Today in Aviation History - March

ausrere

ausrere

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Lisa
March 1

In 1912... Capt. Albert Berry makes the first parachute descent from a powered airplane in America when he jumps from a Benoist aircraft that is being flown by the company pilot, Anthony Jannus. The aircraft is flying at a height of 1,500 ft. over Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis, Missouri, and Berry uses a static line parachute.

In 1924... Deke Slayton, American astronaut, was born (d. 1993). was one of the original "Mercury Seven" NASA astronauts.[1] Initially grounded by a heart condition, he would serve as NASA's Director of Flight Crew Operations. Deke Slayton was responsible for all crew assignments at NASA from November 1963 until March 1972, when he was granted medical clearance to fly as docking module pilot of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. At the time of the flight, he became the oldest person to fly into space.

In 1925... Ryan Airlines begins the first regularly scheduled passenger airline service flown within the mainland United States. The service runs between Los Angeles and San Diego.

In 1928... An airmail route between France and Chile is opened with a fast sea link between Dakar, Senegal and Natal, Brazil.

In 1933... U.S. Air Commerce Regulations are amended to increase the flying time required for a pilot’s license from 10 hours to 50 hours.

In 1949... North American's B-45 Tornado bomber sets an unofficial speed record of 675 miles per hour.

In 1956... The International Air Transport Association finalizes a draft of the Radiotelephony spelling alphabet for the International Civil Aviation Organization.

In 1962... Los Angeles Airways sets up the world’s first commercial service using turbine-powered, multi-engine helicopters, the Sikorsky S-621L, which could accommodate up to 28 passengers.

In 1962... American Airlines Flight 1 crashes on take off in New York.
 
March 2

In 1918... Lloyd Andrews Hamilton becomes the first American to receive a commission in the British Royal Flying Corps when he is assigned as lieutenant with No. 3 squadron in France.

In 1932... The 20-months-old son of aviator Charles Lindbergh has been kidnapped from the family’s home in Hopewell, New Jersey.

In 1949... Commanded by Capt. James G. Gallagher, the crew of 14 aboard the Strategic Air Command B-5A Lucky Lady II of the Forty-third Bombardment Group, USAF, completes the first nonstop round-the-world flight of 94 hours 1 minute. Flying a distance of 23,452 miles the B-50A is refueled four times by KB-29 tankers before landing back at Carswell AFB, Texas.

In 1969... After a lengthy succession of taxi and runway tests, the first prototype Concorde 001 (F-WTSS) makes its first flight, with Andre Turcat at the controls. The flight lasts 29 minutes.
 
March 3

In 1911... With Capt. Benjamin D. Foulois navigating a course and Phillip Parmelee at the controls, the Wright Type B on loan from Robert F. Collier sets an official U.S. cross-country record from Laredo to Eagle Pass, Texas. It flies the 106 miles in 2 hours 10 minutes.

In 1919... Airplane builder William E. Boeing and Eddie Hubbard of Hubbard Air Service make the first international airmail flight from Seattle, Washington to Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

In 1950... Australian Quantas inaugurates a passenger service from Sydney to Tokyo.

In 1960... The longest nonstop flight ever made by a Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft is completed when a Vickers Valiant B.Mk.1 (serial no.XD858) piloted by Sqdn. Ldr. J. H. Garstin flies around the British Isles for a total distance of 8,500 miles aided by two inflight refuelings.

In 1972... Mohawk Airlines Flight 405 crashes in unexplained circumstances.

In 1974... In the world’s worst air disaster, a DC-10-10 of Turkish Airlines loses an aft cargo door after taking off from Paris en route to London, resulting in a complete loss of control. The aircraft crashes, killing 346 passengers and crew. This is the second time a cargo bay door has been lost from aircraft of this type. As a result, a latch modification becomes mandatory.

In 2005... Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly an airplane around the world solo without any stops without refueling - a journey of 40,234 km/25,000 mi completed in 67 hours and 2 minutes.
 
March 4

In 1909... President William Howard Taft approves Congressional Gold Medals for the Wright brothers.

In 1928... The Boeing Model 204 (B-1E), a four-seat civilian flying boat, makes its first flight. Ten are built and are the last aircraft Boeing built specifically for private ownership by civilians. Four built by Boeing Aircraft of Canada in Vancouver, British Columbia, are called "Thunderbirds."

In 1936... The last great passenger-carrying airship, a veritable behemoth in its day, takes to the air for the first time. The German dirigible LZ 129, the Hindenburg, is powered by four 1,320-hp Daimler-Benz DB 602 diesel engines. The Hindenburg makes its first Atlantic crossing in the record time of 64 hours 53 minutes on May 6.

In 1948... The first American civilian to fly at supersonic speeds is Herbert Henry Hoover in Bell X-1 in Muroc, California.

In 1966... Canadian Pacific Air Lines DC-8-43 explodes on landing at Tokyo International Airport, killing 64 people.
 
Well Lisa you are a pleather of knowledge (Or a GOOD Surfer) (lol)
Thanks your history post a interesting to me .
Dave G.
 
