Portal:Aviation
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The Aviation Portal
Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. Aircraft includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air balloons and airships.
Aviation began in the 18th century with the development of the hot air balloon, an apparatus capable of atmospheric displacement through buoyancy. Some of the most significant advancements in aviation technology came with the controlled gliding flying of Otto Lilienthal in 1896; then a large step in significance came with the construction of the first powered airplane by the Wright brothers in the early 1900s. Since that time, aviation has been technologically revolutionized by the introduction of the jet which permitted a major form of transport throughout the world. (Full article...)
Selected article
The airport's location and lack of transport links, as well as Montreal's economic decline relative to Toronto, made it unpopular with airlines. Eventually relegated to the simple role of a cargo airport, Mirabel became an embarrassment widely regarded in Canada as being a boondoggle, or a "white elephant," and one of the best examples of a failed megaproject. (Full article...)
Selected image
Did you know
...that Communist Romania's Foreign Minister, Grigore Preoteasa, was killed in an aircraft accident after refusing to wear a seat belt during landing?
... that 820 Naval Air Squadron was involved in attacks on the German battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz during the Second World War?
General images -
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La France flying in 1885 (from History of aviation) -
Map of record breaking flights of the 1920s (from History of aviation) -
The Biot-Massia glider, restored and on display in the Musee de l'Air (from History of aviation) -
Woodcut print of a kite from John Bate's 1635 book The Mysteryes of Nature and Art (from History of aviation) -
Santos-Dumont's "Number 6" rounding the Eiffel Tower in the process of winning the Deutsch de la Meurthe Prize, October 1901 (from History of aviation) -
The Wright Military Flyer aboard a wagon in 1908 (from History of aviation) -
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"Governable parachute" design of 1852 (from History of aviation) -
The business class cabin on an A350 (from Wide-body aircraft) -
"Map of Air Routes and Landing Places in Great Britain, as temporarily arranged by the Air Ministry for civilian flying", published in 1919, showing Hounslow, near London, as the hub (from History of aviation) -
One of Leonardo's sketches (from History of aviation) -
Flagg biplane from 1933 (from History of aviation) -
The 14-bis, or Oiseau de proie (from History of aviation) -
1928 issue of Popular Aviation (now Flying magazine), which became the largest aviation magazine with a circulation of 100,000. (from History of aviation) -
First failure of Langley's manned Aerodrome on the Potomac River, 7 October 1903 (from History of aviation) -
1843 artist's impression of John Stringfellow's plane Ariel flying over the Nile (from History of aviation) -
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French reconnaissance balloon L'Intrépide of 1796, the oldest existing flying device, in the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, Vienna (from History of aviation) -
Nieuport IV, operated by most of the world's air forces before WW1 for reconnaissance and bombing, including during the Italian-Turkish war (from History of aviation) -
Apollo 11 lifts off on its mission to land a man on the Moon (from History of aviation) -
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Maxim's flying machine (from History of aviation) -
Experimental helicopter by Enrico Forlanini (1877), exposed at the Museo nazionale della scienza e della tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci of Milan, Italy (from History of aviation) -
Me 262, world first operational jet fighter (from History of aviation) -
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The economy class cabin of an Airbus A350 (from Wide-body aircraft) -
Early Voisin biplane (from History of aviation) -
Clément Ader Avion III (1897 photograph) (from History of aviation) -
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Qantas De Havilland biplane, c. 1930 (from History of aviation) -
The Aeroplane of Victor Tatin, 1879. (from History of aviation) -
Planophore model aeroplane by Alphonse Pénaud, 1871 (from History of aviation) -
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Concorde, G-BOAB, in storage at London Heathrow Airport following the end of all Concorde flying. This aircraft flew for 22,296 hours between its first flight in 1976 and final flight in 2000 (from History of aviation) -
D.H. Comet, the world's first jet airliner. As in this picture, it also saw RAF service (from History of aviation) -
Otto Lilienthal, 29 May 1895 (from History of aviation) -
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The Wright Flyer: the first sustained flight with a powered, controlled aircraft (from History of aviation) -
Alberto Santos-Dumont flying the Demoiselle over Paris (from History of aviation) -
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Jean-Marie Le Bris and his flying machine, Albatros II, 1868 (from History of aviation) -
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In the news
- May 29: Austrian Airlines cancels Moscow-bound flight after Russia refuses a reroute outside Belarusian airspace
- August 8: Passenger flight crashes upon landing at Calicut airport in India
- June 4: Power firm helicopter strikes cables, crashes near Fairfield, California
- January 29: Former basketball player Kobe Bryant dies in helicopter crash, aged 41
- January 13: Iran admits downing Ukrainian jet, cites 'human error'
- January 10: Fire erupts in parking structure at Sola Airport, Norway
- October 27: US announces restrictions on flying to Cuba
- October 3: World War II era plane crashes in Connecticut, US, killing at least seven
- September 10: Nevada prop plane crash near Las Vegas leaves two dead, three injured
- August 6: French inventor Franky Zapata successfully crosses English Channel on jet-powered hoverboard
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Selected biography
Jones first saw action as an infantryman in the Gallipoli campaign of 1915, before transferring to the Australian Flying Corps the following year. Initially an air mechanic, he undertook flying training in 1917 and was posted to a fighter squadron in France, achieving seven victories to become an ace. After a short spell in civilian life following World War I, he joined the newly-formed RAAF in 1921, rising steadily through training and personnel commands prior to World War II.
