Feb Flying bits

[Angry Turnip]

A new month,and some more aviation info snippets.


1st Feb 1912.....The first flight of the British multi role biplane,the Royal Aircraft factory BE.2,over 3,500 were built in different versions.

1st Feb 1920.....The South African Air Force is founded.

1st Feb 1933.....The first flight of the Boeing XF6B,the last biplane design Boeing submitted to the US Navy.

1st Feb 1934.....South African Airways is formed,they operate a DH.60 Gypsy Moth,a DH.80A Puss Moth and a number of Junkers F.13`s.

1st Feb 1945.....First flight of the Japanese fighter,the Kawasaki Ki-100.

1st Feb 1953.....Chance Vought deliver the last F4-U Corsair to the US Navy,it is the 12,571st example.

1st Feb 1957.....The Bristol Britannia airliner enters service with BOAC.

1st Feb 1958.....The launch of the first USA Earth Satellite Explorer 1.

1st Feb 1964.....The Boeing B727 enters service with Eastern Airlines.

1st Feb 1981.....Founder of the Douglas Aircraft Company Donald Wills Douglas Snr dies at the age of 88.

1st Feb 1983.....Boeing announces it is to end production of the Boeing B727,the last one came off the production line in 1984,total built 1,832.

1st Feb 1987.....People Express Airline becomes part of Continental Airlines.

1st Feb 1992.....The first flight of the BAe Hawk Mk102D advanced jet trainer.

1st Feb 2003.....Space Shuttle Columbia is destroyed on re-entry over Texas.Cause is found to be damage to the heat shield on launch,which damaged the shield on the wings leading edge,causing                                                 the wing to break up.

[Angry Turnip]

2nd Feb 1916.....Orlitza,the only Imperial Russian Navy seaplane carrier to see service in WWI,is commissioned.

2nd Feb 1918.....The first operational squadrons of the American Expeditionary Force are formed in France.

2nd Feb 1944.....The first flight of the Republic XP-72 an American prototype interceptor fighter,powered by a 3,500hp Pratt+Whitney R4360-13 radial engine.

2nd Feb 1951.....The passenger extended version of the Douglas DC-6,the DC-6B without the rear cargo door,made it`s first flight.

2nd Feb 1953.....The Skyways Avro York disappearance-Avro York G-AHFA with 39 onboard vanished over the North Atlantic on a flight from Stansted to Jamacia.

2nd Feb 1954.....Japan Airlines starts it`s first international route,a twice weekly scheduled service to San Francisco.

2nd Feb 1957.....Italian aviator Antonio Lippi,who had flown with Italo Balbo died in Palermo.

2nd Feb 1971.....Apollo 14 is en-route to the moon.Mission is from 31st Jan to 8th Feb 1971.

[Angry Turnip]

3rd Feb 1911.....Leon Lemartin breaks the record for an aircraft carrying passengers,he has 8 on board a Bleriot XIII.

3rd Feb 1928.....The first flight of the Boeing F3B,a carrier based fighter-bomber.

3rd Feb 1928.....New York City approves plans to build a municipal airport at Floyd Bennett Field.

3rd Feb 1935.....Hugo Junkers,German aircraft engineer and designer dies aged 76.

3rd Feb 1946.....Pan Am begins commercial use of the Lockheed Model 049 Constellation,on a service between New York and Bermuda.

3rd Feb 1948.....Pilots and co-pilots at National Airlines go on strike over safety concerns.

3rd Feb 1959.....Beechcraft Bonanza crashes near Clear Lake Iowa,on board were Buddy Holly,The Big Bopper,and Richie Valens and their pilot who were all killed.

3rd Feb 1959.....The first flight of the Agusta-Bell AB.102 Italian helicopter based on the Bell.48 but with a new streamlined body.

3rd Feb 1964.....The FAA launch Operation Bongo Mark 2 to investigate the effects of supersonic flight on a built up area and public attitude.

3rd Feb 1966.....A Soviet unmanned spacecraft makes the first moon landing.............http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/solarsystem/space_missions/luna_9

3rd Feb 1978.....The de Havilland Canada Dash 7 entered service with Rocky Mountain Airways.