Shipoke said:
Well Lisa you are a pleather of knowledge (Or a GOOD Surfer) (lol)
Thanks your history post a interesting to me .
Dave G.
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Trust me..it's more surfing than anything! I love history, but there's no way I'd be able to keep all that in my head. I like finding out what happened in history today and then reading as much as I can about it. I just wish I'd been that interested in school! :D
 
ausrere said:
Trust me..it's more surfing than anything! I love history, but there's no way I'd be able to keep all that in my head. I like finding out what happened in history today and then reading as much as I can about it. I just wish I'd been that interested in school! :D
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You don't have all this stuff in your head??? Awww man... I'm truly disappointed!






:D
 
March 5

In 1912... Bob Fowler flies from Los Angeles to Jacksonville, Florida. The west to east coast-to-coast journey has taken four months to complete.

In 1923... The great aeronautical pioneer Igor Sikorsky sets up the Sikorsky Aero Engineering Corp. in the United States with the financial help of several important leading figures, including Sergey Rachmaninoff. Sikorsky left Russia in 1917 when revolution threatened his work and his life.

In 1936... First flight of the Supermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft.

In 1943... First flight of Gloster Meteor jet aircraft in the United Kingdom.

In 1962... A Convair B-58 (serial no. 59-2458) of the Forty-third Bombardment Wing breaks three records during a round trip between New York and Los Angeles in 4 hours 41 minutes 14.98 seconds. The fastest trans-continental crossing between Los Angeles and New York is accomplished in 2 hours 58.71 seconds at an average speed of 1,214.65 mph. The third record notches the fastest time between New York and Los Angeles.

In 1966... BOAC Flight 911 crashes on Mount Fuji, Japan, killing 124.
 
March 6

In 1927... Gordon Cooper, astronaut, was born (d. 2004). Gordon "Gordo" Cooper was one of the seven original astronauts in Project Mercury, the first manned-space effort by the United States. Cooper was launched into space on 15 May 1963 aboard the Mercury-Atlas 9 (Faith 7) spacecraft, the last Mercury mission. He orbited the earth 22 times and logged more time in space than all five previous Mercury astronauts combined – 34 hours, 19 minutes and 49 seconds, traveling 546,167 miles (878,971 km) at 17,547 mph (28,239 km/h), pulling a maximum of 7.6g (74.48 m/s²). Cooper achieved an altitude of 165.9 statute miles (267 km) at apogee. He was the first American astronaut to sleep not only in orbit but on the launch pad during a countdown.

In 1935... U.S secretary of commerce signs a special air traffic regulation that prohibits air flights over parts of Washington, D.C.

In 1961... The B-52H made its first flight. The H model is still in service today.

In 1965... The first nonstop transcontinental helicopter flight across the United States — flown off the deck of the carrier USS Hornet at San Diego, California to the deck of the carrier USS Franklin D. Roosevelt off Jacksonville, Florida — is completed successfully. A U. S. Navy Sikorsky SH-3A Sea King flies 2,116 miles.

In 1986... Japan Air Lines embarks the world’s heaviest man, an 880-lb Austrian flying from Frankfurt, Germany, as a passenger; 16 seats are removed from the cabin to make room for him.

In 2003... First flight of the Bell/Augusta 609 civilian tilt-rotor aircraft prototype.
 
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March 7


In 1945... The Piasecki HRP-1 tandem-rotor helicopter makes its first flight.

In 1956... Dan Perkins, engineer at Britain’s Royal Aircraft Establishment, makes his first flight in an inflatable airplane in Bedfordshire, England. It takes 25 minutes to inflate it, using a large domestic vacuum cleaner.

In 1961... The # 2 North America X-15 becomes the fist manned aircraft to exceed Mach 4 when pilot Capt. Robert M. White reaches a speed of 2,905 mph which, at the altitude of 77,450 ft., is Mach 4.43.
 
March 8

In 1910... Elise Deroche, the colorful self-styled Baroness Raymonde de Laroche, becomes the first woman in the world to receive a pilot’s license in Paris.

In 1910... Claude Moore-Brabazon receives the Royal Aero Club’s first aviator’s certificate in London. Charles Rolls receives the second.

In 1917... German airship pioneer Count von Zeppelin dies.

In 1949... Nonstop flight of 56 hours and 2 minutes has put captain William Odom in the record books. Leaving Honolulu, Hawaii, he covers a distance of 4,957.25 miles before landing at Teterboro, New Jersey to gain the world record in Class C-1-c for light aircraft.

In 1974... Charles de Gaulle Airport at Roissy-en-France is officially opened. The new international airport is located 15.5 miles (25 km) from the center of Paris.
 
March 9

In 1918... The first American air casualty in World War I is Capt. James E. Miller who loses his life in a French Spad while flying a practice patrol across the German lines.

In 1915... Johnnie Johnson, British fighter pilot, was born (d. 2001). Air Vice Marshal James Edgar "Johnnie" Johnson was an Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot who during the Second World War shot down 38 Luftwaffe aircraft, thus becoming the British flying ace with the greatest number of victories during the war.

In 1919... U.S. Navy Lt. Comdr. E. O. McDonnell makes the first successful flight from a gun turret platform on a U.S. navy battleship. The USS Texas is anchored in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for the test.

In 1928... The English aviatrix Lady Mary Bailey takes off from Croydon on what becomes the first round-trip flight between London and Cape Town, South Africa flown by a woman. She arrives back in England on May 12.

