Civilian Archives - Page 33 of 175

On This Day in Aviation History

1897 – Birth of Elsa Andersson, Sweden’s first female aviator and stunt parachutist. 1910 – Frenchman Louis Paulhan takes off his Farman III in the London to Manchester air race, marking the first long-distance aeroplane race in England, the first take-off of a heavier-than-air machine at night, and the first powered flight into Manchester from […]

Graceland to Keep Jets

The Lisa Marie and the Hound Dog II aren’t going anywhere. After a nearly year-long fracas over the future of Elvis’ old airplanes left The King’s fans all shook up, Graceland officials in Memphis, Tenn., announced Sunday that they were buying the planes. And that the jets would stay right where they are. Lisa Marie […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1898 – Birth of René Leduc, French engineer and aircraft designer who becomes acclaimed for his work on ramjets. 1917 – Lt. Col. William “Billy” Mitchell becomes the first U. S. Army officer to fly over German lines. 1946 – First flight of the Yakovlev Yak-15 (shown), a first-generation Soviet turbojet fighter. 1984 – Death of Philip Fletcher Fullard, British World War I […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1908 – Birth of Charles “Chuck” L. Sharp, Jr., who led CNAC (China National Aviation Corp.) through turbulent times in China, Burma and India. 1924 – First flight of the Stout 2-AT “Pullman” (shown), an American single-engine, all-metal monoplane designed to haul passengers and cargo. 1941 – German Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers sink the […]

Texas CAF Squadron Gets Reliant

The Commemorative Air Force’s Coyote Squadron in Corsicana, Texas, has recently added a former Royal Navy Stinson Reliant Mk.I to its small fleet, having acquired it from another CAF squadron in North Carolina. The aircraft, bearing its original Royal Navy serial number, FB605 is essentially an uprated version of the Stinson AT-19/UC-81 which served in the US military […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1928 – Sir (George) Hubert Wilkins and pilot Carl Ben Eielson complete the first-ever crossing of the Arctic by airplane from Point Barrow, Alaska, to Spitsbergen, Norway, in their Lockheed Vega. 1933 – First flight of the U.S.S. Macon (shown), an American rigid airship built and operated by the U.S. Navy for scouting and capable […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1891 – Birth of Charles Humphrey Kingsman, British naval aviator during World War I and a senior commander in the Royal Air Force during World War II. He later makes the first aerial torpedo attack on a ship. 1936 – Vladimir Konstantinovich Kokkinaki performs the Nesterov Loop for the first time with a twin-engine aircraft, […]

F-100, F-35 to Star at Oshkosh

By Elaine Kauh, AVweb.com A supersonic warbird and a new fighter jet will make their debuts in the military lineup at EAA’s AirVenture in July. Dean “Cutter” Cutshall of Indiana will show his North American F-100F Super Sabre, the first U.S. Air Force fighter plane capable of supersonic level flight, EAA said. It was the first […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1898 – Birth of Johannes Jensen, German World War I flying ace. 1934 – First flight of the de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide (shown), a British short-haul biplane airliner. 1944 – Royal Canadian Air Force Flying Officer T.C. Cooke and his crew, in a Consolidated Canso A of No. 162 RCAF Squadron, sink German submarine U-342 southwest of […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1891 – Birth of Geoffrey Herbert Hooper, Australian World War I flying ace who served in the Royal Air Force until halfway through World War II. 1936 – Aer Lingus, the flag carrier of Ireland, is founded. 1945 – An Avro Lancaster on a night mission against Potsdam becomes the last British bomber shot down […]