Today in History (Aviation Style)

June 15:

In 1785... 2 French balloonists die in world's 1st fatal aviation accident.

In 1910... The world’s youngest flyer, 15-year-old Frenchman Marcel Hanriot, gets his pilot’s brevet, no. 15.

In 1916... The Boeing's first aircraft (the B&W) flies for the first time.

In 1919... First flight across the Atlantic (Alcock and Brown).

In 1921... The First U.S. Black female pilot, Bessie Coleman, recevied her license.

In 1928... An Imperial Airways AW Argosy piloted by Gordon Olley races the London and North Eastern Railway’s Flying Scotsman train the 390 miles from London to Edinburgh; the Argosy takes 84 minutes to refuel twice en route and beats the train by only 15 minutes.

In 1928... Mail is successfully transferred from an airplane in flight to a train as Lt. Karl S. Axtater flies directly over an Illinois Central train and transfers a mail bag to a railway clerk.

In 1943... The first operational jet-bomber, the German-built Arado Ar-234 Blitz, makes its first flight.

In 1992... 1st Berlin Air Show in 60 years.

In 1992... Ghana Airways inaugurates flights to JFK Airport (NYC).
 
June 16:

In 1909... 1st US airplane sold commercially, by Glenn Curtiss for $5,000.

In 1909... A two-day celebration in Dayton, Ohio marks the homecoming of the Wrights.

In 1922... Henry Berliner demonstrates his helicopter to US Bureau of Aeronautics. Flight made in a war-surplus Nieuport biplane fighter modified with tilting tail rotor, and a short-span upper wing with 14'0" helicopter blades at the tips, in a demonstration for the military at College Park MD. This claim for a first is contested by that of the Engineering Division's de Bothezat helicopter free-flight on 10/19/22 and has yet to be finalized.

In 1932... The Lockheed Aircraft Corp. finally closes down eight months after the receivers were called in to its parent company, Detroit Aircraft Corp. On June 21, investment broker Robert Ellsworth Gross leads a consortium that buys the assets and opens a new company under the same name.

In 1941... 1st US federally owned airport opened Wash DC.

In 1952... Soviet Fighters shoot Swedish Catalina reconnaissance flight down.

In 1963... Vostok 6 launched. The pilot is Valentina Tereshkova, first woman cosmonaut.
 
June 17:

In 1928... Amelia Earhart leaves Newfoundland to become 1st woman (passenger) to fly Atlantic (as a passenger in a plane piloted by Wilmer Stultz)

In 1942... U.S. Army Air Forces conduct a test at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio, successfully picking up gliders from the ground by an airplane flying at more than 100 mph.

In 1947... Pan Am Airways chartered as 1st worldwide passenger airline.

In 1947... 1st round-the-world civil air service leaves NYC.

In 1948, a United Air Lines DC-6 crashed near Mount Carmel, Pa., killing all 43 people on board.

In 1959... The first of the Dassault Mirage IV, the first European supersonic jet bomber, is made in France. This high-performance combat aircraft flies at Mach 2 (twice the speed of sound).

In 1989... Stanley David Griggs, Astronaut (STS 51-D), dies plane crash at 59.
 
June 18:

In 1861... Thaddeus S. C. Lowe transmits the first telegraphic message ever sent from a balloon during a test at the Columbia Armory, Washington, D.C.

In 1877... Samuel Archer King makes a two-hour airmail flight of 26 miles between Nashville and Gallatin, Tennessee, in the balloon Buffalo.

In 1916... Max Immelmann, German pilot (WW I), killed.

In 1922... The first soaring flight of one hour in slope lift (using hill currents) is made by Arthur Martens in a Vampyr sailplane designed by Wolfgang Klemmperer at the Wasserkuppe, Rhön, Germany.

In 1939... The first direct transatlantic seaplane service is begun by Pan American Airways. It flies from New York to Southampton, England, by way of Botwood, Newfoundland, and Foynes, Ireland.

