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The Aviation Portal

A Boeing 747 in 1978 operated by Pan Am

Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. Aircraft includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as hot air balloons and airships.

Aviation began in the 18th century with the development of the hot air balloon, an apparatus capable of atmospheric displacement through buoyancy. Clément Ader built the "Ader Éole" in France and made an uncontrolled, powered hop in 1890. This is the first powered aircraft, although it did not achieve controlled flight. Some of the most significant advancements in aviation technology came with the controlled gliding flying of Otto Lilienthal in 1896; then a large step in significance came with the construction of the first powered airplane by the Wright brothers in the early 1900s. Since that time, aviation has been technologically revolutionized by the introduction of the jet which permitted a major form of transport throughout the world. (Full article...)

Selected article

CG render of McDonnell Douglas MD-11 HB-IWF
CG render of McDonnell Douglas MD-11 HB-IWF
Swissair Flight 111 was a Swissair McDonnell Douglas MD-11 on a scheduled airline flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, United States to Cointrin International Airport in Geneva, Switzerland. This flight was also a codeshare flight with Delta Air Lines. On Wednesday, 2 September 1998, the aircraft used for the flight, registered HB-IWF, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean southwest of Halifax International Airport at the entrance to St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia. The crash site was 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from shore, roughly equidistant from the tiny fishing and tourist communities of Peggys Cove and Bayswater. All 229 people on board died—the highest death toll of any aviation accident involving a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 and the second-highest of any air disaster in the history of Canada, after Arrow Air Flight 1285. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada's (TSB) official report of their investigation stated that flammable material used in the aircraft's structure allowed a fire to spread beyond the control of the crew, resulting in a loss of control and the crash of the aircraft. Swissair Flight 111 was known as the "U.N. shuttle" due to its popularity with United Nations officials; the flight often carried business executives, scientists, and researchers. (Full article...)

Selected image

Credit: Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Jonathan Chandler, U.S. Navy
An F/A-18C Hornet, assigned to the "Golden Dragons" of Strike Fighter Squadron One Nine Two (VFA-192), launches from the flight deck of the conventionally powered aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63). Kitty Hawk and embarked Carrier Air Wing Five (CVW-5) are currently returning to their homeport after a scheduled deployment in the 7th Fleet area of responsibility.

Did you know

...that the Fairey Seafox was a Second World War reconnaissance floatplane of the Fleet Air Arm? ...that the crash of Crossair Flight LX498 was initially attributed to cell phone use, and led to bans of cell phones in airplanes in several countries? ... that Walter Borchers was one of three brothers, all three received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II?

More Did you know facts

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The following are images from various aviation-related articles on Wikipedia.

In the news

Wikinews Aviation portal
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Associated Wikimedia

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Selected biography

Neil Armstrong
Neil Armstrong (born August 5, 1930) is a former American astronaut, test pilot, university professor, and United States Naval Aviator. He was the first person to set foot on the Moon. His first spaceflight was aboard Gemini 8 in 1966, for which he was the command pilot. On this mission, he performed the first manned docking of two spacecraft together with pilot David Scott. Armstrong's second and last spaceflight was as mission commander of the Apollo 11 moon landing mission on July 20, 1969. On this mission, Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin descended to the lunar surface and spent 2.5 hours exploring while Michael Collins orbited. Armstrong is a recipient of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.

Before becoming an astronaut, Armstrong was in the United States Navy and saw action in the Korean War. After the war, he served as a test pilot at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) High-Speed Flight Station, now known as the Dryden Flight Research Center, where he flew over 900 flights in a variety of aircraft. As a research pilot, Armstrong served as project pilot on the F-100 Super Sabre A and C aircraft, F-101 Voodoo, and the Lockheed F-104A Starfighter. He also flew the Bell X-1B, Bell X-5, North American X-15, F-105 Thunderchief, F-106 Delta Dart, B-47 Stratojet, KC-135 Stratotanker and Paresev. He graduated from Purdue University.

Selected Aircraft

An A400M flying
An A400M flying

The Airbus A400M Atlas is a four-engine turboprop aircraft, designed by Airbus Military (now Airbus Defence and Space) to meet the demand of European nations for military airlift. Since its formal launch, the aircraft has also been ordered by Malaysia, Kazakhstan and Indonesia.

The A400M is assembled at the Seville plant of Airbus Military. The first test flight occurred in December 2009.

  • Span: 42.4 m (139 ft 1 in)
  • Length: 45.1 m (148 ft)
  • Height: 14.7 m (48 ft 3 in)
  • Engines: 4 EPI TP400-D6 (8,250 kW power)
  • Cruising Speed: 780 km/h (480 mph, 420 knots)
  • First Flight: 11 December 2009
  • Number built: 119 as of 31 August 2023
More selected aircraft Read more...

