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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...)

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Aircraft spotter on the roof of a building in London. St. Paul's Cathedral is in the background.
Aircraft spotter on the roof of a building in London. St. Paul's Cathedral is in the background.
The Battle of Britain (German: Luftschlacht um England) is the name given to the sustained strategic effort by the German Luftwaffe during the summer and autumn of 1940 to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force (RAF), especially Fighter Command. The name derives from a speech made on 18 June 1940 in the House of Commons by Prime Minister Winston Churchill, "The Battle of France is over. I expect the Battle of Britain is about to begin..."

Had it been successful, the planned amphibious and airborne landings in Britain of Operation Sea Lion would have followed. The Battle of Britain was the first major campaign to be fought entirely by air forces. It was the largest and most sustained bombing campaign attempted up until that date. The failure of Nazi Germany to destroy Britain's air defence or to break British morale is considered its first major defeat.

British historians date the battle from 10 July to 31 October 1940, which represented the most intense period of daylight bombing. German historians usually place the beginning of the battle in mid-August 1940 and end it in May 1941, on the withdrawal of the bomber units in preparation for the attack on the USSR. (Full article...)

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Did you know

...that the Vickers machine gun was the standard weapon on all British and French military aircraft after 1916? ...that the crash of Crossair Flight LX498 was initially attributed to cell phone use, and led to bans of cell phones in airplanes in several countries? ... that Flying Officer (later Air Commodore) Frank Lukis was one of the original twenty-one officers in the RAAF when it was formed in 1921?

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

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Orville Wright
Wilbur Wright

The Wright brothers, Orville Wright (August 19, 1871 - January 30, 1948) and Wilbur Wright (April 16, 1867 - May 30, 1912), are generally credited with making the first controlled, powered, heavier-than-air flight on December 17, 1903. In the two years afterward, they developed their flying machine into the world's first practical airplane, along with many other aviation milestones.

In 1878 Wilbur and Orville were given a toy "helicopter" by their father. The device was made of paper, bamboo and cork with a rubber band to twirl its twin blades, and about a foot long. The boys played with it until it broke, then built their own. In later years, they pointed to their experience with the toy as the initial spark of their interest in flying.

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[[File:|right|250px|The two YC-130 prototypes; the blunt nose was replaced with radar on later production models.]] The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop cargo aircraft and the main tactical airlifter for many military forces worldwide. Over 40 models and variants of the Hercules serve with more than 50 nations. On December 2006 the C-130 was the third aircraft (after the English Electric Canberra in May 2001 and the B-52 Stratofortress in January 2005) to mark 50 years of continuous use with its original primary customer (in this case the United States Air Force).

Capable of short takeoffs and landings from unprepared runways, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation and cargo transport aircraft. The versatile airframe has found uses in a variety of other roles, including as a gunship, and for airborne assault, search and rescue, scientific research support, weather reconnaissance, aerial refuelling and aerial firefighting. The Hercules family has the longest continuous production run of any military aircraft in history. During more than 50 years of service the family has participated in military, civilian and humanitarian aid operations.