In 1938... A new parachute descent record of 35,450ft. is achieved by the French parachutist James Williams when he jumps from the cockpit of an ANF Les Mureaux 113 high-wing monoplane after taking off from the airfield at Chartres. Dropping to a height above the ground of 650 ft. in 2 minutes 50 seconds before opening his parachute, Williams easily achieves a world free-fall record.

In 1986... United States Navy divers find the largely intact but heavily-damaged crew compartment of the Space Shuttle Challenger. The bodies of all seven astronauts were still inside.
 
I've got one for today...

March 10

41st anniversary of Pardo's Push.

Here's to you wherever you are Bob. :cheerswine:
 
March 10

In 1905... The French lawyer and aspiring aeronaut Ernest Archdeacon sends a letter to the Wright brothers in Dayton, Ohio challenging them to prove the validity of their claims. This marks the beginning of a bitter contest between the Wrights and European aeronauts.

In 1910... The first flight at night is made by Frenchman Emile Aubrun in Argentina on a Bleriot airplane. Aubrun makes two flights in the dark, each about 20 km from Buenos Aires and back again.

In 1918... Günther Rall, German ace fighter pilot, was born. Rall is the third most successful fighter ace in history, and the most successful ace still living. He achieved a total of 275 victories: 272 on the Eastern Front, of which 241 were against Soviet fighters. He flew a total of 621 combat missions, was shot down 8 times and was wounded 3 times. He scored his victories in the Messerschmitt Bf 109 'Black 13'.

In 1925... One of the most outstanding flying boats of its day and a stunning demonstration of the skills of aircraft designer R. J. Michell, the Supermarine Southampton, makes its first flight with Henri Biard at the controls. It remains in service for 12 years, longer than any other flying boat before Sunderland.

In 1948... NACA test pilot Herbert Henry Hoover becomes the first civilian to exceed the speed of sound when he flies the No. 2 Bell XS-1 to a speed of 703 mph (Mach 1.065).

In 1956... The first aircraft to exceed 1,000 mph (1,609 km/h) is an English Fairey Delta 2. Piloted by Lt. Cdr. Peter Twiss, it reaches a speed of 1,132 mph (1,822 km/h).

In 1966... Maj. Bernard Fisher from the 1st Commando Squadron landed an A-1E on A Shau runway, Vietnam, under fire from North Vietnamese troops to rescue a downed pilot, Maj. Dafford W. Myers from the 602nd Fighter Squadron. President Lyndon B. Johnson presented Major Fisher the Medal of Honor for heroism on Jan. 19, 1967 and he became the first Air Force man to be so honored for action in the Southeast Asian conflict.

In 1967... Capt. Mac C. Brestel, an F-105 pilot with the 355th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Takhli Royal Thai AFB, Thailand, became the first U.S. Air Force pilot to down two MiGs in one mission in the Vietnam War.

In 1977... The first woman navigator candidates report to Mather AFB, Calif., to begin undergraduate navigator training.

In 1986... The U.S. Navy selects the F/A-18 Hornet as the official airplane of the Blue Angels.

In 2003... The T-45 Goshawk advanced jet trainer surpasses 100,000 flights hours.
 
ausrere said:
March 10


In 1966... Maj. Bernard Fisher from the 1st Commando Squadron landed an A-1E on A Shau runway, Vietnam, under fire from North Vietnamese troops to rescue a downed pilot, Maj. Dafford W. Myers from the 602nd Fighter Squadron. President Lyndon B. Johnson presented Major Fisher the Medal of Honor for heroism on Jan. 19, 1967 and he became the first Air Force man to be so honored for action in the Southeast Asian conflict.
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I met Major Fisher when I was in college. Quite a story he had to tell. He earned that MoH.
 
March 11

In 1910... Lieutenant J. W. Dunne’s D5 tailless biplane is tested at Eastchurch, Kent, England. It has a 60-hp Green engine and was built by Short Brothers.

In 1912... Lt. Frank P. Lahm opened an Army Air School at Fort William McKinley, Philippines, with two volunteer students, Lt. Moss L. Love and Cpl. Vernon L. Burge, who later became the first enlisted pilot.

In 1918... Lt. Paul Baer becomes the first AEF Air Service member awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

In 1957... The prototype Boeing 707 jet lands after a press demonstration flight from Seattle, Washington to Baltimore, Maryland during which it covers 2,350 miles in a record time of 3 hours 48 minutes.

In 1974... The YF-16 attained Mach 2 for the first time in test flights at Edwards AFB, Calif.

In 1998... The first two of four Boeing E-767 airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircrafts are officially handed over to the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force.
 
ausrere said:
March 11


In 1957... The prototype Boeing 707 jet lands after a press demonstration flight from Seattle, Washington to Baltimore, Maryland during which it covers 2,350 miles in a record time of 3 hours 48 minutes.
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I wish you could get from BFI to BWI in 3 hours 48 minutes now. They either had a great tail wind, or had it firewalled all the way. :D
 
Ghery said:
I wish you could get from BFI to BWI in 3 hours 48 minutes now. They either had a great tail wind, or had it firewalled all the way. :D
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618.42 mph... Or 537.75 knots. According to Wikipedia, the 707's cruise speed was 540 knots. So, I guess it's not all that far-fetched...
 
