did try a Google search. The one I did find (I won't mention it yet) never actually painted the Concorde in its own livery colors.
Click to expand...

OK, long enough.

It was Braniff International Airways (the "original" Braniff). The airframes were either BA or Air France, and they'd actually change legal ownership at IAD for the IAD-DFW-IAD trips. Planes were flown by Braniff crews and cabin was staffed with Braniff FAs. There's a retired BN pilot in our club who was Concorde-trained, fascinating stories about that.

The first landing of a Concorde in the US was at DFW Regional Airport (as it was then known), on September 20, 1973, arriving from Caracas, Venezuela. This was before DFW was open, but they were having festivities there to publicize the upcoming opening, and I was there (airplane geek then, airplane geek now).

When BN inaugurated the Concorde service in 1979, the celebrated with two Concordes (one BA, one Air France) landing simultaneously on parallel runways- that must have been a little bit of something to watch!

Anyway... http://www.braniffpages.com/concorde.html
 
woulda been cool to be at the airport the day the wright bros flew together and took dad up. probably pretty proud day for them
 
ausrere said:
May 25th:

In 1889... Igor Sikorsky, American aviation engineer who developed the first successful helicopter was born.
Click to expand...
Does Bob have something extra to celebrate this weekend? :)

Doggone flingwingers! :D
 
SCCutler said:
OK, long enough.

It was Braniff International Airways (the "original" Braniff). The airframes were either BA or Air France, and they'd actually change legal ownership at IAD for the IAD-DFW-IAD trips. Planes were flown by Braniff crews and cabin was staffed with Braniff FAs. There's a retired BN pilot in our club who was Concorde-trained, fascinating stories about that.

The first landing of a Concorde in the US was at DFW Regional Airport (as it was then known), on September 20, 1973, arriving from Caracas, Venezuela. This was before DFW was open, but they were having festivities there to publicize the upcoming opening, and I was there (airplane geek then, airplane geek now).

When BN inaugurated the Concorde service in 1979, the celebrated with two Concordes (one BA, one Air France) landing simultaneously on parallel runways- that must have been a little bit of something to watch!

Anyway... http://www.braniffpages.com/concorde.html
Click to expand...
I answered it in my original post:
But
Really,
All
iNeed
Is
Flight
Following!
Click to expand...

Interesting trivia! Thanks!
 
May 26

In 1923... Lieutenant H. G. Crocker lands at Gordon, Ontario, to complete a non-stop transcontinental south/north flight from Houston, Texas, of 11 hours, 55 minutes.

In 1942... The Northrop XP-61 Black Widow night fighter prototype flies for the first time.

In 1951... Sally Ride, astronaut, the first American woman in space is born.

In 1961... A U.S. Air Force bomber flies across the Atlantic in a record of just over three hours.

In 1969... Apollo 10 astronauts returned to Earth after a successful eight-day dress rehearsal for the first manned moon landing.

In 1970... The prototype Tupolev Tu-144 supersonic airliner reaches a speed of 1,335mph, becoming the first commercial transport in the world to exceed Mach 2.

In 1972... Cessna Aircraft Corporation announces completion of the company’s 100,000th aircraft, becoming the first company in the world to achieve such a production figure.
 
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ausrere said:
May 26
In 1942... The Northrop XP-61 Black Widow night fighter prototype flies for the first time.
Click to expand...
I find it interesting many of the perceived killer, flying machines had names referencing them to females and often the color black. Is this where the line came from, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."? :)

In 1972... Cessna Aircraft Corporation announces completion of the company’s 100,000th aircraft, becoming the first company in the world to achieve such a production figure.
Click to expand...
I'd have thought this accomplishment would have gone to a company that primarily produced military aircraft throughout history. I know Cessna did produce a wide variety based on its civilian production models. But I have no clue how many different military versions and in what quantities.

Does anyone have any numbers?
 
SCCutler said:
You know you got it, but it's amazing how few ever realize this historic oddity.
Click to expand...

Easy. Braniff. They dumped it pretty quickly, though, and it was a AF and/or BA plane (though Braniff had a crew that operated it on 1/2 the trip).
 
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May 27:

In 1877... A major milestone in Japanese aviation history is accomplished with the first flight of a military balloon. It has a capacity of 14,000 cu.ft. and is inflated with coal gas.

In 1919... A U.S. Navy seaplane completes the first transatlantic flight.

In 1924... Adrienne Bolland wins the women’s record for looping from Laura Bromwell, performing the feat 212 times in 1 hour, 1 minute in her Caudron 127 in Paris.

In 1931... A full-scale wind tunnel goes into operation at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Laboratory at Langley Field, Virginia.

In 1931... Piccard & Knipfer make 1st flight into stratosphere, by balloon.

In 1941... The German battleship Bismarck is sunk by British naval and air forces.

