On This Day in Aviation History

On This Day in Aviation History

1877 – Birth of Karl Illner, Austrian aviation pioneer.

1917 – Death of Thomas “Tom” Wesley Benoist, American aviation pioneer who started the first scheduled aircraft service and founded Benoist Aircraft Co.

1919 – To protest against the fact pilots have to parade on foot at the World War I victory parade on the Champs-Elysées in Paris, French pilot Charles Godefroy flies his Nieuport fighter under the arches of the Arc de Triomphe.

1948 – Royal Air Force de Havilland Vampire F3s become the first jet aircraft to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. Six aircraft go via Stornoway, Iceland, and Labrador to Montreal on the first leg of a goodwill tour of Canada and the U.S. where they give several formation aerobatic displays.

1971 – First flight of the VFW-Fokker 614 (shown), a twin-engined jetliner designed and built in West Germany.

2013 – Pakistan Air Force jets bomb at least seven Islamist militant hideouts in Pakistan, killing at least 17 insurgents and injuring at least 13.

Updated: May 1, 2018 — 2:23 PM
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