On This Day in Aviation History

On This Day in Aviation History

1898 – Birth of Hubert Cecil Hunt, British World War I flying ace.

1928 – Juan de la Cierva makes the first rotorcraft crossing of the English Channel with his autogyro Cierva C.8L, from Croydon, England, to Le Bourget, France.

1948 – First flight of the Convair XF-92, the first American delta-wing prototype jet aircraft conceived as a point-defense interceptor.

1959 – The Douglas DC-8 airliner (shown) is introduced with Delta Air Lines and United Air Lines.

1982 – Death of Ion Milu, Romanian World War II fighter ace, instructor, aerobatic pilot and test pilot; he was the third most successful Romanian ace.

2008 – A Boeing CH-47 Chinook en route to Balad from Kuwait crashes 62 miles west of Basrah International Airport, killing seven U.S. soldiers.

Updated: September 18, 2014 — 1:00 PM
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