Today in Aviation History - December

ausrere

ausrere

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December 1

In 1783... J. A. C. Charles and another man make the first trip in a hydrogen balloon, flying 27 miles from Paris to Nesle, France. After landing, Charles goes up again by himself, achieving the first solo balloon flight.

In 1925... The Boeing Airplane Co. delivers the first of 10 FB-1s to the Navy. This one-seat land biplane is the Navy version of the Army PW-9 fighter. The last will be delivered Dec. 22.

In 1934... The first airway traffic control center is opened in Newark, N.J., operated by staff of Eastern Air Lines, United Air Lines, American Airlines and TWA.

In 1969... The first legislation to limit aircraft noise levels at airports is introduced in U.S. Federal Air Regulation, Part 36.

In 1974... TWA Flight 514, a Boeing 727, crashes northwest of Dulles International Airport killing all 92 people on-board.

In 2001... Trans World Airlines flies its last flight, after being bought by American Airlines.
 
December 2

In 1937... The Boeing XB-15 is delivered to the Army. It will set several records, including a climb to 8,200 feet with a 31,205-pound load. In 1939 it will carry relief supplies to victims of an earthquake in Chile.

In 1976... The Boeing 747 SCA, an ex-American Airlines airliner which has been adapted to carry the US reusable space shuttle, makes its flight.

In 1986... A Concorde airliner carrying 94 passengers returns to Charles de Gaulle airport after an 18-day round-the-world journey; total flying time amounted to 31 hours 51 minutes.
 
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December 3

In 1945... A de Havilland Sea Vampire fighter becomes the first purely jet-powered airplane to operate from an aircraft carrier, when Lieutenant-Commander E. M. “Winkle” Brown lands his aircraft on the HMS Ocean in England.

In 1958... An aircraft exchange, which will function like the stock markets and commodity exchanges, opens in New York.

In 1990... At Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Northwest Airlines Flight 1482 collides with Northwest Airlines Flight 299 on the runway, killing 8 passengers and 4 crew members aboard flight 1482.

In 2004... The 500th 777 is rolled out. The 777 will reach 500 airplanes delivered faster than any other twin-aisle airplane in history.
 
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December 4


In 1908... The Englishman J.T.C. Moore-Brabazon (later Lord Tara of Brabazon) makes a flight of 1,350 ft. in a Voisin biplane at Issy-les-Moulineaux in France. He becomes one of the guiding lights of early British aviation and is issued the first British pilot’s license, then called an aviator’s certificate.

In 1912... Pappy Boyington, American pilot, is born (d. 1988). Colonel Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, USMC, was an American fighter ace. He commanded the famous U.S. Marine Corps squadron, VMF-214 ("The Black Sheep Squadron") during World War II. Boyington became a prisoner of war later in the war. He was awarded the Navy Cross and the Medal of Honor.

In 1945... Roberta Bondar, Canadian astronaut, was born. Roberta Lynn Bondar, PhD, DSc, MD, is Canada's first woman astronaut and the world's first neurologist in space.
 
ausrere said:
In 1908... The Englishman J.T.C. Moore-Brabazon (later Lord Tara of Brabazon) makes a flight of 1,350 ft. in a Voisin biplane at Issy-les-Moulineaux in France. He becomes one of the guiding lights of early British aviation and is issued the first British pilot’s license, then called an aviator’s certificate.
Click to expand...
EdFred will probably be able to sleep sounder tonight knowing that consistency in nomenclature :D;)
 
ausrere said:
December 4


In 1908... The Englishman J.T.C. Moore-Brabazon (later Lord Tara of Brabazon) makes a flight of 1,350 ft. in a Voisin biplane at Issy-les-Moulineaux in France. He becomes one of the guiding lights of early British aviation and is issued the first British pilot’s license, then called an aviator’s certificate.

In 1912... Pappy Boyington, American pilot, is born (d. 1988). Colonel Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, USMC, was an American fighter ace. He commanded the famous U.S. Marine Corps squadron, VMF-214 ("The Black Sheep Squadron") during World War II. Boyington became a prisoner of war later in the war. He was awarded the Navy Cross and the Medal of Honor.

In 1945... Roberta Bondar, Canadian astronaut, was born. Roberta Lynn Bondar, PhD, DSc, MD, is Canada's first woman astronaut and the world's first neurologist in space.
Click to expand...

1965... Borman and Lovell launch in Gemini 7
 
December 5


In 1909... George Taylor makes the first manned glider flight in Australia in a glider of his own design. He eventually makes a total of 29 flights at Narrabeen Beach in New South Wales.