March 12

In 1908... The first flight of the first airplane built by the U.S. Aerial Experiment Association takes place when Thomas Baldwin flies the Red Wing (Aerodrome No.1). The flight of the biplane ends in a crash landing.

In 1915... A Burgess H biplane (No. 28) sets a world endurance record for a pilot and two passengers by remaining in the air for 7 hours 5 minutes. This particular airplane was modified by Grover C. Loening at the army training school in San Diego.

In 1932... New landing aids are installed in Newark, New Jersey, at the busiest airport in the world, to supplement the night landing facilities already in existence there. In 1930 alone there were some 28,000 landings and the airport handled 20,000 passengers.

In 1980... Two 410th Bombardment Missile Wing B-52Hs from K. I. Sawyer AFB, Mich., flew nonstop, 19,353 nautical miles around the world in 42 hours and 30 minutes, averaging 488 mph for three days. Majors William H. Thurston and John M. Durham commanded the flight from Offutt AFB, Neb., across Canada, the North Atlantic, Europe, the Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean, the Strait of Malacca, the South China Sea and back to Offutt AFB. Neb. They earned the Mackay Trophy.

In 1998... First test flight of the X-38, a spacecraft design planned for use as a future International Space Station emergency crew return "lifeboat".

In 1998... A C-141 from the 445th Airlift Wing, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, landed at Randolph AFB, Texas, with more than 50 former U.S. prisoners of war for Operation Homecoming's silver anniversary. On Feb. 12, 1973, the same C-141 airlifted Americans from Gia Lam Airport, Hanoi, North Vietnam on the first mission to repatriate American servicemen from Southeast Asia. The Starlifter took the men to Randolph AFB, for the 25th annual "Freedom Flyers" reunion.
 
March 13

In 1910... The first airplane flight in Switzerland is made by German Capt. P. Englehardt who takes off in a Wright Flyer from a frozen lake in St. Moritz.

In 1914... Edward O'Hare, American pilot, is born (d. 1943). O'Hare was a naval aviator of the United States Navy who on 20 February 1942 became the U.S. Navy's first flying ace and Medal of Honor recipient in World War II. On 19 September 1949, the Chicago, Illinois airport was renamed O'Hare International Airport in honor of Edward O'Hare.

In 1928... The first Canadian woman to obtain a pilot’s license, Miss Eileen M. Vollick, passes her flight test in Hamilton, Ontario on Curtiss aircraft.

In 1945... U. S. interest in flight is so popular that courses in aviation are being taught at this point in 14,000 of America’s 25,686 high schools.

In 1951... The Australian airline Qantas begins a survey flight from Rose Bay, Sydney to Valparaiso, Chile with a Catalina (VH - ASA).

In 1961... McDonnell delivers the last of 807 F-101 Voodoos to the Air Force.

In 1977... First flight of the Sikorsky S-76 Spirit helicopter.

In 1992... Two B-52 bombers fly to Ryanzan Air Base near Moscow in exchange for a visit to the United States by three TU-95 Bear bombers and a TU Blackjack bomber from the Commonwealth of Independent States.
 
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ausrere said:
March 13
In 1945... U. S. interest in flight is so popular that courses in aviation are being taught at this point in 14,000 of America’s 25,686 high schools.
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Sigh... how times have changed. I wonder how many of those kids are today's NIMBYS.:(
 
March 14


In 1885... Raoul Lufbery, American World War I pilot, was born (d. 1918). Lufbery was a French-American fighter pilot and flying ace in World War I. Because he served in both the French and later the United States Army Air Service in World War I, he is sometimes listed as a French ace and sometimes as an American ace, though all but one of his 17 combat victories came while flying in French units.

In 1889... German Ferdinand von Zeppelin patents his "Navigable Balloon".

In 1908... Henri Farman makes the first flight in his modified Voisin-Farman I-bis, the biplane built by Voisin brothers.

In 1927... The Aviation Corp. of America (AVCO), headed by Juan Trippe, forms Pan American Airways to qualify for a contract for airmail deliveries from the post office and establishes the route between Key West, Florida and Havana, Cuba as the first of several routes it would acquire.

In 1936... Imperial Airways opens a weekly service to Hong Kong.

In 1960... Within a year of completion of a major expansion program, Chicago’s O’Hare International airport has become the busiest terminal in the US, handling 10.2 million passengers in 1959, the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) reports. In the same year it handled 431,600 take-offs and landings.

In 1979... In China, a Hawker Siddeley Trident crashes into a factory near Beijing, killing at least 200.

In 1980... In Poland, a plane crashes during an emergency landing near Warsaw, killing 87 people, including a 14-man American boxing team.
 
ausrere said:
March 13

In 1910... The first airplane flight in Switzerland is made by German Capt. P. Englehardt who takes off in a Wright Flyer from a frozen lake in St. Moritz.
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Wonder if there's any relation to former United captain E. Allan Englehardt?
 
March 15


In 1916... The 1st Aero Squadron begins operations with Gen. John J. Pershing in a punitive expedition against Mexico and Pancho Villa.

