Civilian

1886 – Birth of Dean Ivan Lamb, American pilot, hired as a mercenary during the Mexican Revolution who made what was quite possibly the first dogfight in history (pilots firing pistols at each other) against Phil Rader. He also helped to establish the Honduran Air Force. 1912 – Henry Harley “Hap” Arnold, future General of the U.S. […]

1909 – First flight of the Blériot XI, light and sleek monoplane constructed of oak and poplar. The flying surfaces were covered with cloth. One of the most successful monoplanes designed and built before WWI. 1929 – Clennell Haggerston “Punch” Dickins delivered the first airmail to Canada’s Northwest Territories on a flight into the high Arctic, travelling through […]

1907 – Douglas Corrigan, an American pilot later known as “Wrong Way” for his New York-Ireland flight in a Curtiss Robin, is born. 1926 – Spanish Dornier Do J Wal flying boat “Plus Ultra” takes off from Palos de la Frontera, in Huelva, Spain, to Buenos Aires, Argentina, for the first trans-Atlantic flight between Spain and South America. 1943 – Death […]

1903 – Birth of Maximilien “Max” Conrad, known as the “Flying Grandfather”, American record-setting aviator. 1911 – U.S. Army Lt. Col. Paul Ward Beck sends the first wireless-telephonic message from an airplane, a Wright biplane flying over Selfridge Field northeast of Detroit, Mich. 1930 – First complete airport lighting system online at Calgary Municipal Airport in Refrew, Alta., […]