He did not actively seek the position of Chief of the Air Staff before being appointed in 1942, and his conflict with Bostock—with whom he had been friends for 20 years—was partly the result of a divided command structure, which neither man had any direct role in shaping. After World War II Jones had overall responsibility for transforming what was then the world's fourth largest air force into a peacetime service that was also able to meet overseas commitments in Malaya and Korea. Following his retirement from the RAAF he continued to serve in the aircraft industry and later ran unsuccessfully for political office.
Selected Aircraft
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt in the early 1930s. It was one of the first true modern fighters of the era, including such features as an all-metal monocoque construction, a closed canopy, and retractable landing gear. The Bf 109 was produced in greater quantities than any other fighter aircraft in history, with a total of 33,984 units produced up to April 1945. Fighter production totalled 47% of all German aircraft production, and the Bf 109 accounted for 57% of all German fighter types produced.
The Bf 109 was the backbone of the Luftwaffe fighter force in World War II, although it began to be partially replaced by the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 from 1941. The Bf 109 was the most successful fighter of World War II, shooting down more aircraft than any of its contemporaries. Originally conceived as an interceptor, it was later developed to fulfill multiple tasks, serving as bomber escort, fighter bomber, day-, night- all-weather fighter, bomber destroyer, ground-attack aircraft, and as reconnaissance aircraft.
The Bf 109 was flown by the three top-scoring fighter aces of World War II: Erich Hartmann, the top scoring fighter pilot of all time with 352 victories, Gerhard Barkhorn with 301 victories, and Günther Rall with 275 victories. All of them flew with Jagdgeschwader 52, a unit which exclusively flew the Bf 109 and was credited with over 10,000 victories, chiefly on the Eastern Front. Hartmann chose to fly the Bf 109 in combat throughout the war, despite being offered the use of the Me 262. Hans-Joachim Marseille, the highest scoring German ace in the North African Campaign, also scored all of his 158 victories flying the Bf 109, against Western Allied pilots.
- Span: 9.925 m (32 ft 6 in)
- Length: 8.95 m (29 ft 7 in)
- Height: 2.60 m (8 ft 2 in)
- Engine: 1× Daimler-Benz DB 605A-1 liquid-cooled inverted V12, 1,475 PS (1,455 hp, 1,085 kW)
- Cruising Speed: 590 km/h (365 mph) at 6,000 m (19,680 ft)
- First Flight: 28 May 1935
Today in Aviation
- 2012 – Suffering engine trouble, an Aviatour Air Piper PA-34-200 Seneca I crashes in the sea off Masbate in the Philippines, killing three of the four people on board and injuring the lone survivor. Among the dead is Philippine Secretary of the Interior Jesse Robredo, whose body will be recovered from the sea on 21 August.[1]
- 2003 – A Polish Sukhoi Su-22M-4K, of 8 ELT, flying at 3000 meter (10,000 ft) altitude, during antiaircraft artillery exercises, is shot down at 1600 hrs. within the confines of the Wicko Morskie range, near Ustka by 2K12 Kub missile. Another account ascribes the downing merely to a "technical malfunction". The pilot, Lt. Col. Andrzej Andrzejewski, safely ejected and alighted in Baltic Sea 21 km (11 nmi) from the coast, and – after one-and-half hour spent in water – picked up by Mi-14PS SAR helicopter from Siemirowice Air Base. Andrzejewski will subsequently perish on 23 January 2008, CASA C-295 crash.