In 1921... Western Australia Airways opens the first scheduled regular airline service in the country.

In 1924... Boeing delivers the first of 41 NB-1s to the Navy.

In 1945... Five U.S. Navy Avenger torpedo-bombers comprising Flight 19 take off from the Ft. Lauderdale Naval Air Station in Florida on a routine three-hour training mission. Flight 19 was scheduled to take them due east for 120 miles, north for 73 miles, and then back over a final 120-mile leg that would return them to the naval base. They never returned, and subsequently became one of the most well know craft disappearances in an area called the Bermuda Triangle.

In 1945... First flight of the Douglas C-74 Globemaster I.
 
ausrere said:
December 5
In 1945... Five U.S. Navy Avenger torpedo-bombers comprising Flight 19 take off from the Ft. Lauderdale Naval Air Station in Florida on a routine three-hour training mission. Flight 19 was scheduled to take them due east for 120 miles, north for 73 miles, and then back over a final 120-mile leg that would return them to the naval base. They never returned, and subsequently became one of the most well know craft disappearances in an area called the Bermuda Triangle.
Click to expand...
What no mention of the UFO that took them??!!!:D:D
 
December 6

In 1928... North American Aviation Inc. is formed as a holding company in Delaware.

In 1960... The first flight of the Sikorsky S-61L helicopter is made in the United States. It serves as a transport craft as well as patrol, rescue, and even anti-submarine duty.

In 1975... The first airmail flight by a supersonic aircraft is made by the Tupolev Tu-144, carrying mail between Moscow and Alma Ata, within the U.S.S.R.

In 1989... The prototype of the Boeing MH-47E Chinook special operations helicopter rolls out.

In 1997... A Russian Antonov An-124 transport cargo plane crashes into an apartment complex near Irkutsk, Siberia, killing 67.
 
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December 7

In 1941... World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbor - The Imperial Japanese Navy attacks the US Pacific Fleet and its defending Army Air Forces and Marine air forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

In 1945... New Zealand National Airways Corporation is founded with amalgamation of Union Airways, Air Travel and Cook Strait Airways.

In 1972... Apollo 17, the last Apollo moon mission, is launched. The crew take the photograph known as "The Blue Marble" as they leave the Earth.

In 1980... Pan Am’s Boeing 747 China Clipper arrives in Peking from New York via Tokyo to complete the first official flight between China and USA since shortly before 1949.

In 1983... An Iberia Airlines Boeing 727 collides with an Aviaco DC-9 in intense fog while the two airliners are taxiing down the runway at Madrid Barajas International Airport, killing 93 people.

In 1987... Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771 crashes near Paso Robles, California, killing all 43 on board, after a disgruntled passenger shoots his ex-boss traveling on the flight, then shoots both pilots and himself.
 
ausrere said:
December 7
In 1987... Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771 crashes near Paso Robles, California, killing all 43 on board, after a disgruntled passenger shoots his ex-boss traveling on the flight, then shoots both pilots and himself.
Click to expand...
How did he get the gun on the aircraft? In 1987 they had the metal detectors at the terminal entrances.
 
December 8


In 1938... Germany officially launches its first aircraft carrier, the 280-foot by 89-foot Graf Zeppelin.

In 1940... The New York City experiences its first blackout and anti-aircraft exercise, around the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

In 1941... Randall "Duke" Cunningham, US Navy fighter pilot and Congressman, was born.

In 1964... A United Lines Caravelle makes the first landing in the USA completely controlled by computer (automatic touchdown).

In 1965... The Douglas DC-9 makes its first in-service airline flight for Delta Airlines.

In 1972... United Airlines Flight 553 crashes near Chicago Midway Airport, killing 45 people.
 
December 9

In 1904... The Wright brothers discontinue trials with Flyer II after completing 105 tests and 80 brief flights since they began flying the new machine in May.

In 1909... American Dr. Henry W. Walden makes the first flight with his triplane known as the Walden III. It is powered by a three-cylinder, 22-HP Anzani engine and takes off from Mineola, Long Island, N.Y.

In 1999... he last Classic 737 is rolled off the Renton, Wash., assembly line, ending a production run of 1,988 airplanes.
 
December 10

In 1919... Capts. Ross Smith and Keith Smith become the first Australians to fly directly between Great Britain and Australia, a distance of 11,340 mi., after flying 135 hr. 55 min. at an average speed of 83 MPH.

In 1941... A Douglas Navy Dauntless is the first U.S. bomber to sink an enemy ship after the United States enters World War II.