In 1961... The first crossing of the English Channel by a VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircraft is made by the Short SC.1, which is flown by A. Roberts from England to Paris for the Paris Air Show.
 
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May 28:

In 1912... Capt. Charles de Forest Chandler, commanding officer of the U.S. Signal Corps Aviation School at College Park, Maryland, receives War Department form no. 395 AGO, dated February 2, 1912, which was the first document on U.S. aviation medicine. It dictates that “all candidates for aviation only shall be subject to a vigorous physical examination to determine their fitness for duty.”

In 1914... Glenn Curtiss successfully flies the refurbished Langley Aerodrome for a distance of approximately 150 ft. at Keuka Lake, Hammindsport, New York.

In 1920... The first Lewis & Vought VE-7 (Vought Experimental No.7) is delivered to the U.S. Navy.

In 1921... Geo Mestdagh, Belgian aviation pioneer, dies.

In 1931... A Bellanca with a Packard DR-980 diesel engine flew for 84h:32m without landing for fuel setting a record.

In 1987... Mathias Rust, a 19-year-old from West Germany, buzzed Red Square in Moscow three times in a single-engine Cessna aircraft, circled the Kremlin walls and then set down on the nearby Moskvoretsky Bridge. He then taxied to St. Basil's Cathedral to park. Rust was later sentenced to four years in a Soviet labor camp for illegally entering the Soviet Union and hooliganism. He served 14 months in Moscow's Lefortovo prison before he was paroled.

In 1997... Linda Finch completes Amelia Earhart attempted around-the-world flight.
 
May 29:

In 1908... The first passenger flight in Europe occurs as Henri Farman takes up Ernest Archdeacon for a brief flight at Issy-les-Moulineaux, France.

In 1910... Glenn Curtiss flies from Albany NY to New York City, a then-epic flight of about 150 miles. This could loosely be credited as the first air mail flight, for he unofficially carried a letter from Albany's mayor to the mayor of NYC.

In 1925... Alan Cobham lands the prototype de Havilland D.H.60 Moth after flying 1,000 miles to Zurich, Switzerland and back to Croydon, England in a single day.

In 1934... The Collier trophy for the year’s outstanding aviation achievement is awarded in Washington, D.C. to Hamilton Standard Propeller Company for the development of the controllable-pitch propeller.

In 1951... Capt. Charles Blair lands in his F-51 piston-engined Mustang after making the first solo flight across the North Pole in a single-engined aircraft, from Bardufoss, Norway to Fairbanks, Alaska, covering 3,375 miles in 10 hours, 29 minutes.
 
May 30:

In 1908... The first European flight of over 15 minutes takes place.
Léon Delagrange flies his Voisin-Delagrange in France.

In 1912... Wilbur Wright dies of typhoid fever at the early age of 45.

In 1942... The Royal Air Force launches the first 1,000 plane raid over Germany.

In 1946... United flight 521 crashes on takeoff at LaGuardia Airport
(NY) 42 die.

In 1949... The first use of a Martin-Baker ejection seat in a genuine
emergency occurs when pilot J. O. Lancaster ejects himself from the
Armstrong Whitworth "flying wing" jet airplane. The seat worked perfectly.

In 1966... 300 US airplanes bomb North Vietnam.

In 1971, the American space probe Mariner 9 blasted off from Cape Kennedy, Fla., on a journey to Mars.
 
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May 31:


In 1862... Information obtained from Thadeus S. C. Lowe's balloon
observation saves Union forces from defeat at the Battle of Fair Oaks,
Virginia during the U. S. Civil War. Union General George McClellan is
warned by Lowe of Confederate General Albert Johnston's approaching
troops.

In 1919... 1st wedding held in an aircraft. Flying 2000 ft above
Houston Texas in a converted Hadley Page bomber, Marjorie Dumont and
Lt. R.W. Meade were married by an Army chaplain.

In 1919... NC-4 aircraft commanded by AC Read completes 1st crossing
of Atlantic.

In 1928... The first airplane flight across the Pacific is made by
British Capt. Charles Kingsford-Smith and crew in a Fokker F-VIIB/3m.
They fly from Oakland Field, California to Brisbane, Australia, 7,389
miles (11,890km), in 83 hours, 38 minutes. On the way, it becomes the
first airplane to land in Fiji.

In 1995... The first flight of the Schweizer RU-38A Twin Condor
long-range surveillance aircraft takes place in Elmira, New York.
 
June 1:

In 1915... Germany conducts the first zeppelin air raid over England.*

In 1919...An organized and sustained aerial forest fire patrol was initiated
at Rockwell Field CA, using Curtiss JN-4Ds and JN-6Hs becoming the first
forestry air patrol.

In 1925... A car dealer covers himself in stamps worth $718 in a bid
to be sent airmail from San Francisco to New York; the U.S. Post
Office refuses to accept him.**

In 1939... The Douglas DC-4 makes its first passenger flight from
Chicago to New York.