3rd Feb 1985.....The first flight of the South African built attack helicopter,the Atlas XH-1 Alpha.It lost out to a rival machine,the Denel Rooivalk.

3rd Feb 1998.....The Cavalese Cable Car disaster- A US Marine Corps EA-6B Prowler on a low level mission,cut a cable on a cable car-20 people died in the accident.

3rd Feb 2001.....The first flight of the Agusta Westland AW139 medium lift helicopter.

3rd Feb 2015.....The first flight of the Embraer KC-390,medium sized transport aircraft.

[Angry Turnip]

Today`s slices of aviation history.........


4th Feb 1902.....The first balloon flight in Antarctica,when Robert Falcon Scott and a certain Ernest Shackelton ascend to over 240m in a tethered hydrogen balloon to take aerial photographs.

4th Feb 1902.....Charles Augustus Lindbergh,the famous American pilot is born.

4th Feb 1917.....Work began at Camp Borden to make it the main training site for the Royal Flying Corps.

4th Feb 1919.....The first flight of the British Bristol Badger,two seat fighter/recon aircraft.

4th Feb 1920.....Pierre van Reyneveld and Quentin Brand set out in a Vickers Vimy from Cario in a bid to cross Africa,north to south.They arrive in Cape Town 20th March.

4th Feb 1935.....The first flight of the Japanese Mitsubishi A5M "Claude",a carrier borne fighter.

4th Feb 1943.....The first flight of the British Type 163 Buckingham,a medium bomber/courier aircraft.

4th Feb 1946.....The fist flight of the Republic XF-12 Rainbow,a four engined strategic recon aircraft.Only two built.

4th Feb 1948.....The USAF Military Air Transport Service ( MATS ) is established.

4th Feb 1948.....The first flight of the Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket high speed research aircraft.

4th Feb 1969.....The North American XB-70 Valkyrie was retired from NASA/USAF service.

4th Feb 1977.....Kenya Airways started services with 2 Boeing B707-321 on a Nairobi-Frankfurt-London route.

4th Feb 1988.....Air Hong Kong is founded.

4th Feb 1997.....The first flight of the US built Groen Hawk 4 autogyro.

4th Feb 2011.....The first flight of the Northrop Grumman X-47B UCAV Demonstator, pitched at the US Navy.

[Angry Turnip]

5th Feb 1911.....The first undisputed aeroplane flight in New Zealand is made by Vivian Walsh at Auckland in a Howard Wright biplane.

5th Feb 1915.....The Vickers FB.5 Gunbus enters service with the RFC.

5th Feb 1919.....German Airline Deutsche Luft Reederei launch the worlds first daily scheduled flight,Berlin to Weimar,via Leipzeig.

5th Feb 1920.....The Royal Air Force College is established at Cranwell,formally used by the RNAS.

5th Feb 1925.....Clyde V.Cessna,Walter Beech,and Lloyd Stearman founded the Travel Air Manufacturing Company Limited.

5th Feb 1929.....The first flight of the British Fairey Firefly II,a single seat biplane fighter.

5th Feb 1946.....TWA begins a transatlantic service with the Lockheed Constellation on the New York-Gander-Shannon-Paris route.

5th Feb 1960.....The first flight of the Polish built PZL-TS11 Iskra,trainer.

5th Feb 1962.....A US Navy Sikorsky HSS-2 Sea King sets a new helicopter speed record of 210.6mph.

5th Feb 1971.....Apollo 14 lands on the moon with Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell.

5th Feb 1974.....Mariner 10,NASA research craft passes Venus sending back pictures.

5th Feb 1982.....Laker Airways ceases trading.

5th Feb 2015.....A huge fire at the Dowty propeller factory at Staverton ,Gloucestershire, almost destroys the facility.It makes props for the C-130J and Q400.

[Angry Turnip]

Todays Feb Facts......


6th Feb 1923.....German airline Deutsche Luft-Reederei ceases flight operations.

6th Feb 1931.....Imperial Airways begins scheduled services between England and Africa,using Armstrong Whitworth Argosy aircraft.

6th Feb 1933.....The first flight of the Japanese built Kawanishi E7K recon floatplane.