- 1989 – A Qantas Boeing 747, (747-438), VH-OJA, City of Canberra, flies non-stop from London to Sydney, setting a world record for a four engine jet, after having flown 17,039.00 kilometers (10,587.54 miles) in 20 hours, 9 minutes, 5 seconds at an average speed of 845.58 kilometers per hour (525.42 miles per hour). FAI Record File Numbers 2201, 2202. This flight took place 16–17 August 1989.
- 1988 – Aleksandr V. Shchukin, a test pilot for the eventually-scrapped Buran shuttle program, is killed when his Sukhoi Su-26M crashes this date.
- 1978 – First flight of the Pilatus PC-7 (Production)
- 1974 – Lockheed C-141A Starlifter, 65-0274, of the 437th MAW, Charleston AFB, South Carolina, hits Mount Potosi at the 19,000 foot level, ~17 miles from destination, John F. Kennedy International Airport, La Paz, Bolivia, killing seven crew.
- 1967 – First flight of the Handley Page Jetstream
- 1965 – First flight of the Kamov Ka-26
- 1963 – Twin accidents aboard the USS Constellation (CV-64) kill three. First, an McDonnell F-4B-10-MC Phantom II, BuNo 149436, 'NK', of VF-143, snaps arresting cable during night landing, goes over the side, pilot Lt. Robert J. Craig, 31, of San Diego is lost with his unidentified RIO, three deck crew injured by whipping cable. Then several hours later, in unrelated accident, Missile Technician 2nd Class Robert William Negus, originally from Lompoc, California, is crushed by a missile, the Navy in San Diego reported.
- 1960 – A C-119 Flying Boxcar recovers a data capsule from the Discoverer 14 satellite in mid-air.
- 1951 – RCAF aerobatic team flying DH 100 Vampire fighters performed at the National Air Races in Detroit, Michigan.
- 1951 – Boeing XB-47-BO Stratojet, 46-065, first prototype of two, stalls on landing, suffers major structural damage. No injuries. Another source cites date of 18 August 1950.
- 1945 – Last U.S. air combat casualty of World War II occurs during mission 230 A-8, when two Consolidated B-32 Dominators of the 386th Bomb Squadron, 312th Bomb Group, launch from Yontan Airfield, Okinawa, for a photo reconnaissance run over Tokyo, Japan. Both bombers are attacked by several Japanese fighters of both the 302nd Air Group at Atsugi and the Yokosuka Air Group that make 10 gunnery passes. Japanese aces Sadamu Komachi and Saburo Sakai are part of this attack. B-32 piloted by 1st Lt. John R. Anderson, is hit at 20,000 feet, cannon fire knocks out number two (port inner) engine, and three crew are injured, including Sgt. Anthony J. Marchione, 19, of the 20th Reconnaissance Squadron, who takes 20 mm hit to the chest, dying 30 minutes later. Tail gunner Sgt. John Houston destroys one attacker. Lead bomber, Consolidated B-32-20-CF Dominator, 42-108532, "Hobo Queen II", piloted by 1st Lt. James Klein, is not seriously damaged but second Consolidated B-32-35-CF Dominator, 42-108578, loses engine, has upper turret knocked out of action, and loses partial rudder control. Both bombers land at Yontan Airfield just past ~1800 hrs. after surviving the last air combat of the Pacific war. The following day, propellers are removed from Japanese aircraft as part of surrender agreement. Marchione is buried on Okinawa on 19 August, his body being returned to his Pottstown, Pennsylvania home on 18 March 1949. He is interred in St. Aloysius Old Cemetery with full military honors. B-32, 42-108578, was scrapped at Kingman, Arizona after the war.
- 1945 – Seven Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft make the last kamikaze attack of World War II.
