Civilian Archives - Page 63 of 175

On This Day in Aviation History

1894 – Birth of Frederick Joseph Cunninghame, British World War I flying ace. 1911 – Yoshitoshi Tokugawa sets a Japanese record with a Blériot, flying 48 miles in less than 70 minutes. 1918 – Lt. Paul Baer of the U.S. Army Air Service shoots down his fifth aircraft, becoming the first ace of the American […]

Nieuport 11 Replica Shines at Iowa Museum

When people get ready to retire, it’s not unusual for some of them to pick up a new hobby. Some golf, some fish, but few build an actual airplane. Bob Heath of Whiting, Iowa, decided to build a replica airplane, and the idea for it all came from a conversation with his friend. “Hank Bater […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1897 – Birth of Cyril William Gladman, British World War I flying ace. 1912 – Denys Corbett Wilson makes a 100-minute flight from Goodwick, England, to Enniscorthy, Ireland. 1939 – First flight of the Lockheed Vega Starliner, a low-wing light plane with retractable landing gear and a pair of inline engines turning a single propeller. […]

Boeing X-37B Nearing 500 Days in Space

The U.S. Air Force’s mysterious robotic Boeing X-37B space plane is sailing toward the 500-day mark in Earth orbit on a secret military mission. The X-37B space plane presently in orbit is carrying out the Orbital Test Vehicle 3 (OTV-3) mission, a classified spaceflight that marks the third long-duration flight for the unmanned Air Force space flight program. […]

Valiant Air Command Debuts A-4C Skyhawk

Another historic plane is now on display at Brevard County’s Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum in Florida after more than seven years of restoration. Windy conditions kept the Douglas A-4C Skyhawk from taking to the skies over Titusville Thursday for a training flight. The Vietnam-era Navy attack jet was hit during the war and the pilot was able […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1894 – Birth of Jacques Michael Swaab, American World War I flying ace; he later worked in the Hollywood film industry and was the technical advisor on “The Dawn Patrol.” 1928 – Sir (George) Hubert Wilkins and his pilot Carl Ben Eielson complete the first ever crossing of the Arctic by airplane from Point Barrow, […]

C-130 Fire Tanker Moves to Reno

Airport officials welcomed the inaugural flight of the Coulson C-130, a firefighting airtanker to Reno, Nev. The Coulson Group, an aviation business with operations in California, is relocating to Reno and Friday, airport officials greeted the first arriving flight of the white and red Coulson C-130 to the Atlantic Aviation Hangar on Rock Blvd. The […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1895 – Birth of Spencer Bertram Horn, British World War I flying ace. 1917 – William E. Boeing’s Pacific Aero Products Co. is renamed the Boeing Airplane Co. 1944 – First flight of the Ilyushin Il-10 (shown), a Soviet single-engine ground attack aircraft. 1956 – Death of James Floyd Smith, early American aviator, aircraft designer […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1890 – Birth of Victor S. Chapman, French-American World War I pilot and the first American pilot to die in that conflict. 1920 – Death of Walter Alfred Southey, British World War I fighter ace. 1942 – Twelve Avro Lancaster bombers – six each from No. 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron and No. 97 Squadron – carry […]

Replica Caproni CA.3 Makes Test Flight

The Caproni Ca.3R has flown! Although technically speaking, it just made a short hop to test the response of the flight controls and engine behavior, this is a major milestone on the road to the real flight tests, which will surely take place soon. As WarbirdsNews reported last year, Giancarlo Zanardo has been building the replica WWI-era, […]