6th Feb 1933.....Jim Mollison sets out in a de Havilland Puss Moth to from the UK to Brazil via Senegal and across the South Atlantic.He becomes the first person to fly solo across both North and                                                   South Atlantic oceans.

6th Feb 1938.....The first successful in flight seperation of the Short-Mayo composite ( a Short S21 Maia and a Short S20 Mercury seaplane ) at Shorts works Borstal near Rochester.

6th Feb 1943.....The first flight of the Supermarine Type 322,a protoype torpedo and dive bomber.

6th Feb 1948.....Sqn Leader WA Waterton sets a new speed record in a closed 100km course in a Gloster Meteor IV of 542 Mph.

6th Feb 1956.....TWA Captain William Judd flew his Cessna 180 non-stop from New York to Paris,over 3600 miles.

6th Feb 1958.....The Munich Air Disaster.Airspeed AS-57 Ambassador G-ALZU crashes on it`s 3rd takeoff attempt in blizzard.23 of 44 on board die,including 8 Manchester United footballers.

6th Feb 1964.....The Boeing B727 enters service with United Airlines 5 days after delivery.

6th Feb 1998.....Andy Nelson and Bertrand Piccard land the Breitling Orbiter II after an attempt at the around the world in a hot air balloon flight is forced to end as China would not let them overfly.
                         They set an endurance record of 233hrs,55 mins.

[Angry Turnip]

7th Feb 1920......Frenchman Joseph Lecointe becomes the first pilot to set a new FAI speed record after WWI,in a Nieuport Delage 29V he sets a speed of 171.141 MPH on a 3280ft course.

7th Feb 1928......Bert Hinkler sets out from Croyden in an Avro Avian,in an attempt to make the first solo flight from England to Australia.His exploits featured at one of the Ards airshows.

7th Feb 1934......Charles Ulm makes the first airmail flight between Australia and New Zealand in an Avro 618 Ten,taking 14hrs,10mins.

7th Feb 1956......The death of Hugh Trenchard,known as the " Father Of The Royal Air Force ".

7th Feb 1959......(Approx date) A record non-stop flight of 65 days in a Cessna 172 lands in Las Vegas.            http://www.microlightflying.org.uk/two-months-in-a-172-without-landing/

7th Feb 1964......The first photograph of a YF-12 is released-aircraft 934.

7th Feb 1968......Lockheed are ordered to destroy the tooling of the YF-12,A-12 and SR-71.

7th Feb 1977......Launch of Soyuz 24,the 3rd and last mission to the Salyut 5 space station.

7th Feb 1984......Astronauts on the Space Shuttle Challenger STS-41 B mission become the first to use the MMU ( Manned Maneuvering Unit )  in untethered space walk.

[Angry Turnip]

8th Feb 1908......The first flight of the French experimental monoplane,the Gastambide-Mengin powered by an Antoinette 50hp piston engine.

8th Feb 1912......Robert Grant Fowler becomes the first person to fly across the USA from West to East.The 4 month trip started in San Francisco,he lands in Jacksonville Florida in a Wright Biplane.

8th Feb 1913......Russian pilot N.de Sackoff becomes the first pilot to be shot down in combat,flying what was believed to be a Maurice Farman MF7,in the First Balkan War,he manages to repair his                                              aircraft and returns to base.

8th Feb 1919......A Farman F.60 Goliath makes the first commercial flight between Paris and London.

8th Feb 1933......The first flight of the Boeing 247 Airliner which incorporated many advances in aircraft design and construction.

8th Feb 1951......The first flight of the French research aircraft powered by a ramjet,the Leudec 0.16.It can viewed at Le Bourget Air and Space Museum.

8th Feb 1966......Freddie Laker founds Laker Airways,initially using two former BOAC Bristol Britannia`s.

8th Feb 1967......The first flight of the Swedish Saab 37 Viggen.

8th Feb 1974......The crew of Skylab 4 leave the US built space station for the last time.

8th Feb 1988......The US FAA retires an aircraft registration for the first time,that of Amelia Earhart`s Lockheed Model 10 Electra NR16020.She vanished with it over the Pacific in 1937.

8th Feb 1999......The first flight of the Russian Tupolev TU-334,a narrow body jetliner,only two built.