In 1932... Alan Bean, American astronaut, was born. Bean was the fourth man to walk on the moon at the age of thirty-seven years in November 1969.

In 1938... De Havilland D. H. 88 Comet racer G-ACSS begins a record-breaking flight from England to New Zealand and back for what some regard as the most notable success of the Comet’s achievement: a return flight time of 10 days 21 hours 22 minutes.

In 1957... A U.S. Navy ZPG-2 nonrigid airship sets a new unrefueled endurance record when it lands, having remained aloft for 264 hours (11 days) 12 minutes, beating the record set by the Graf Zeppelin in 1929.

In 1967... First flight of the HH-53B Super Jolly, SAR long-range version of the CH-53A for the USAF.

In 1985... Pan Am puts the Airbus A300B airliner into service, on its route from Miami, Florida to Mexico City.
 
March 15
EAA chapter 122 takes bus trip from Harrisburg to Washington DC. and Dulles airport to visit the museums. I went on this trip had a Great time.(but forgot my camera so pics. will have to wait till i get them form my buddy). I will post them later
Dave G.
 
March 16

In 1905... S. H. Maloney, a professional balloon-parachute jumper, makes a first successful glide to earth in a tandem-wing glider built by John J. Montgomery (1858-1911), a professor at Santa Clara College in California.

In 1907... Built for Leon Delagrange and pilot Charles Voisin, the Voisin-Delagrandge biplane makes its first flight from Bagatelle, France, achieving a height of 13ft. and a distance of 260ft.

In 1911... The first certificate of airworthiness awarded to an airplane in Britain is signed by Mervyn O’Gorman, superintendent of the Balloon Factory at Farnborough, covering the Farman III Type Militaire purchased by the British Army during the second half of 1910.

In 1932... Walter Cunningham, American astronaut, was born. In 1968, Cunningham was the pilot for the lunar module in the Apollo 7 mission. he occupied the lunar module pilot seat for the eleven-day flight of Apollo 7.

In 1960... KLM opens its first intercontinental jet service, by Douglas DC-8 from Amsterdam to New York.

In 1962... A Flying Tiger Line Super Constellation disappears in the western Pacific Ocean, with 107 people missing.

In 1969... A Venezuelan Airlines DC-9 crashes shortly after takeoff in Maracaibo, Venezuela killing 155

In 1983... A Boeing 767 lands after a nonstop flight of 5,499 miles from Lisbon, Portugal to set a distance record for a twin-jet airliner in commercial service.
 
March 17

In 1911... U.S. Navy Lt. John Rodgers reports to the Wright Co. at Dayton, Ohio for flying instructions. On March 9, the Wrights had offered to train one Navy pilot if that service bought a Wright flying machine at a cost $5,000. The conditional offer was later replaced by one that provided unconditional free training for one would-be Navy pilot.

In 1921... The first U. S. Marine airman to serve in the Pacific arrives on Guam with responsibility for supporting U. S. land and sea forces in the region. There, 10 pilots and 90 enlisted men operate seaplanes on reconnaissance duty as Flight L, Fourth Squadron, for 10 years.

In 1924... The four Douglas World Cruisers (DWC) built for the U.S. Army Air Service leave Santa Monica on the first leg of their flight around the world. The DWC was a modified version of the DT-2 torpedo bomber the company had built for the Navy.

In 1930... James Irwin, American astronaut, was born (d. 1991). Irwin was a member of the Apollo 15 mission in 1971 and the eighth man to walk on the Moon.

In 1935... German authorities make the color-coding at vital aircraft parts obligatory; red for fire circuit-breakers, green for temperature regulators, yellow for throttles and brown for hydraulic circuits.

In 1936... Ken Mattingly, American astronaut, was born. Rear Admiral, USN (retired) flew on the Apollo 16, STS-4, and STS-51-C missions. He had been scheduled to fly on Apollo 13, but was held back due to concerns about a potential illness (which he did not contract).

In 1936... Smoking in an airplane’s toilet is as serious an offense as smoking at school. An Imperial Airways passenger, caught red-handed while lighting up against airline regulations in a Handley Page HP.42 en route from Paris to London, is fined £10 in Craydon court, England.

In 1947... North American's XB-45 four-engine bomber makes its first test flight at Muroc, Calif.

In 1988... A Colombian Boeing 727 jetliner, Avianca Flight 410, crashes into a mountainside near the Venezuelan border killing 143.
 
March 18

In 1898... Jake Swirbul, American aircraft manufacturer, was born (d. 1960). Leon A. "Jake" "The Bullfrog" Swirbul was an aviation pioneer and co-founder of Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation.

In 1906... Trajan Vuia, a Rumanian, first tests a monoplane in France. Although it only hops and does not fly, Louis Bleriot (1872-1936) decides that its monoplane design is superior to his biplane.

In 1913... Werner Mölders German WWII fighter pilot, was born (d. 1941). Mölders was a German Luftwaffe World War II fighter ace. He was credited with 101 victories in WWII as well as 14 victories in the Spanish civil war. He was flying as a passenger in a He-111 from the Crimea to Germany in November 1941 to attend the funeral of his superior and friend, Ernst Udet. Attempting to land at Breslau during a thunderstorm, the aircraft crashed. Mölders and the pilot were killed.