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Today in Aviation

August 30

  • 2012 – Two Indian Air Force Mil Mi-17s collide during a training flight 12 km from the Jamnagar airbase, all nine on board the two helicopters died.
  • 2012 – Human Rights Watch alleges that in the previous three weeks Syrian government airstrikes and artillery fire have struck at least 10 bakeries in Aleppo as people lined up to collect bread, killing dozens, with one attack on 16 August alone killing 60 and injuring 70 people.[1]
  • 2009 – A Belarusian Air Force Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker was lost during Radom Airshow 2009, Poland. The plane crashed near the Małęczyn village, outside the military air base the event took place on. No civilian was injured. There was no damage reported on the ground. The crew of two did not eject and were found dead by the rescue teams.
  • 2008 – 2008 Conviasa Boeing 737 crash: A Conviasa Boeing 737-291 Advanced (registered as YV-102 T) ferry flight from Maiquetia, Venezuela to Latacunga, Ecuador crashed into Illiniza Volcano. The aircraft had been stored at Caracas and was being ferried to a new owner. There were 3 crew on board, none of whom survived.
  • 2007 – Boeing B-52H Stratofortress, accidentally loaded with six W80-1 nuclear-armed AGM-129 advanced cruise missiles flies from Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, to Barksdale AFB in Louisiana, where the unguarded aircraft sits on the tarmac for 10 hours undetected. Officers responsible for the security lapse at Minot are disciplined.
  • 1984 – Cameroon Airlines Flight 786, a Boeing 737, with 109 passengers and 7 crew on board, suffers an uncontained engine failure during taxi for take-off at the Douala, Cameroon airport, starting a fire; two persons die as the plane burns to the ground.
  • 1984 – Launch: Space Shuttle Discovery STS-41-D at 12:41:50 UTC. Mission highlights: Multiple comsat deployments; first flight of Discovery, test of OAST-1 Solar Array.
  • 1984 – UA United States Navy North American T-2C Buckeye crashes into the Chesapeake Bay shortly after take-off from NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, killing the student and seriously injuring the instructor.
  • 1983 – Launch: Space shuttle Challenger STS-8 at 06:32:00 UTC. Mission highlights: Comsat deployment, first flight of an African American in space, Guion Bluford; test of robot arm on heavy payloads with Payload Flight Test Article, First night landing.
  • 1982 – First flight of the Northrop F-20 Tigershark 82-0062
  • 1978 – In the LOT Flight 165 hijacking, two East German citizens hijack a Tupolev Tu-134, and force it to land at Tempelhof Airport; there are no casualties to the 63 passengers on board.
  • 1975 – Wien Air Alaska Flight 99, a Fairchild F-27, crashes into Seuvokuk Mountain, Alaska while on approach to Iliamna Airport, killing 10 of 32 on board.
  • 1974 – Maj Wendy Clay, a doctor, qualified as a pilot six years before the pilot classification is opened to all women.
  • 1967 – American aircraft bomb North Vietnamese road, railroad, and canal traffic in an attempt to isolate Haiphong.
  • 1967 – The Spanish Navy acquires the second aviation ship and first true aircraft carrier in its history when the United States loans the light aircraft carrier USS Cabot (CVL-28) to Spain under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program; Spain will purchase the ship outright in 1973. Renamed Dédalo (R01), she will serve in the Spanish Navy until 1989.
  • 1956 – Sabre Mk.VI fighter aircraft of the No. 1 Overseas Ferry Unit, Royal Canadian Air Force, based in St. Hubert, Quebec, set a new record for the flight from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.
  • 1955 – Vought F7U-3 Cutlass, BuNo 129592, of VF-124, misses all the wires during a landing aboard USS Hancock, operating off of Hawaii, and hits the barrier. "Although reported to have suffered only slight damage, it was struck off charge and never flew again."
  • 1953 – Second prototype SNCASO SO.9000 Trident I -002 makes first and last flight, crashing and being a total write-off.
  • 1952 – As a pair of Northrop F-89 Scorpions perform a flypast, Northrop F-89C-30-NO, 51-5781, disintegrates in flight during a display at the International Aviation Exposition at Detroit, Michigan, killing the Scorpion pilot, Major Donald E. Adams, the radar intercept officer, Captain Ed F. Kelly, and one spectator.
  • 1950 – The 1950 Mason-Dixon Line F-84 crash was an aircraft accident of a single Republic F-84 Thunderjet during a routine weather training mission of two jets. After passing southbound near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the F-84 C exploded in mid-air at tree height, left a large crater in a field, and scattered wreckage over 3 acres of the Hilbert cornfield near the Maryland intersection of the Harney and Bollinger School roads. Along with small parts of the aircraft, a few remains of the pilot were recovered; and the element leader in the lead F-84, 1st Lt. William L. Hall, reported “Alkire had not radioed of any difficulty before the explosion. ”
  • 1943 – A Qantas Empire Airways PBY Catalina flying boat on the “Double Sunrise Route” from Ceylon to Perth, Australia, completes the longest non-stop scheduled airline flight in history. From mooring buoy to mooring buoy, the flight takes 31 hours 51 min.
  • 1942 – One-off General Aircraft G.A.L.45 Owlet, DP240, ex-G-AGBK, a tandem, two-seat primary trainer with tricycle undercarriage, impressed by the RAF 1 May 1941 to train Douglas Boston pilots with tricycle techniques, of 605 Squadron at Ford, crashed this date near Arundel, Sussex.
  • 1933 – Air France, France’s national airline, is formed.
  • 1921 – Three Short aircraft of the naval aviation branch of the Chilean Army air corps carry out a successful mock raid from Valparaiso on Coquimbo. This will influence the eventual Chilean decision to separate naval aviation from army aviation.
  • 1914 – Paris is bombed by a German aircraft for the first time – An Etrich Taube flown by Lt Ferdinand von Hiddessen.
  • 1913 – American inventor Lawrence B. Sperry successfully demonstrates the first gyroscopic automatic stabilizing device for powered airplanes when Lt. Patrick N. L. Bellinger pilots a U. S. Navy flying boat designated C-2 and relinquishes full control to the autopilot.

References

  1. ^ Anonymous, "Syrian Forces Bombed People Queuing For Bread - HRW," Reuters, August 30, 2012, 6:43 a.m. EDT
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