8th Feb 2010......The first flight Boeing B747-8F.

[Angry Turnip]

It`s Friday,and time for more flight facts! Some very important firsts.


9th Feb 1916......The first flight of one of the iconic WWI fighters,the Sopwith Pup.

9th Feb 1923......Aeroflot is founded.

9th Feb 1937......The first flight of the British Blackburn B-24 Skua,a two seat carrier borne dive-bomber/fighter.Mainly used by the Fleet Air Arm.

9th Feb 1939......Alex Henshaw sets a new speed record between the UK and Cape Town,flying a Perciaval Mew Gull G-AEXF.The flight took 4 days,10hrs,16mins.The aircraft is still airworthy.

9th Feb 1945......Balloon bombs launched from Japan are found at Moose Jaw,Sask.

9th Feb 1955......The first flight of the Convair CV-540.

9th Feb 1959......The first flight of the French four seat jet trainer and liason aircraft,the Morane-Saulnier MS.760 Paris.

9th Feb 1959......The Soviet R-7 Semyorka (SS-6 Sapwood) became the first ICBM to enter service.

9th Feb 1963......The first flight of the Boeing B727 Tri-jet narrow body airliner.

9th Feb 1969......The first flight of the Boeing B747,nicknamed the Jumbo Jet,takes place in Seattle.It becomes the largest aircraft in commercial service.

9th Feb 1971......Apollo 14 returns to Earth,it is the third successful manned Moon mission.

9th Feb 1972......The first flight of the Boeing E-3 Sentry (EC-137D) which will lead to the finalised version of the E-3.

9th Feb 1975......Soyuz 17 returns to Earth after a Soviet record 29 day trip to the Salyut 4 space station.

9th Feb 1975......Death of Fritz Wendal,Messerschmitt test pilot.

9th Feb 1983......British Airways begins services with the new Boeing B757.

9th Feb 1989......The Boeing B747-400 enters service,launch customer is Northwest Airliners.

9th Feb 1997......The first flight of the Boeing B737NG (New Generation) covering the 600,700,800,900 series.

9th Feb 2006......The death of Sir Fredrick Alfred, "Freddie" Laker.

[smudge]

7th Feb 1968......Lockheed are ordered to destroy the tooling of the YF-12,A-12 and SR-71.

And that was that until 1999...

After the SR was withdrawn from the USAF, NASA ended-up with three warehouses of spares.  None of them could be sold as they had all been deliberately mis-catalogued for secrecy.  J58s, start-carts, tyres, nuts: they didn't exist so the GSA couldn't do anything with them.

Eventually the Marines wanted their warehouses emptied and NASA contracted a company to destroy the spares.  This they did with big shredders and shears until they encountered the tooling.  Nothing they had would even scratch it, so eventually it was shipped off and buried in a big hole in Nevada.

The other load that escaped destruction was a huge heap of raw Russian titanium, the leftovers of the stock that had been used to build the aircraft.  It went to Tinker AFB and vanished.

[Angry Turnip]

Where were we? Oh yes I remember now............


10th Feb 1929.......Evelyn Trout is the first woman to fly solo all night,and sets a new woman`s endurance record of more than 17 hours.

10th Feb 1933.......The first flight of the British Hawker Demon,a fighter version of the Hawker Hart light bomber.

10th Feb 1936.......The first flight of the Italian Fiat BR.20 Cicogna twin engine medium bomber.

10th Feb 1941.......Britain uses paratroops for the first time in an attack against the Tragino Aqueduct in southern Italy.

10th Feb 1962.......US Pilot Gary Powers who was shot down in a U2 spy plane was exchanged for COL.Rudolph Abel at Glienicke Bridge.He is killed 1/8/1977 when his helicopter ran out of fuel.

10th Feb 1967.......The first flight of the experimental Dornier Do31 VTOL transport.

10th Feb 1993.......McDonnell Douglas produces it`s 10,000th Aircraft,a F/A-18 Hornet.

10th Feb 2011.......Manx2 flight 7100 from Belfast City to Cork operated using a Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner EC-ITP,leased from Flightline BCN crashes on 3rd landing attempt in thick fog.