In 1941... Colin Kelly, American pilot, died (b. 1915). Kelly was a World War II B-17 Flying Fortress pilot who flew bombing runs against the Japanese navy in the first days after the Pearl Harbor attack. He is remembered as a war hero for sacrificing his own life to save his crew when his plane became the first American B-17 to be shot down in combat. Colin Kelly has been called the first American hero of the Second World War.

In 1963... The United States Air Force's X-20 Dyna-Soar spaceplane program is cancelled by Robert McNamara.

In 1967... Singer Otis Redding, 26, and six others were killed in the crash of their plane in Lake Monona, Wis.
 
ausrere said:
December 10
In 1967... Singer Otis Redding, 26, and six others were killed in the crash of their plane in Lake Monona, Wis.
Click to expand...
That is Madison, WI BTW.

This is the terrace that marks the accident
otis.jpg


And this is the plaque

otis2.jpg
 
December 11


In 1917... Katherine Stinson flies 606 miles from San Diego to San Francisco, setting a new American non-stop distance record.

In 1986... The McDonnell Douglas F-15E dual-role fighter version of the Eagle makes its first flight.

In 1998... A Thai Airways Airbus A310-200 crashes near Surat Thani Airport, killing 101.

In 2000... A MV-22 Osprey crashed near Jacksonville, NC, killing all four Marines on board.
 
December 12

In 1941... World War II: USMC F4F "Wildcats" sink the first 4 major Japanese ships off Wake Island.

In 1941... World War II: Fifty four Japanese A6M Zero fighters raid Batangas Field, Philippines. Jesus Villamor and four Filipino fighter pilots fend them off; Cesar Basa is killed.

In 1953... Mach 2.5 (2 ½ times the speed of sound) is achieved for the first time by Major Charles “Chuck” Yeager in the Bell X-1A. The rocket-propelled experimental aircraft reaches 1,650 mph at 70,000 feet.

In 1957... In "Operation Firewall" a McDonnell-built Air Force F-101 Voodoo becomes the fastest operational jet fighter in the world when it establishes a world speed record of 1,207 mph.

In 1985... Arrow Air Flight 1285 crashes after takeoff in Gander, Newfoundland killing 256, including 248 members of the United States Army's 101st Airborne Division.

In 1994... Stuart Roosa, American astronaut, died (b. 1933). Roosa was a NASA astronaut, who was the command module pilot for the Apollo 14 mission. Throughout his career, Roosa logged more than 5,500 hours of flying time (5,000 hours in jets) and 217 hours in space.
 
ausrere said:
December 10
In 1967... Singer Otis Redding, 26, and six others were killed in the crash of their plane in Lake Monona, Wis.
Click to expand...

I remember his funeral quite well. I grew up in Macon, Georgia, and he is buried there. I had never seen so many Cadillacs in one place in my life. Probably still haven't. I go over the "Otis Redding Memorial Bridge" nearly every time I'm there.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=2205
 
December 13

In 1918... The first flight from England to India is made by A.S. MacLaren, Halley, and McEwen in Handley Page V-1500 four-engined bomber.

In 1943... North American's P-51B Mustangs accompany 651 heavy bombers to U-boat pens at Kiel, Germany. Three days later a Mustang downs a German fighter for the first time.

In 1972... Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt begin the third and final Extra-vehicular activity (EVA) or "Moonwalk" of Apollo 17. This was the last manned mission to the moon of the 20th century.

In 1977... A DC-3 aircraft chartered from the Indianapolis-based National Jet crashes near Evansville Regional Airport, killing 29, including the University of Evansville basketball team, support staff and boosters of the team.
 
December 14

In 1782... The Montgolfier brothers first balloon lifts on its first test flight.

In 1903... Wilbur Wright makes the first and unsuccessful attempt at powered flight at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. His aircraft stalls after 3 ½ seconds in the air and crash-lands 105 feet away.

In 1965... A Learjet 23 executive transport shows off its impressive capabilities by climbing to 40,000 feet in 7 minutes 21 seconds with seven people aboard.

In 1972... Apollo program: Eugene Cernan is the last person to walk on the moon, after he and Harrison Schmitt complete the third and final Extra-vehicular activity (EVA) of Apollo 17. This was the last manned mission to the moon of the 20th century.
 
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December 15

In 1920... The first of a number of flying schools to train reserve pilots for the military opens at Orly, south of Paris.

In 1940... In 1944, a single-engine plane carrying bandleader Glenn Miller, who was a major in the U.S. Army Air Forces, disappeared over the English Channel while en route to Paris.