Today in Aviation

February 9

  • 2010 – A Bell AH-1 Cobra gunship helicopter of the Pakistan Air Force crashed in the Teera Valley in Pakistan's Khyber tribal area near the Afghanistan's border. Both the pilot and gunner lost their lives in the incident.
  • 2009 – A Royal Air Force BAE Systems Harrier T.10 (ZH656) on a routine training exercise from No. 20 Squadron (R) Operational conversion unit based at RAF Wittering crashes on the runway at Royal Air Force Station Akrotiri, Cyprus. The 2 crew ejected safely from the aircraft which was damaged in a fire.
  • 2009 – A leased Pilatus U-28A, 06-0692, with three personnel of the 319th Special Operations Squadron, 1st Special Operations Wing on board, based at Hurlburt Field, Florida, makes a gear-up landing at Craig Field (Alabama) at Selma, Alabama (formerly Craig Air Force Base), whilst performing simulated engine failure approach, breaking off nosewheel and causing severe damage to nosewheel strut assembly, propeller and main undercarriage doors. A board of officers will investigate the 1415 hrs. incident in which there were no injuries. This accident has been classified as a Class A accident, indicating that fairly substantial damage was incurred. Aircraft repaired and reported flying again by 29 April 2009.
  • 2006 – Andrew Keech sets 3 world records for autogyros: Speed over a closed circuit of 500 km (311 mi) without payload: 168.29 km/h (104.57 mph), speed over a closed circuit of 1,000 km (621 mi) without payload: 165.07 km/h (102.57 mph), and distance over a closed circuit without landing: 1,019.09 km (633.23 mi).
  • 2006 – Death of Sir Frederick Alfred Laker, British airline entrepreneur, best known for founding Laker Airways.
  • 2005 – (9-13) Aero-India show in Bangalore, India.
  • 2004 – Death of Janusz Zurakowski, renowned Polish WWII fighter and test pilot.
  • 1996 – Death of Adolf “Dolfo” Joseph Ferdinand Galland, German Luftwaffe General and flying ace who served throughout WWII in Europe.
  • 1995 – Space Shuttle astronauts Bernard A. Harris, Jr. and Michael Foale become the first African American and first Briton, respectively, to perform spacewalks during the Space Shuttle Columbia STS-55 mission.
  • 1995 – 9-12 – Heavy fighting continues between Peru and Ecuador. Peruvian and Ecuadorian air forces step up their activities.
  • 1993 – Death of Elwood Richard “Pete” Quesada, CB, CBE, USAF General, FAA administrator and also a raid pilot.
  • 1991 – A U. S. Navy A-6E badly damages an Iraqi Zhuk-class patrol boat with a Rockeye cluster bomb.
  • 1989 – Entered Service: Boeing 747-400 with Northwest Airlines.
  • 1985 – An armed USAF Fairchild-Republic A-10A Thunderbolt II, 78-0723, crashed into a cliff in Oak Creek Canyon just north of Sedona, Arizona during a morning rainstorm. A military demolitions crew was sent in to recover unexploded munitions and the canyon was closed to traffic for several days. The lone pilot, attached to the 354th Tactical Fighter Wing at Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, South Carolina, was killed.
  • 1982 – Japan Airlines Flight 350, a Douglas DC-8-61, crashes on approach to Tokyo International Airport (Haneda); of the 166 passengers and 8 crew, 24 passengers are killed.
  • 1978 – Launch of FLTSATCOM 1, American satellite communication system of the U. S. Navy used for UHF radio communications between ships, submarines, airplanes and ground stations of the U. S. Navy.
  • 1977 – Death of Sergey Vladimirovich Ilyushin, Soviet aircraft designer who founded the Ilyushin aircraft design bureau.
  • 1975 – Death of Fritz Wendel, German Messerschmitt test pilot during WWII.
  • 1975 – Soyuz 17 returns to earth after setting a Soviet mission-duration record of 29 days on a trip to the Salyut 4 space station.
  • 1975 – A Luftwaffe Transall C-160D, 50+63, c/n D-85, one of three en route from Hohn Air Base, West Germany, to Chanea-Souda Airport, Crete, Greece, strikes 5,000-foot Mount Koukoules in a snow storm, killing all 42 on board.
  • 1974 – A USAF North American T-39A Sabreliner, 60-3506, returning to McClellan AFB, California collides with a USAF Boeing NKC-135A Stratotanker at 23,000 feet, over Peterson Field, Colorado, killing all seven on board the T-39. The Sabreliner had experienced landing gear trouble, rendezvoused with the NKC-135 for a look-over, accidentally striking the rear fuselage and fin of the Boeing. The NKC-135, en route from Seattle, Washington, to Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, lands safely.
