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The Aviation Portal

A Boeing 747 operated by Pan Am

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

J-3 aircraft with CAP markings
J-3 aircraft with CAP markings
The Civil Air Patrol is the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force. It was created just days before the Attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, and is credited with sinking at least two German U-boats during the War. It was seen as a way to use America's civil aviation resources to aid the war effort, rather than grounding them, as was the case in the United Kingdom. Today, the Civil Air Patrol is a volunteer organization dedicated to education and national service, including people from all backgrounds and all walks of life. It performs three key missions: Emergency services (including search and rescue), aerospace education for youth and the general public, and cadet programs. The September 11, 2001 attacks demonstrated the importance of the Civil Air Patrol, as it was this organization's aircraft that flew blood to victims of the attack as well as providing the first aerial pictures of the World Trade Center site. (Full article...)

Selected image

NASA AD-1
NASA AD-1
Credit: NASA Dryden Flight Research Center http://www1.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Photo/index.html
The NASA AD-1 aircraft in flight with its wing swept at 60 degrees, the maximum sweep angle.

Did you know

...that in 1929 the Graf Zeppelin completed a circumnavigation of the globe in 21 days, 5 hours and 31 minutes? ...that Wing Commander Stanley Goble and Flying Officer Ivor McIntyre, piloting a single-engined seaplane (pictured), became the first men to circumnavigate Australia by air in 1924? ...that François Denhaut built the world's first flying boat, or seaplane with a hull?

More Did you know facts

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The following are images from various aviation-related articles on Wikipedia.

In the news

Wikinews Aviation portal
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Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Selected biography

Wiley Hardeman Post (November 22, 1898 – August 15, 1935) was the first pilot to fly solo around the world. Also known for his work in high altitude flying, Post helped develop one of the first pressure suits. His plywood aircraft, the Winnie Mae[1] is on display at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA, and his pressure suit is being prepared for display at the same location. On August 15, 1935, Post and American humorist Will Rogers were killed when Post's plane crashed on takeoff from a lagoon near Point Barrow, Alaska.

Selected Aircraft

The Pregnant Guppy was a large, wide-bodied cargo aircraft built in the USA and used for ferrying outsized cargo items, most notably NASA's components of the Apollo moon program. The Pregnant Guppy was the first of the Guppy line of aircraft produced by Aero Spacelines, Inc. The design also inspired similar designs such as the jet-powered Airbus Beluga, and the Boeing 747 LCF designed to deliver Boeing 787 parts.

  • Span:141 feet, 3 inches.
  • Length: 127 feet.
  • Height: 31 feet, 3 inches.
  • Engines: 4 3500hp P&W R-4360.
  • Cruising Speed: 250 mph
  • First Flight:September 19, 1962
  • Number built: 1
More selected aircraft Read more...