In 1986... 52 die in plane / helicopter collision over Grand Canyon.
 
ausrere said:
In 1942... U.S. Army Air Forces conduct a test at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio, successfully picking up gliders from the ground by an airplane flying at more than 100 mph.
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have you ever seen the setup they used to do this? two poles with a rope between, the glider attached to that rope. the towplane (C-47) would come in with a hook and hook the rope, jerking the glider into the air. was a great way to rip apart the CG-4's but when it worked it was quite a rush, from what I hear.
 
tonycondon said:
have you ever seen the setup they used to do this? two poles with a rope between, the glider attached to that rope. the towplane (C-47) would come in with a hook and hook the rope, jerking the glider into the air. was a great way to rip apart the CG-4's but when it worked it was quite a rush, from what I hear.
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Much like a later technique used to extract a downed airman from the ground by catching the line attached to a small balloon (Fulton Extraction I think it's called). Somehow going from zero to lord knows what being towed behind a C130 in an instant does NOT sound like a fun ride to me. :D
 
ausrere said:
Much like a later technique used to extract a downed airman from the ground by catching the line attached to a small balloon (Fulton Extraction I think it's called). Somehow going from zero to lord knows what being towed behind a C130 in an instant does NOT sound like a fun ride to me. :D
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:eek: :eek:
 
June 19:

In 1894... Frederick W. Lanchester, British aeronautical and automobile pioneer, announces his theory of circulatory air-flow to the Birmingham Natural History and Philosophical Society in England. This theory is later to become of pivotal importance in aerodynamics.

In 1901... American experimenter Samuel P. Langley tests a quarter-scale model of his Aerodrome, a gasoline-driven flying machine. It makes four disappointingly short flights.

In 1910... 1st airship in service "Germany".

In 1930... The all-metal Polish fighter, the PZL P-1, is the star of the International competition for fighter airplanes in Bucharest, Romania, winning 8 of the 15 prizes. This is a triumph for the brilliant designer Zygmund Pulawski, whose aircraft consistently out-performed those of his rivals.

In 1947... 1st plane (F-80) to exceed 600 mph (1004 kph)-Albert Boyd, Muroc Ca.

In 1981... Boeing commercial Chinook 2-rotor helicopter is certified.
 
tonycondon said:
have you ever seen the setup they used to do this? two poles with a rope between, the glider attached to that rope. the towplane (C-47) would come in with a hook and hook the rope, jerking the glider into the air. was a great way to rip apart the CG-4's but when it worked it was quite a rush, from what I hear.
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That's how the banner tow guys do a banner pick up. You should see when they do it without a ground crew. I've seen them land when the ground setup fell down.
 
June 20:

In 1540... Joao Torto, in Viseu, Portugal, builds two pairs of cloth-covered wings, an upper and lower, which are connected by iron hoops. While preparing to jump from the town’s cathedral to the nearby St. Matthew’s fields, he is killed when the elaborated helmet slips over his eyes and he falls onto a roof.

In 1897... Percy Pilcher is towed about 750 feet in the Hawk, the fourth of his hang gliders.

In 1939... Test flight of 1st rocket plane using liquid propellants.

In 1941... Army Regulation 95-5 created the USAAF.

In 1951... The first flight of aircraft with variable-sweep wings is made as the research aircraft Bell X-5, flies for 30 minutes at Edwards, California.

In 1966... Sheila Scott completes 1st round-the-world solo flight by a woman.
 
ausrere said:
June 20:

In 1540... Joao Torto, in Viseu, Portugal, builds two pairs of cloth-covered wings, an upper and lower, which are connected by iron hoops. While preparing to jump from the town’s cathedral to the nearby St. Matthew’s fields, he is killed when the elaborated helmet slips over his eyes and he falls onto a roof.

In 1897... Percy Pilcher is towed about 750 feet in the Hawk, the fourth of his hang gliders.

In 1939... Test flight of 1st rocket plane using liquid propellants.

In 1941... Army Regulation 95-5 created the USAAF.

In 1951... The first flight of aircraft with variable-sweep wings is made as the research aircraft Bell X-5, flies for 30 minutes at Edwards, California.

In 1966... Sheila Scott completes 1st round-the-world solo flight by a woman.
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In 1998, Skip Miller takes to the skies for the first time as a solo student pilot, in 4198F, a PA-28-181 Piper Archer II, KBDR.

:yes:

Still a fond memory!

-Skip
 
you know, I think that today is my first solo anniversary as well. June 20, 2002 in C-152 N4468Q at KEST.
 
June 21:

In 1907... Romanian Trajan Vuia makes a flight in Paris of almost 66 feet, at a height of 16 feet, in his second machine which has a 24-hp Antoinette engine running on carbonic acid and has its wheels fitted with shock absorbers.