In 1937... The human-powered aircraft, Pedaliante, flies 1 kilometre (0.62 miles) outside Milan.

In 1938... Only seven months after its first flight, the prototype Heinkel He 115 V1 begins a series of flights breaking eight seaplane speed records by carrying loads between 1,100 lb. and 4,400 lb. over distances of 1,000 km (621 miles) and 2,000 km (1,242 miles) at an average speed of 204 mph. The He 115 is the Luftwaffe’s most successful seaplane.

In 1939... The Boeing Model 307 Stratoliner prototype crashes, killing all 10 people on board. The accident results in the formation of an expanded aerodynamic research group headed by Eddie Allen, with more emphasis on pre-flight testing.

In 1945... The Douglas AD Skyraider makes its first flight.

In 1952... Two USAF F-84 Thunderjets land in Neubiberg, Germany after the longest sustained jet flight; they flew 2,800 miles from the USA in 4 hours 48 minutes, without refueling.

In 1957... Christer Fuglesang, Swedish ESA astronaut, was born. Fuglesang was the first Swede and the first Nordic citizen in space aboard the STS-116 Shuttle mission on 10 December 2006.

In 1965... Cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov, leaving his spacecraft Voskhod 2 for 12 minutes, becomes the first person to walk in space.

In 1997... The tail of a Russian Antonov An-24 charter plane breaks off while en-route to Turkey causing the plane to crash and killing all 50 on board and leading to the grounding of all An-24s.
 
March 19

In 1909... The International Aero and Motor-Boat Exhibition opens in London. Among the exhibits is a Wright airplane for sale at $7,000.

In 1910... Orville Wright opens the first Wright Flying School in Montgomery, Ala., on a site that will later become Maxwell AFB.

In 1912... The first of the U. S. Signal Corps Scout series capable of meeting a specification issued February 8, 1912, the S. C. No.8 is delivered to Augusta, Georgia by Curtiss pilot Charles F. Walsh. It finally passes all tests at College Park, Maryland in May with Lincoln Beachey at the controls.

In 1916... Eight American planes take off in pursuit of Pancho Villa, the first United States air-combat mission in history.

In 1918... U. S. airplanes in France make the first operational flights.

In 1921... The Douglas Cloudster broke the Pacific Coast altitude record by climbing 19,160 feet. The Cloudster was the first Douglas product. It was also the first airplane in history to airlift a useful load exceeding its own weight.

In 1964... Geraldine Mock, in a Cessna 180, becomes the first woman to fly around the world

In 1969... The first scheduled jet air service inside the Arctic Circle begins as Nordair inaugurates a weekly return service between Montreal, Canada and Resolution Bay, Cornwallis Island, Canada.

In 1970... First powered flight of the Martin Marietta X-24A lifting body at Edwards AFB.

In 1989... First flight of the Bell/Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft.
 
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March 20

In 1920... Two South African pilots complete the first flight from Britain to South Africa after a flying time of four days, 13 hours, 30 minutes.

In 1922... The CV-1 Langley, America’s first aircraft carrier, is commissioned into the U. S. Navy at Norfolk, Virginia under the command of Comdr. Kenneth Whiting.

In 1927... The Boeing Model 40A two-passenger mail plane makes its first flight. By June 15, all 25 mail planes will be ready.

In 1932... The airship Graf Zeppelin begins a series of flights between Germany and Brazil. Several round-trips are planned per year, embarkation being at Friedrichshafen bound for Recife and later to Rio de Janeiro.

In 1932... The Boeing P-26 Peashooter makes its first flight. It soon establishes its reputation as the fastest air-cooled pursuit fighter in the world.

In 1937... An attempted round-the-world flight by leading US woman aviator Amelia Earhart ends dramatically when the starboard tire of her Lockheed Electra airliner bursts during take-off from Honolulu, Hawaii. Because of damage, the expedition is temporary abandoned. The first leg from Oakland, California to Honolulu on March 17 was made in 16 hours, an east/west record.

In 1940... Boeing delivers Pan American Airways its first Model 307 Stratoliners.

In 1999... After a 46,759-mile balloon flight which lasted 19 days, 21 hours and 55 minutes, the Breitling Orbiter 3 balloon, flown by Brian Jones and Bertrand Piccard, achieves a non-stop round-the-world balloon flight.

In 2006... The C-17 Globemaster III reached its million-hour milestone during a mission, evacuating injured U.S. troops from Iraq.
 
March 21

In 1877... Maurice Farman (1877-1964), aviation pioneer and manufacturer, is born in Paris, France. In 1908, he made the first circular flight of more than one mile (1,6 km) with his brother, Henri.

In 1908... Henri Farman covers 6,275 feet in 3 minutes 47 seconds in his Voisin-Farman No.1 bis at Issy-les-Moulineaux.

In 1913... Heinz "Pritzl" Bär, German fighter pilot, was born (d. 1957). Bar was a WWII fighter pilot and had a total of 221 victories, fighting in all the major German theaters of war, including the Western Front, Mediterranean and Eastern front. He was shot down 18 times during the course of flying about 1000 combat missions.

In 1916... The French government authorizes the formation of the Escadrille Americaine. The unit, made up of American volunteer pilots is later renamed the Lafayett Escadrille.