Today in Aviation

August 26

  • 2012 – After a final flight from Denver, Colorado, to Lihue, Kaua'i, Hawaii, 83-year-old Ron Akana retires as the longest-serving flight attendant in history. His career, all with United Airlines, had spanned 63 years since he joined the airline in 1949, interrupted only by two years of military service from 1951 to 1953. He had flown about 200 million miles (322,000,000 km) and made about 10,000 trips over the Pacific Ocean.[3][4]
  • 2009 – Aéro-Frêt Antonov An-12 crash: TN-AIA, an Antonov An-12 operated by of Aéro-Frêt, suffers an in-flight fire, breaks up in mid-air and crashes at Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of the Congo. All six people on board are killed.
  • 2008 – A Sun Air 737-200 carrying 109 passengers and crew is hijacked after takeoff of a flight from Nyala, Sudan to Cairo, and demand to be flown to France. The plane ends up landing in Libya, where the passengers would be released the next day later and the hijackers would surrender two days later.
  • 2007 – In Kongolo, Tanganyika District, DRC 13 of 15 aboard die when an overloaded Antonov An-32 (reg 9Q-CAC) owned by Agefreco Air and operated by Great Lakes Business Company crashes while flying tin ore (Cassiterite)
  • 2004 – Boeing delivers the 500th AH-64D Apache Longbow multirole combat helicopter.
  • 2003 – Colgan Air Flight 9446, a US Airways Express Beechcraft 1900D on a repositioning flight with no passengers aboard, crashes in the water off Yarmouth, Massachusetts, immediately after takeoff from Barnstable Municipal Airport in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, due to a maintenance error. The two-man crew captain Scott Knabe (39) and first officer Steven Dean (38) dies.The NTSB identified the cause as aircraft manufacturer's erroneous depiction of the elevator trim drum in the maintenance manual and the flight crew's failure to follow the checklist procedures checking trimmers prior to take off having contributed to the accident.
  • 2003 – The Columbia Accident Investigation Board releases its final report on Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
  • 1988 – Mehran Karimi Nasseri begins what would be an 18-year layover in Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris. Believed to be the inspiration for the Steven Spielberg/Tom Hanks film The Terminal, a chain of immigration bureaucracy and paperwork snafus prevent Nasseri from leaving the airport while en route to settle in London. Despite assistance from lawyers, he would not be able to legally leave the airport until sickness forces him out in July of 2006.
  • 1986 – The CFM56 turbofan is flight tested for the first time.
  • 1982 – Southwest Air Lines Flight 611, a Boeing 737-200, overruns the runway while landing at Ishigaki Airport in Japan. There are no fatalities, but 67 of the 138 on board are injured.
  • 1975 – LTV A-7D-12-CV Corsair II, 72-0172, of the 76th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 23rd Tactical Fighter Wing, England AFB, Louisiana, crashes on a test range on the eastern area of the Eglin AFB, Florida, reservation at ~2240 hrs. during a night training mission. The aircraft, part of a three-ship flight, had departed England AFB at ~2015 hrs. for a ground attack simulation at Eglin. The A-7D went down while orbiting the range with the other two aircraft of the flight. Pilot Capt. William N. Clark, 33, of Little Rock, Arkansas, is KWF. "The cause of the crash is unknown at this time but is being investigated by a board of qualified officers," Maj. Les Smith, Eglin Information officer, said. The three jets were slated to return to England AFB directly after completing the mission, Smith said. Capt. Clark is survived by his wife and three children who reside at England AFB.
  • 1959 – French flyer Jacqueline Auriol, piloting the Mirage III, becomes the first woman to attain the speed of Mach 2.
  • 1959 – The White House enters the jet age. After pressure from Secretary of State John Dulles (after whom the Capitol’s airport is now named) regarding the somewhat shoddy appearance of a US President arriving at international meetings aboard a prop while Russian dignitaries flew in aboard jets, the first VC-137 A, a modified Boeing 707-120 airliner, enters service to replace the Lockheed Super Constellation formerly responsible for Presidential transport. Newer aircraft would subsequently take over President-carrying duties over the years, but this first jet, branded SAM 970, would remain in the Air Force’s Special Air Missions fleet until 1996, last being used to transport Vice President Al Gore. SAM 970 is now on display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.
  • 1954 – Top Korean War USAF ace Capt. Joseph C. McConnell (16 victories) is killed in crash of fifth production North American F-86H Sabre, 52-1981, at Edwards AFB, California.
  • 1953 – U.S. Coast Guard Boeing PB-1G Flying Fortress, BuNo 77253, ex-44-85827, loses brakes while landing at NAS Sand Point, near Seattle, Washington, overruns runway, crushes nose as it ends up in Lake Washington. Retrieved and sold for salvage.
  • 1951 – Handley Page HP.88, VX330, a two-fifths scale flying testbed for the Handley Page HP.80 Victor bomber to prove crescent wing design, breaks up in flight when the rear fuselage separates during a manoeuvre. During a high-speed, low-level pass over Stansted's main runway, it suffered a failure of its slab-type tailplane's servo-control system, producing severe oscillations that subjected the airframe to excessive G-forces, causing the ship to break up, killing pilot D. J. P. Broomfield.
  • 1942 – Adolf Hitler orders the incomplete heavy cruiser Seydlitz to be completed as an aircraft carrier.
  • 1940 – No. 1 (Fighter) Squadron engaged the enemy in the Battle of Britain and destroyed three and damaged four enemy aircraft. F/O RL Edwards was the RCAF’s first battle casualty.
  • 1937 – Majorca-based Italian aircraft bomb a British merchant ship off Barcelona, Spain.
  • 1929 – The first flight of the largest trimotor transport aircraft built by Fokker, the F.IX, takes to the air on its first flight. The prototype (PH-AGA) was handed over to KLM on May 8, 1930, and given the name Adelaar (Eagle).
  • 1925 – In a record that would stand until Feb. 24, 1983, Farman Parker of Anderson, Indiana becomes the world’s youngest pilot to fly solo. Born on January 9, 1912, he flies at the age of 13 years, 7 months, 17 days.
  • 1927 – Bert Hinkler sets a new non-stop distance record, flying from Croydon, England to Riga, Latvia.
  • 1909 – The Antoinette IV airplane sets a world distance record, flying 154.6 km (96.1 mi) in 2 hours 17 min 21 seconds.

References

  1. ^ Winnie Mae
  2. ^ Syria Live Blog, Al-Jazeera.
  3. ^ Daniel Miller (August 29, 2012). "Spending 63 years in the sky has finally landed flight attendant a place in the Guinness Book of Records". Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
  4. ^ Morning Edition (August 27, 2012). "United Flight Attendant, 83, Ends 63-Year Career". Npr.org. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
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