  • 1974 – Two USAF Republic F-105 Thunderchiefs of the 457th TFTW (TH tailcode), Carswell AFB, Texas, suffer mid-air collision, downing one aircraft ~1 mile from Holliday, Texas, with the pilot ejecting, suffering broken right leg on landing, recovered by helicopter. Second F-105 recovers to Carswell despite damage, pilot uninjured. 1st Lt. Hayes C. Kirby in F-105D-10-RE, 60-5375, had a violent pitch up and roll in the aircraft and hit his leader in F-105D-10-RE, 60-0513. Ejected in a flat spin. Leader landed okay.
  • 1972 – First flight of the Boeing E-3 Sentry (EC-137D), an American airborne warning and control system (AWACS) prototype derived from the Boeing 707 which will lead to the final version of the E-3 Sentry.
  • 1971 – Apollo 14 returns to earth following the third manned Moon mission.
  • 1969 – First flight of the Boeing 747 “Jumbo Jet” airliner takes place in Seattle, Washington. The wide-bodied, long-range transport is capable of carrying 347 passengers, and is the largest aircraft in commercial airline service in the world.
  • 1963 – First flight of the Boeing 727, an American mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner.
  • 1960 – Birth of Peggy Annette Whitson, American biochemistry researcher, NASA astronaut and NASA’s Chief Astronaut.
  • 1959 – The R-7 Semyorka (NATO name SS-6 Sapwood) becomes the world’s first operational intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at Plesetsk, USSR.
  • 1954 – Birth of Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hans Walter, German physicist/engineer and a former DFVLR astronaut.
  • 1945 – Balloon bombs launched by Japan were found near Moose Jaw, Sask.
  • 1945 – In an event that would later be known as “Black Friday, ” a large force of 46 Allied Bristol Beaufighter, North American P-51 Mustang and Warwick aircraft suffers heavy casualties over the coast of Norway during an unsuccessful attack on German destroyer Z33 and its escorting vessels. Only 37 planes would return to base, with 14 airmen killed in action and four taken as POWs, while four Luftwaffe Focke-Wulf Fw 190 s would be shot down, killing only two pilots and seven sailors.
  • 1943 – Death of Sahei Yamashita, Japanese WWII fighter ace, killed in action.
  • 1937 – First flight of the Blackburn Skua, a British carrier-based low-wing, two-seater, single-radial engine aircraft operated by the British Fleet Air Arm which combined the functions of a dive bomber and fighter..
  • 1936 – Tommy Rose lands at Wingfield Aerodrome in Cape Town, South Africa, after a record flight from England of 3 days 17 hours 38 min.
  • 1934 – Douglas O-35 s and B-7 s are flown by the Army Air Corps after President Roosevelt cancels commercial airmail contracts.
  • 1933 – Jim Mollison lands his de Havilland Puss Moth in Natal, Brazil. He flew from Lympne via Senegal, across South Atlantic, becoming the first person to fly solo across the North and South Atlantics.
  • 1914 – U.S. Army Lt. Henry Post exceeds his previous altitude records by reaching 12,140 feet. During descent, the Wright Model C, Signal Corps 10, aircraft sustained damage (wing collapsed) and crashed into San Diego Bay, killing Lt. Post. On 24 February, due to a large number of accidents and deaths, an Army board at the Signal Corps, Aviation School, San Diego, condemned all pusher airplanes. This recommendation basically condemned all Wright aircraft, which were all pushers.
  • 1914 – Death of Henry Burnet Post, American pioneer aviator, when the right wing of his hydro-aeroplane crumpled in San Diego Bay.
  • 1910 – Birth of Dan Vizanti, Romanian WWII fighter ace.
  • 1907 – Birth of Charles Alfred ‘Chief’ Anderson, known as ‘the father of Black Aviation’, first African American to earn a transport, or commercial, pilot’s license, raid pilot and instructor for the Tuskegee airmen in WWII.
  • 1899 – Birth of John Arthur Aldridge, British WWI flying ace who also served with the Air Training Corps in WWII.
  • 1897 – Charles Kingsford Smith, Australian pilot, was born (d. 1935). Sir Charles Edward Kingsford “Smithy” Smith made the first trans-Pacific flight from the United States to Australia. He also made the first non-stop crossing of the Australian mainland, the first flights between Australia and New Zealand, and the first eastward Pacific crossing from Australia to the United States.
  • 1895 – Birth of Stanley Cockerell, British WWI flying ace and test pilot for Vickers.
  • 1895 – Birth of Max Valier, Austrian rocketry pioneer.
  • 1894 – Birth of Alexandre Paul Leon Madeleine Marty, French WWI flying ace.
  • 1894 – Birth of Helmut Dilthey, German WWI flying ace.
  • 1875 – Birth of Modesto Panetti, Italian Aeronautical Engineer and politician.
  • 1861 – Birth of Rudolf Max Wilhelm Hans Bartsch von Sigsfeld, German airship designer and pilot.

References

Edit today's anniversaries – February Archive – All anniversaries...


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