In 1908... The first flight of the Aerial Experiment Association’s (AEA) promising June Bug biplane, their third machine, takes place in New York State. It has a 40-hp air-cooled Curtiss engine.

In 1913... 18 year-old Gergia "Tiny" Broadwick is first woman to parachute from an airplane jumping from 1,000' over Los Angeles CA.

In 2004... First manned private spaceflight: SpaceShipOne piloted by Mike Melvill.
 
June 22:

In 1909... Wycoof, Church & Partridge, auto dealers in New York city, acquired the Curtiss line to become the first airplane sales agency.

In 1910... The German firm “Delag” inaugurates the first regular passenger-carrying airship service. Between 1910-1914, its five Zeppelin airships carry nearly 35,000 passengers without a fatality over inland German routes.

In 1933... The Tupolev ANT-25 monoplane, designed to win the world long-distance record for the USSR, makes its first flight.

In 1955... US air patrol plane shot down above Bering sea.

In 1962... 1st test flight of Hoovercraft.
 
Ack, I'm a day late but.....


June 21, 1944 - The 4th Fighter Group was again called on to be the first at something. They were to fly to Piryatin, Russia. Blakeslee was all business in the briefing. There would be no fighting on the way over, no dropping of tanks and no radio chatter. "No one will abort because of lack of oxygen. You'll be at 15,000 feet. If you get dizzy, go down under the bombers for awhile. This whole thing is for show. That's why everything must be pansy. It's not what you do, but what you seem to do." Blakeslee wanted to lead the mission so badly that he had another Mustang ready to go in case his WD-C had to abort. Ralph Hofer was giving his CO, Howard Hively, a headache since he refused to take his shots, even on orders. Hively flat out told him that he wasn't going on the mission and assigned "Salem Representative" to Preston Hardy. He eventually gave in to Hofer and told him he could be an alternate.
Forty-five Mustangs from the 4th along with 16 from the 486th Fighter Squadron, 352nd Fighter Group, crossed Overflakkee at 0903 hours at 20,000 feet. Ralph Hofer, who was ordered back to base after no aborts were called, disobeyed orders and tagged along behind the Group. The fighters rendezvoused with the B-17s over Leszno at 1113 hours after their bombing run. Later, 25 Me-109s came in for a head-on attack against the bombers. The enemy fighters were engaged but the advantage couldn't be pressed due to fuel restrictions. Two were destroyed with the loss of Frank Sibbett. Again disregarding orders, Hofer continued to chase the Germans on the deck. He was listed as MIA until word came in later that he had landed safely in Kiev. Staff Sergeant Robert Gilbert, a 336th crew chief, was forced to bail out of one of the B-17s the 33 enlisted men were flying in. He fought for 36 days with Polish guerrillas against the Germans before returning to England on August 17. The Group escorted the bombers beyond Russian lines for a distance of 580 miles. Upon sighting Piryatin field, on time to the minute, Blakeslee threw all 16 of his maps into the air in his cockpit.
That night, as the bomber base at Poltava was severly pounded by German bombers, Piryatin became a madhouse with chandelier flares and anti-aircraft going off all over the place. The 4th pilots spent an uneasy night in the trenches. Grover Siems and "Lum" Blanding couldn't get out of their sleeping bags so they hopped all the way to the trenches.






June 1945 - The Group gradually disbanded internally as plans for the Pacific were cancelled and men began to leave. The Mustangs were gradually flown out to other bases.
 
Cap'n Jack said:
I know what you really meant, but I have this vision of a vacuum cleaner without the bag being used as a jet type engine.
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Hey....I just cut and paste 'em from other places. For all I know, there's a well known vacuum cleaner company that test flew their company jet in 1962. :rolleyes:
 
June 23:

In 1784... 1st US balloon flight (13 year old Edward Warren).

In 1905... 1st fully controllable and maneuverable flight. First flight of the Wright Flyer #3 at Huffman Prairie, Dayton OH, in which a fully-controllable, powered aircraft was able to turn and bank, and remain aloft for up to 30 minutes.

In 1913... The first large airplane designed exclusively as a bomber makes its first flight in Russia. Known as the “Russki Vityaz,” (Russian Knight) it was designed by Igor Sikorsky and built by the RBVZ [Russko-Baltijskij Vagonnyj Zavod (Russo-Baltic Cart Works)].