In 1965... Gemini program: Gemini 6A, crewed by Wally Schirra and Thomas Stafford, is launched from Cape Kennedy, Florida. Four orbits later, it achieved the first space rendezvous with Gemini 7.

In 1970... Artem Mikoyan, founder of the dynasty of MiG fighters, dies.

In 1997... A chartered Tupolev TU-154 from Tajikistan crashes in the desert near Sharja, United Arab Emirates airport killing 85.

In 2005... Introduction of the F-22 Raptor into USAF active service.

In 2006... First flight of the F-35 Lightning II.
 
December 16

In 1910... During a ground test of his Coandă-1910 plane, Henri Coandă, caught unaware by the power of the engine, finds himself briefly airborne and loses control of the machine which crashes to the ground.

In 1951... The first helicopter powered by a gas-turbine engine flies successfully. The Kaman K-225 uses a turbine that makes for a lighter, simpler, more powerful engine compared to a conventional piston engine.

In 1960... While approaching New York's Idlewild Airport, a United Airlines Douglas DC-8 collides with a TWA Lockheed Super Constellation in a blinding snowstorm over Staten Island, killing 134.

In 1979... The British Airways Concorde lands in London after flying from New York in less than three hours (2 hours 58 minutes) at an average speed of 1,172 mph.

In 1980... Douglas Campbell, American pilot dies (b. 1896). Campbell was an American aviator and World War I flying ace. He was the first American aviator flying in an American unit to achieve the status of ace.

In 1991... First flight of first St. Louis-built T-45A Goshawk.
 
December 17

In 1903... Orville Wright makes the first sustained, controlled, powered flight in the Flyer airplane at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. The historic first flight lasts 12 seconds and covers 120 feet.

In 1935... First flight of the Douglas DC-3 airplane.

In 1947... Boeing test pilot Bob Robbins takes the XB-47 Stratojet on its first flight from Boeing Field, Seattle, to Larson Air Force Base at Moses Lake, Wash.

In 1954... The 1,000th Wichita-built Boeing B-47 is delivered to the Strategic Air Command.

In 1969... The USAF closes Project Blue Book, its 22-year investigation into sightings of unidentified flying objects, or UFOs.

In 1981... The first "no tail rotor" or NOTAR system-equipped helicopter, a Hughes-built OH-6A Cayuse.

In 1993... The first B-2 entered the Air Force's operational fleet at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo.

In 2003... SpaceShipOne flight 11P, piloted by Brian Binnie, makes the first privately-funded manned supersonic flight.
 
December 18

In 1912... French aviator Rolland Garros becomes the first pilot to bridge two countries in a single flight. He flies his Blériot monoplane from North Africa to Europe, half-way across the Mediterranean, 177mi.

In 1934... Boeing Airplane Co. subsidiary Stearman Aircraft, located in Wichita, Kan., delivers its first Kaydet to the military. It will become the most common preliminary trainer in service, and 10,346 Kaydets will be built during World War II.

In 1970... Airbus Industrie is formally established to develop the Airbus A300; it is comprised of Aérospatiale, Deutsche Airbus, Fokker and Hawker Siddeley.

In 1972... Boeing B-52s join the Vietnam conflict in operation "Linebacker II." After 11 days, peace negotiations will begin.

In 1982... Hans-Ulrich Rudel, German pilot, dies (b. 1916). Rudel was a Stuka dive-bomber pilot during World War II and is famous for being the most highly decorated German serviceman of the war. Hans-Ulrich Rudel was the only person to be awarded the Knight's Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds.

In 1992... The eight-place, twin-engine McDonnell Douglas Explorer helicopter makes its first flight.
 
December 19


In 1908... The world’s first aerodrome, Port-Aviation, is opened 12 miles outside of Paris.

In 1968... The Boeing Company receives its first order, from Israeli airline El Al, for a long-range version of the 747 Jumbo Jet.

In 1972... The last manned lunar flight, Apollo 17, crewed by Eugene Cernan, Ron Evans and Harrison Schmitt, returns to Earth.

In 1978... The first solar-powered aircraft, Solar One, makes a successful flight in England.
 
Dec. 20


1934: Bob Bement was born in Sherman N.Y. to Jack and Laura Bement.;)
 
December 20

In 1916... The US Army Balloon School is established in Fort Omaha, Nebraska.

In 1928... Australian George Wilkins and Lieutenant Carl Eielson make the first flight over Antarctica. They use a Lockheed Vega for the 10-hour flight.