In 1940... U.S. Army Air Corps announces plans for the construction of
the world's most powerful wind tunnel at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio.

In 1949... A survey conducted by a firm of New York aviation
consultants shows that for the first time in history air travel volume
is greater than first class rail travel. Revenue passengers-miles for
domestic airlines totals 603 million compared to 582 million for
Pullman trains.




** Not EXACTLY aviation related, but I thought it was funny. :D
 
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ausrere said:
June 1:
....SNIP....
In 1925... A car dealer covers himself in stamps worth $718 in a bid
to be sent airmail from San Francisco to New York; the U.S. Post
Office refuses to accept him.**
.... SNIP....

** Not EXACTLY aviation related, but I thought it was funny. :D
Click to expand...
I wonder what the cost of a ticket was back then. It might have been cheaper to airmail oneself.
 
ausrere said:
June 1:

In 1915... Germany conducts the first zeppelin air raid over England.*
Click to expand...
I bet that was a fast getaway! :)

In 1925... A car dealer covers himself in stamps worth $718 in a bid
to be sent airmail from San Francisco to New York; the U.S. Post
Office refuses to accept him.**

** Not EXACTLY aviation related, but I thought it was funny. :D
Click to expand...
It's no worse than this about boxes that would otherwise be flying across country or around the world. :)
http://bsalert.com/artsearch.php?fn=2&as=874&dt=1
 
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June 2

In 1794... J. M. J. Coutelle and N. J. Conte of the French army’s “Aerostiers” at Mauberge, France make the first military use of a balloon, when they observe enemy positions from their captive balloon.

In 1910... Charles Rolls makes a non-stop double crossing of the Channel from Dover, England, in one hour, 35 minutes.

In 1957... The first solo balloon flight into the stratosphere is made by U.S. Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr. In his plastic balloon Manhig 1, he stays in the air for six hours, 36 minutes and reaches an altitude of 96,000 feet.

In 1983... A Toilet catches fire on Air Canada's DC-9, 23 die at Greater Cincinnati Airport including Canadian Folk Musician Stan Rogers.

In 1984... Flight readiness firing of Discovery's main engines.

In 1986... The greatest distance achieved by a hang-glider is made by American Randy Haney who flies an unpowered hang-glider 199.75 miles (321.47 km) from his takeoff point.

In 1995... A U.S. Air Force F-16C was shot down by a Bosnian Serb surface-to-air missile while on a NATO air patrol in northern Bosnia; the pilot, Capt. Scott F. O'Grady, was rescued six days later.
 
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KennyFlys said:
There's gotta be more to this story!

There was and it's not pretty. I'm certain much was learned regarding procedures.

http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19830602-1
Click to expand...

National Geographic's "Air Emergency" series did a show on that incident. It aired last month. It's usually replayed several times, so if you get the NG channel you should watch for it. It was very good. I like they way the trace the disaster back from the point it occurred, to the incident(s) that set it in motion.

Also coming up on NG channel. This looks interesting:

http://www.nationalgeographicchannel.com/tv/specials/airforceone/
 
ausrere said:
National Geographic's "Air Emergency" series did a show on that incident. It aired last month. It's usually replayed several times, so if you get the NG channel you should watch for it. It was very good. I like they way the trace the disaster back from the point it occurred, to the incident(s) that set it in motion.

Also coming up on NG channel. This looks interesting:

http://www.nationalgeographicchannel.com/tv/specials/airforceone/
Click to expand...
Thanks Lisa. I'll look for that. I catch some of the Air Emergency shows. I need to just set it up on my Media Center box along with all the cop and legal shows. There's bound to be a mouthy cop on one of those. :D

It seems I've heard of Air Force One. :dunno:


:goofy:
 
June 3

In 1785... Jean-Pierre Blanchard experiments with a parachute, releasing a silk parachute 20 feet in diameter, loaded with weight over England. Later he drops dogs attached to parachutes from his balloon.

In 1925... Goodyear airship "Pilgrim" makes 1st flight (1st with enclosed cabin).

In 1936... The British Air Ministry awards a contract to Hawker for 600 Hurricane Mk. 1 fighters, the first of a new breed of high-speed, eight-gun interceptors for the RAF. This is the biggest peacetime order placed in Britain to date.

In 1959... 1st class graduates from Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

In 1962... Air France Boeing 707 crashes on takeoff from Paris, kills 130.

In 1965... Gemini 4 launched; 2nd US 2-man flight (Astronauts McDivitt & White aboard). Astronaut Edward White became the first American to "walk" in space, during the flight.

In 1966... Gemini 9 launched; 7th US 2-man flight (Astronauts Stafford & Cernan aboard)

In 1973... The first crash of a supersonic transport aircraft occurs as a Tupolev Tu-144 goes down during a demonstration flight at the Paris Air Show.
 
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