In 1924... 1st transcontinental dawn-to-dusk flight. New York to San Francisco by USAS Lt Russell L Maugham in a Curtiss PW-8, with five fuel stops enroute.

In 1924... The prototype Focke-Wulf A 16 monoplane makes its first flight. Capable of carrying four passengers, it is the first product of Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau GmbH.

In 1931... Wiley Post & Harold Catty took off for flight around world.

In 1985... all 329 people aboard an Air-India Boeing 747 were killed when the plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Ireland, after a bomb on board exploded.
 
June 24:

In 1918... The first air mail in Canada is flown from Montreal to Toronto.

In 1930... Dr. Albert Taylor and Leo Young of the Aircraft Research Laboratory, near Bolling Field, Washington, D.C., succeed in tracing the position of airplanes in flight using wireless detection equipment.

In 1939... Pan Am's 1st US to England flight.

In 1943... Royal Air Force Bombers hammer Muelheim, Germany, in a drive to cripple the Ruhr industrial base.

In 1948... The Soviet Union begins the Berlin Blockade, America responds with the Berlin Airlift.

In 1949... Cargo airlines 1st licensed by US Civil Aeronautics Board.

In 1955... Soviet MIG's down a U.S. Navy patrol plane over the Bering Strait.

In 1966... Bombay-NY Air India flight crashes into Mont Blanc (Switz), 117 die.

In 1975... Eastern 727 crashes at JFK Airport NY, kills 113.

In 1982... First Frenchman launches into orbit, as part of Soviet mission.
 
June 25:



In 1886... Henry "Hap" Arnold, commanding general, US Army Air Force (WW II), was born.

In 1914... Tom Blakely flies the West Wind in Calgary, Canada. The Curtiss-type biplane was designed by Frank Ellis.

In 1919... 1st advanced monoplane airliner flight (Junkers F13) in Dessau, Germany.

In 1928... The Boeing Model 83 biplane makes it's first flight. The Model 83 was the last Boeing aircraft in which wood was used for the wing frame and the last biplane built by Boeing.

In 1944... 1st composite jet and piston engine airplane. Ryan FR-1 Fireball.

In 1950... Israeli airline El Al begins service.
 
June 26:

In 1869... Largest hydrogen balloon ever to make a free (untethered) ascent, makes a short flight from the Champs de Mars in Paris, France. It has a capacity of 424,000 cubic feet (c. 130,000 cubic meters).

In 1898... Willy Messerschmitt, German aircraft designer, was born.

In 1909... The first commercial sale of an airplane in the United States is made as Glenn H. Curtiss sells one of his planes to the Aeronautic Society of New York for $7,500. This action spurs the Wright brothers to begin a patent suit to prevent him from selling airplanes without a license.

In 1911... As spectators watch in amazement, Lincoln Beachey flies his Curtiss pusher biplane over Horseshoe Falls, the most spectacular of the Niagara Falls.

In 1936... 1st flight of Fw-61 helicopter. The Focke-Achgelis FW-61 is the first practical helicopter with side-by-side rotors was made in Germany and designed by Henrich Focke. the FW-61 makes many flights, the longest being one hour and 20 minutes.

In 1942...The Grumman F6F Hellcat fighter flies for the first time.

In 1946... The U.S. Army Air Force and Navy adopt "knot" and "nautical mile" as standard aeronautical units for speed and distance. A nautical mile is about 6.080 ft. (1,853 m), and knot is the equuivalent of one nautical mile per hour.

In 1948... Berlin Airlift begins. Operation Vittles began with Douglas C-47 crews bringing in 80 tons of supplies on the first day. By the time it ended on 8/30/49, the Anglo-American airlift delivered a total of 2,324,257 tons of food, fuel, and supplies to the beleaguered city.

In 1994... Air Ivory Fokker's-27 crashes at Abidjan (16 killed / 1 lives).
 
June 27:

In 1909... Three New York Papers (the Sun, Times and Hearld) carry the worlds first advertisement of a practical airplane for sale to the general public.

In 1923... Capt L H Smith and Lt J P Richter, made the 1st in-flight plane-to-plane refueling in an Army de Havilland DH-4B over Rockwell Field, San Diego. They also set a distance record of 3,293 miles covered in the flight.

In 1976... Air France Airbus hijacked in Germany to Uganda.
 
June 28:

In 1911... The first airplane charter flight is made by English aviator Thomas Sopwith who is hired by Wannamaker's New York store to deliver repaired glasses to Philadelphia merchant W.A. Burpee.