In 1941... First battle of the American Volunteer Group, better known as the "Flying Tigers" in Kunming, China.

In 1952... United States Air Force C-124 crashes and burns in Moses Lake, Washington killing 87.

In 1957... First flight of the Boeing 707 commercial airliner.

In 1995... American Airlines Flight 965, a Boeing 757, crashes into a mountain 50 km north of Cali, Colombia killing 160.
 
December 21



In 1936... First flight of the Junkers JU-88 bomber prototype.

In 1960... The first major combat aircraft with variable geometry wings, the General Dynamics F-111, makes its first flight.

In 1968... Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon, is launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. At 2h:50m:37s Mission elapsed time (MES), the crew performs the first ever manned Trans Lunar Injection and become the first humans to leave Earth's gravity.

In 1970... The F-14 Tomcat flies for the first time.

In 1982... The last V-bomber squadron of Britain’s RAF, 44, is disbanded at Waddington, Lincolnshire.

In 1988... A bomb explodes on board Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, killing 270.

In 1992... A Dutch DC-10, flight Martinair MP 495, crashes at Faro Airport (Portugal), killing 56 people.
 
December 22

In 1930... The Tupolev ANT-6 heavy bomber makes its first flight in U.S.S.R.

In 1936... North American's NA-21 Dragon makes its first flight.

In 1945... Two Boeing C-97 Stratofreighters, on their first peacetime mission, carry 190 servicemen from Seattle to Chicago in time for Christmas.

In 1964... First SR-71 (Blackbird) flight.

In 1974... The Dassault Breguet Mirage F1-E makes its first flight, in the hands of Guy Mitaux-Maurourard.

In 2001... Richard Reid attempts to destroy a passenger airliner by igniting explosives hidden in his shoes aboard American Airlines Flight 63.
 
December 23


In 1907... The chief signals officer of the U.S. Army, Brig. Gen. James Allen, issues specification no. 486, the first military aircraft specification for which commercial tenders were invited. The specification is written around the capabilities of the Wright Flyer and, though published for bids to conform to army requirements, only the Wrights are expected to respond by the closing date of February 1, 1908.

In 1937... First flight of the Vickers Wellington bomber.

In 1940... The first U.S. all-cargo air service is inaugurated by United Air Lines when at 11:30 P.M. a flight leaves New York for Chicago, where it arrives at 3:40 A.M. local time the following morning after stopping in Cleveland.

In 1941... Douglas delivers the first C-47 Skytrain, a military transport version of its famous DC-3.

In 1946... The first production-model Boeing Stratofreighter rolls out.

In 1974... First flight of the B-1 Lancer Bomber.

In 1986... Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California becoming the first aircraft to fly non-stop around the world.

In 2002... A MQ-1 Predator is shot down by an Iraqi MiG-25, making it the first time in history that an aircraft and an unmanned drone had engaged in combat.

In 2005... Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 217 from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Aktau, Kazakhstan crashes shortly after takeoff killing 23 people.
 
December 24


In 1908... The world’s first aeronautical exhibition opens in Paris when the French president inaugurated the second half of the Annual Automobile Salon at the Grand Palais.

In 1944... The people of the Philippines receive a surprise when airplanes of 43rd Bombing Group flew over to drop a million Christmas cards; each one contains the words: “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 1944 – General Douglas MacArthur.”

In 1963... New York International Airport is rededicated as John F. Kennedy Airport in honor of the murdered president.

In 1966... A Canadair CL-44 chartered by the United States military crashes into a small village in South Vietnam, killing 129.

In 1968... Apollo Program: The crew of Apollo 8 enters into orbit around the Moon, becoming the first humans to do so. They performed 10 lunar orbits and broadcast live TV pictures that became the famous Christmas Eve Broadcast, one of the most watched programs in history.
 
December 25

In 1934... French pilot Raymond Delmotte sets a new world speed record for landplanes of 314.33 mph, flying a Caudron 460.

In 1946... Today is nicknamed “Black Christmas” as three airlines crash trying to land in bad weather, killing 72 people. It is the worst day so far in the history of Chinese civil aviation.

In 1959... Michael P. Anderson, astronaut, was born (d. 2003). Anderson was a United States Lieutenant Colonel (USAF), a NASA astronaut, and the Space Shuttle payload commander of STS-107 (Columbia) who was killed when the craft disintegrated after reentry into the Earth's atmosphere.

In 1968... Apollo 8 performs the very first successful Trans Earth Injection (TEI) maneuver, sending the crew and spacecraft on a trajectory back to Earth from Lunar orbit.
 
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