- 1944 – The U. S. Navy submarine USS Rasher (SS-269) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese aircraft carrier Taiyō off Cape Bolinao, Luzon, with the loss of 747 lives. There are over 400 survivors.
- 1943 – RCAF contributed 74 aircraft to the RAF attack on the German rocket experimental facility at Peenemunde.
- 1943 – Following a Royal Air Force bombing raid on the test facilities at Peenemünde on 17 August, the Messerschmitt Me 163B Komets of training unit EK 16 are moved to a new airfield at Anklam. The airframes are towed to the new location, with one Komet, suffering malfunctioning flap hydraulics, ferried by test pilot Paul Rudolf Opitz. After casting-off from the tow plane, the rocket fighter's landing skid fails to function, the airframe decelerates over a patch of rough and rutted ground at the end of the landing run following an otherwise normal approach. Pilot suffers two damaged vertebrae due to hard landing, spends three months in hospital. Investigation reveals that a force of 15 to 30Gs were required to cause this injury, and Me 163Bs are subsequently fitted with a torsion sprung seat for the pilot, eliminating this type of injury
- 1942 – (Overnight) – Royal Air Force Bomber Command’s Pathfinder Force flies its first mission, with 31 Pathfinder aircraft attempting to mark the target – The German submarine base at Flensburg – For a main force of 87 bombers. The raid is a complete failure; Flensburg is untouched, and the aircraft scatter their bombs widely over the towns of Sønderborg and Aabenraa in Denmark. One Pathfinder aircraft and three other bombers fail to return.
- 1941 – The Butt Report is issued. It reveals a widespread failure of Royal Air Force Bomber Command aircraft to deliver their payloads to the correct target.
- 1941 – The U. S. Navy commissions Naval Air Station Midway at Midway Atoll.
- 1937 – Col. William Caldwell McChord, (1881–1937), rated a junior military aviator in 1918, was killed while trying to force-land his Northrop A-17, 35-105, near Maidens, Virginia. At the time of his death, he was Chief of the Training and Operations Division in HQ Army Air Corps. Tacoma Field, Washington, was renamed McChord Field, 17 December 1937.
- 1932 – 18-19 – Jim Mollison makes the first solo East-to-West crossing of the Atlantic, flying a de Havilland Puss Moth from Dublin to New Brunswick
- 1932 – Auguste Piccard and Max Cosyns set a new balloon altitude record of 16,201 m (53,153 ft).
- 1930 – Captain Wolfgang von Gronau and crew make the first east to west crossing of the Atlantic from Germany to New York.
- 1926 – An Air Union Blériot 155 crashes while attempting an emergency landing at College Farm, Hurst, Aldington due to engine failure, killing 3 of 15 on board; the pilot initially survives, but dies a day later.
- 1922 – Arthur Martens makes the first sailplane flight of over one hour at the Wasserkuppe. His aircraft, named Vampyr (“Vampire”) is designed by Wolfgang Klemmperer.
- 1911 – The sole Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.1 crashes at Farnborough, pilot Lt. Theodore J. Ridge killed. Ridge was an inexperienced pilot, despite being Assistant Superintendent at the factory (who had only been awarded his Pilot's certificate the day before, and was described as "an absolutely indifferent flyer"). The combination of the unskilled pilot and the marginally controllable aircraft proved fatal - the S.E.1 stalled in a turn and spun in, killing Ridge. No further development of this one-off design undertaken.
- 1903 – Karl Jatho makes a flight with his motored airplane in front of 4 people. His craft flies up to 200 feet (60 m) up to few yards/m above the ground in a powered heavier-than-air craft.
- 1901 – At the invitation of Chanute, Wilbur Wright addresses the Western Society of Engineers in Chicago with a 10,000-word paper titled “Some Aeronautical Experiments. ”
- 1871 – Alphonse Pénaud achieves the first flight of an inherently stable airplane when his Planophore is flown 131 feet 11 seconds before the Société de Navigation Aérienne in the Tuileries Gardens, Paris.
- 1805 – First woman to pilot her own balloon: Sophie Blanchard, when she flew solo from the garden of the Cloister of the Jacobins in Toulouse.
References
- ^ Anonymous, "Philippine Minister's Body Found," The Washington Post, August 22, 2012, p. A8.
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