In 1918... 1st flight between Hawaiian Islands.

In 1927... The first non-stop flight between the United States and Hawaii is made by U.S. Lts Albert F. Hegenberger and Lester J. Maitland. They fly 2,407 miles (3,874km) from Oakland to honolulu in 25 hours, 30 minutes.

In 1976... 1st woman was admitted to Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Co.

In 2004... First non-stop 10,000-mile-plus passenger airline flight. Singapore Airlines launched a non-stop 18 1/2 hour, 10,335-mile flight on the long-range Airbus 340-500 between Singapore to Newark, New Jersey (June 28–29).
 
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ausrere said:
June 28:


In 2004... First non-stop 10,000-mile-plus passenger airline flight. Singapore Airlines launched a non-stop 181/2 hour, 10,335-mile flight on the long-range Airbus 340-500 between Singapore to Newark, New Jersey (June 28–29).
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OMG. Unless every seat was Business class or better, why would anybody subject themselves to that??? I know it's faster than changing planes somewhere, but the abuse to one's body is not worth it. 14 hours LAX to SYD will be bad enough in September.
 
June 29:

In 1900 Antoine de Saint-Exupery, aviator and writer was born.

In 1909... In opening demonstration flights before the U.S. Army at Fort Myer, Virginia, Orville Wright makes the first flight with the new Wright A built to replace the one destroyed in September 1908.

In 1914... Glenn Curtiss takes up nine passengers in New York in his seaplane America, built for Rodman Wanamaker, to make an attempt on the £10,000 prize offered by the Daily Mail for the first transatlantic crossing in a heavier-than-air machine.

In 1916... Boeing aircraft flies for 1st time.

In 1927... 1st flight from West Coast arrives in Hawaii.

In 1939... Dixie Clipper completes 1st commercial plane flight to Europe.

In 1948... The Air Parcel Post Bill becomes U.S. law, establishing domestic air parcel post and raising first class postage rates for air mail from five cents to six cents.

In 1962... 1st flight Vickers (British Aerospace) VC-10 long-range airliner.

In 1966... The U.S. Air Force bombs fuel storage facilities near Hanoi, North Vietnam.

In 1977... Italian Professor Enrico Forlanini’s steam-powered helicopter is tested at Alexandria, Egypt.
 
June 30:

In 1901... At enormous personal risk, Herr Berson and Professor Süring of the Berliner Verein für Luftschiffahrt establish the first ratified altitude record for balloons. Their 8,510-cu. ft. balloon Preussen (Prussia) ascends to 35,435 feet.

In 1910... The first airplane bombing tests are made as Glenn H. Curtiss drops dummy bombs from his own Curtiss biplane on the shape of a battleship marked by flagged buoys on Lake Keuka, New York.

In 1911... The Curtiss A-1 seaplane is tested for the first time by Glenn Curtiss.

In 1971... Three Soviet cosmonauts die when their spacecreaft depressurizes during reentry.

In 1985... 39 remaining hostages from Flight 847 are freed in Beirut.

In 1994... Airbus A330 crash at Toulouse France (7 killed).


Unknown dates in June:

In 1915... First woman to loop an aircraft. Ruth Law.

In 1910... First Night flight. Charles W. Hamilton, over Knoxville TN. Similar claim is made for Walters Brookins over Montgomery, AL.

---

I'm thinking about breaking this post up by months starting tomorrow. I'll be posting "Today in Aviation History - July" unless you guys think it should all stay in the same thread. My reasoning is that after a while, this thread could get really long if we leave it all in one thread. Any preferences?
 
ausrere said:
I'm thinking about breaking this post up by months starting tomorrow. I'll be posting "Today in Aviation History - July" unless you guys think it should all stay in the same thread. My reasoning is that after a while, this thread could get really long if we leave it all in one thread. Any preferences?
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sounds reasonable, as long as you keep posting, im enjoying this!
 
KennyFlys said:
I'll get back to you on that... say, in about ten years? :cheerswine:
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Ha. Ha. Well... it should be easier to keep up with by then. All I have to do after the first year of this is keep up with what is happening now. :)
 
ausrere said:
Ha. Ha. Well... it should be easier to keep up with by then. All I have to do after the first year of this is keep up with what is happening now. :)
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No.... you can't stop! Repetition will improve your knowledge and skill! :)
 
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