In 1928... Charles Lindbergh is presented the Medal of Honor for his first trans-Atlantic flight.

In 1933... James L. Kinney makes the first cross-country test of blind flying and landing from College Park, Maryland to Newark, New Jersey.

In 1933... Fairey’s TSR.1 torpedo spotter-reconnaissance airplane makes its first flight at Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England.

In 1946... The Strategic Air Command (SAC) and the Tactical Air Command (TAC) are created.

In 1971... First flight of the Westland WG.13 Lynx prototype helicopter.

In 1983... First all female USN aircrew to conduct an operation mission. The flight was conducted in a Grumman C-1 Trader from VRC-30 and ended with an arrested carrier landing on USS Ranger. Lt Elizabeth Toedt, Ltjg Cheryl A Martin, AD3 Gina Greterman, ADAN Robin Banks were the crew members.
 
March 22

In 1915... The term naval aviator is adapted for U. S. Navy officer pilots to replace the identification navy air pilot in official terminology. This term is still in use today.

In 1989... The first and only Antonov An-225 built establishes 106 new Federal Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) world records in several classes, most important of which is a speed of 813.09 km/h (505.2 mph) carrying a payload in the 70 –155 metric ton (154,320 – 341,710 lb.) class around a closed circuit of 2,000 km (1,243 miles).
 
March 23

In 1903... The Wright brothers file a patent request for a powered flying machine based on the second (modified) version of their 1902 glider successfully tested at Kill Devil Hill.

In 1908... French industrialist Lazare Weiller signs a contract with the Wrights establishing a Wright airplane company in France, on condition that the brothers make two demonstration flights covering 50 km (31.1 miles) within a hour’s flying time. They will receive FF500, 000 and half the founders’ share

In 1921... Lieutenant Arthur Hamilton sets a new world record when he jumps by parachute from 24,400 feet.

In 1932... Flying a Bleriot 110, French aviators Lucien Bossoutrot and Maurice Rossi take off for a record closed-circuit distance of 6,587.442 miles at Oran, Algeria.

In 1948... The F3D Skyknight, Douglas' first jet-powered fighter, makes its first flight.

In 1948... Test pilot Gp. Capt. John Cunningham sets a new Federal Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) ratified world altitude record of 18,118 m (59446 ft.) during tests with the third production D. H. 100 Vampire (serial no. TG278).

In 1994... Aeroflot Flight 593 crashes in Siberia when the pilot's fifteen-year old son accidentally disengages the autopilot, killing 75.

In 1994... A United States Air Force (USAF) F-16 aircraft collides with a USAF C-130 at Pope Air Force Base and then crashes, killing a group of 24 United States Army soldiers on the ground later to become known as the Green Ramp Disaster.
 
March 24

In 1904... The Wrights apply for a German patent for their airplane. Two days ago they applied for a French one.

In 1909... The Wright brothers found a school in the USA to train pilots for exhibition flights. The first pupil is a childhood friend, Walter Brookins, 21, from Dayton. Because Dayton’s weather is not good enough, Orville Wright sets up the school at Montgomery, Alabama, where winds are generally light.

In 1932... Jim Mollison leaves Lympne, Kent, England at the start of a record-breaking attempt to fly to South Africa in a D. H. 80A Puss Moth (G-ABKG) specially modified as a long-range single seater. His time was 4 days 17 hours 19 minutes.

In 1939... American woman air record-breaker Jacqueline Cochran achieves a woman’s altitude record of 30,052 ft. 5 in. over Palm Spring, California in a Beechcraft Model 17.

In 1971... As a result of votes in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, Boeing cancels its supersonic transport. The elaborate, full-size mock-up is eventually sold to a promotion specialist who puts it in a Florida amusement park.
 
March 25

In 1917... One of the greatest fighter pilots of WWI, Canada-born Lt. Col. William Avery Bishop, scores his first combat victory over an Albatros single-seat fighter while flying a Nieuport.

In 1926... Willie Messerschmitt, a graduate of Munich Technical High School and already an experienced designer of light aircraft and sailplanes, forms the Messerschmitt Flugzeugbau G.m.b.H.

In 1928... Jim Lovell, American astronaut was born. James "Jim" Arthur Lovell, Jr., is most famous as the commander of Apollo 13, which suffered an explosion enroute to the Moon but was brought back safely to Earth by the efforts of the crew and mission control.

In 1956... The last XB-51 crashed in El Paso, Texas, going to Eglin AFB, Fla. for use in the movie "Toward the Unknown."

In 1958... Canada's Avro Arrow makes its first flight.

In 1960... The first NASA flight in the X-15 hypersonic research program gets under way when test pilot Joseph A. Walker makes the first of his flights in this aircraft.

In 1966... Lt. Col. R. C. W. Blessley flew an F-111A on the longest low-level penetration flight to date (1,201.8 miles). He flew 1,000 feet above terrain ranging from 500 feet to over 10,000 feet.

In 1968... Four F-111As flew the first F-111 combat mission from Takhli AB, Thailand, under radar control to target areas northwest of Doug Hoi, North Vietnam.

In 1977... The YC-141B "stretched" cargo aircraft completed its first test flight.

