Facts, Feats and Records 1934 to 1977 1934 8-9 August: First non-stop flight from Canada to Britain by J.R. Ayling and L.G. Reid, from Wasaga Beach, Ontario to Heston. 20 October: Start of the MacRobertson Air Race from England to Australia. 22 October-4 November: First flight from Australia to the United States. 8 December: Inauguration…
The inspiration for the bouncing bomb, which some say is more legend than truth, came on the backyard patio at the Wallises’ Effingham home in the spring of 1942. Easter vacations brought the entire Wallis family together – Barnes and Molly and their four children, as well as their two adopted nephews. The gathering sparked…
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress (USA) Frustrated in their efforts to acquire a fleet of strategic bombers for service with the Army Air Corps, US Army planners – who were devotees of the theories expounded by Brigadier General William “Billy” Mitchell – inserted the thin end of an important wedge when they ordered…
The driving factors of the most recent airliner developments have been communications and cockpit technologies, structural techniques and materials and, perhaps most importantly, the vital necessity to reduce fuel burn and minimize the environmental impact of air travel. Airbus and Boeing followed very different strategies for their new airliner development plans, initially addressing different markets,…
In a stark contrast to the ‘big jet’ market, Europe came to dominate sales of first-generation turboprops, primarily through the efforts of Fokker, with its excellent F-27 Friendship. The basic economics of the turboprop compared to the pure jet are as sound today as they were in the late 1940s. Arranging a turbine, or jet…
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human to journey into outer space when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on 12 April 1961. Gagarin became an international celebrity and was awarded many medals and titles, including…
Surface search Flight 447 was due to pass from Brazilian airspace into Senegalese airspace at approximately 0220 (UTC) on 1 June, and then into Cape Verdean airspace at approximately 0345. Shortly after 0400, when the flight had failed to contact air traffic control in either Senegal or Cape Verde, the controller in Senegal attempted…
The 1930s were an age of aeronautical experimentation. All around the world air forces were trying new and fascinating designs, searching for the perfect combination of deadly force, ease of use, and affordability. During this period the Supermarine Spitfire, Messerschmitt BF-109, and Mitsubishi A6M- Zero were all developed. But at Boulton Paul Aircraft, a…
Note: date/month 1903 17/12: Orville and Wilbur Wright changed the course of history by completing the first sustained powered flight. 1935 28/7: First flight of Boeing Model 299 – prototype of B 17 “Flying Fortress”. 6/11: First flight of the Hawker “Hurricane” fighter prototype. First fighter monoplane to join the Royal Air Force—also first RAF…
Farther, faster, higher For German women, it was not easy to even attempt record flights during the years between the Wars. Under the terms of the Versailles Treaty, Germany was prohibited from having aircraft that might conceivably be employed for military purposes. Fliers were generally restricted to gliders or small sport planes, and they were…
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