In 1993... The first woman Concorde pilot makes her first flight as First Officer of the daily supersonic London-New York route. British-born, Barbara Harmer, is one of only 17 co-pilots in the British Airways Concorde fleet.
 
March 26

In 1922... One of the first small commercial transport aircraft built upon experience from passenger flying and the requirements of airline operators, makes its first flight from Edgware, near London. The 10-seat passenger D. H. 34, with a top speed of 128 mph and a cruising speed of 105 mph has a range of 365 miles.

In 1934... Piloted by John Lankester Parker and with three passengers on board, the first landplane derivative of the Short Kent flying boat takes off to the air for the first time. Named Scylla (G-ACJJ), the big biplane is followed by Scyrinx (G-ACJK) for the busy Imperial Airways routes into continental Europe.

In 1938... Arthur Clouston and Victor Ricketts land their D. H. 88 Comet Australian Anniversary at Gravesend in Kent, England to complete a 26,500-mile flight from England to New Zealand and back in a record 10 days 21 hours.

In 1952... McDonnell's second ramjet helicopter, the Model 79 Big Henry, makes its first flight.
 
March 27

In 1907... Romanian Trajan Vuia begins tests of his airplane, newly fitted with steering surfaces. He makes a short flight of 33 feet in Paris, France.

In 1927... Young American airmail pilot Charles A. Lindbergh registers his entry in the Raymond Orteig challenge for the first man to cross the Atlantic Ocean solo. The challenge and a $25,000 prize, has been issued in 1920, but no one has so far been successful in making the flight.

In 1946... An air agreement is signed by France and the US giving Air France the right to serve the cities of Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., and Chicago.

In 1968... Yuri Gagarin, in April 1961 first man in space, is killed in the crash of a MiG-15UTI trainer near the Soviet capital Moscow.

In 1970... The Concorde makes its first supersonic flight.

In 1977... enerife disaster: Two Boeing 747 airliners collide on a foggy runway on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, killing 583 (all 247 on KLM and 335 on PAN AM) and 61 survived on a PAN AM flight.

In 1984... British Airways inaugurates a Concorde service from London to Miami twice weekly. The service operates through Washington-Dulles, necessitating a 50-minute stopover. The overall trip lasts 6 hours 35 minutes, a saving approximately 2.5 hours over the direct flight by subsonic airliners. The round-trip fare is quoted a £2,509.

In 1994... The Eurofighter takes its first flight in Manching, Germany.
 
March 28

In 1843... William Samuel Henson (1805-1888) receives the patent and publishes in London his design for an Aerial Steam Carriage. This is the first reasoned, formulated, and detailed design for a propeller-driven aircraft.

In 1908... Leon Delagrange makes the first passenger flight, taking Farman aboard his Voisin biplane at Issy-les-Moulieaux.

In 1910... The first flight of Henri Fabre’s Hydroavion, the first powered seaplane in the world, takes place at La Mède harbor, Martigues, France. The hydroplane flies for about 1,600 ft. at the maximum height of 7 ft.

In 1913... Lts. Thomas DeWitt Milling and William C. Sherman set a two-man duration and distance record of four hours and 22 minutes for 220 miles from Texas City, Texas to San Antonio.

In 1931... Boeing Air Transport, National Air Transport, Varney Airlines and Pacific Air Transport combine as United Air Lines, providing coast-to-coast passenger service and mail service. It takes 27 hours to fly the route, one way.

In 1936... National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) commences operational use of the newly constructed 8-ft.-high speed tunnel (8-Foot HST) at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, Langley, Virginia. Built as a companion to the full scale tunnel capable of simulated speeds of up to 118 mph, the new facility can test models and components to 577 mph (Mach 0.75).

In 1947... In a dual ceremony, the first two Douglas DC-6 commercial airliners are delivered to American Airlines and United Air Lines.

In 1990... The Boeing 737 becomes the world's best-selling jetliner when United Airlines accepts delivery of the 1,832nd 737.
 
March 29

In 1858... Two men – Brown and Dean – make the first balloon flight in Australia in a hydrogen balloon named the Australasian.

In 1912.... Hanna Reitsch, German test pilot, was born (d. 1979). Reitsch was a famous female German test pilot. Several of her later international gliding records are still standing in 2008. Reitsch was born in Hirschberg, Silesia. The daughter of an ophthalmologist, she studied to become a medical doctor and in 1932 began her aviation career. She was a test pilot on the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka and Dornier Do 17 projects and was one of the few pilots to fly the Focke-Achgelis Fa 61, the first fully controllable helicopter.

In 1920... Located about 10 miles due south of the City of London, England, Waddon Airport at Croydon is used for the first time as London’s airport. Until this date, Hownslow has been considered the capital’s main airport.

In 1951... Flight Safety Inc. begins operations at the Marine Air Terminal at LaGuardia Airport, New York with just one secretary and rented late night hours on a Link trainer simulator.

In 1965... William Oefelein, American Astronaut, was born. William Anthony "Bill" Oefelein is an American Naval officer and former NASA astronaut. He flew as pilot of the STS-116 space shuttle mission.

In 2001... X-32B Joint Strike Fighter Concept Demonstration Aircraft makes it's first flight.
 
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