[Angry Turnip]

More Feb Flying facts........


11th Feb 1913.....The Chilean Military Aviation School is founded by Coronel Pedro Pablo Dartnell.

11th Feb 1932.....The first flight of the French Couzinet 70,a 3 engined commercial aircraft.

11th Feb 1938.....The first flight of the Bristol Type 146,a British single seat monoplane fighter.

11th Feb 1939.....The prototype Lockheed XP-38 flies from California to New York (where it crashed) in 7 hrs 2mins.

11th Feb 1945.....The first flight of the US Built Consolidated Vultee XP-81 long range fighter.It was powered by a turbo prop and turbo jet.

11th Feb 1949.....The first flight of the Spanish built CASA C-201 Alcotan,a military transport aircraft.

11th Feb 1956.....The first flight of the Soviet military transport aircraft,the Antonov-AN-8.

11th Feb 1964.....The US Navy selects the Vought A-7 Corsair II to replace the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk.

11th Feb 1970.....Japan successfully launches a satellite ( Osumi ) into orbit.

11th Feb 1976.....The death of Alexander M.Lippisch,a German aerodynamics pioneer,he studied delta wing shapes,and designed the rocket powered interceptor Me163 Komet.

11th Feb 1986.....United Airlines completes it`s takeover of Pan-Ams Pacific Division giving it services to 11 Pacific rim cities.

11th Feb 1987.....British Airways shares begin trading on the London stock exchange.

11th Feb 2000.....Jet Blue begins operations out of New York`s JFK.

11th Feb 2002.....The first flight of the Airbus A340-500 ultra long haul airliner-Launch customer was to be Air Canada,but they filed for bankruptcy Jan 2003,Emirites became the launch carrier.

11th Feb 2006.....Steve Fossett set the absolute record for distance without landing in Global Flyer.He took off 8th Feb from Florida,then around the world eastbound,then on to Bournemouth UK.

                          The official distance was 25,766miles in 76hrs,45 mins.

[Angry Turnip]

12th Feb 1914......Igor Sikorsky`s giant 4 engine biplane flies in Russia with 16 passengers on board.

12th Feb 1928......Lady Mary Heath from Knockaderry Co.Limerick,leaves Cape Town in an Avro Avian in an attempt to make the first female solo flight to England,she arrives in Croydon May 17th.

12th Feb 1947......The first flight of the Sikorsky S-52,two seat light helicopter.

12th Feb 1959.......The USAF retires it`s last Convair B-36 Peacemaker bomber,it is displayed at Amon Carter Field.

12th Feb 1960......A Delta Airlines Convair 880 flies from San Diego to Miami in a record time of 3 hrs 31 mins.

12th Feb 1962......Avro Avian 5 is found in the Algerian desert,piloted by Capt William N.Lancaster it crashed in 1933 on a record breaking flight attempt.Lancaster and his personal effects are                                                           recovered.

12th Feb 1965......The first flight of the French Dassault Mirage IIIV VTOL fighter.

12th Feb 1985......The first flight of the Aermacchi M-290 Redigo training aircraft.

12th Feb 1991......Continental reveals it`s new blue/grey paint scheme.

12th Feb 2004......United Airlines launches a new low cost airline Ted.

[Angry Turnip]

13th Feb 1913......At the second British Aero Show in London,the first aircraft designed to carry a weapon is unveiled,the Vickers Destroyer experimental fighting biplane is armed with a 37mm cannon.

13th Feb 1923......Chuck Yeager,American fighter and test pilot is born.

13th Feb 1936......Imperial Airways commences airmail services to West Africa.

13th Feb 1943......The first combat mission of the Vought F4-U Corsair with the Marine Corps,when VFM 124 Corsair`s escort USAAF B-24`s on a bombing raid.

13th Feb 1960......France detonates it`s first nuclear weapon.

13th Feb 1972......The Soviet Union use Cuba to spy on the USA using a pair of TU-95 to observe the east coast.

13th Feb 1991......The first flight of the US built Syberjet SJ30 light business jet,only 8 built.

13th Feb 2002......SkyEurope commences flight operations.

13th Feb 2006......The 5000th Boeing B737 comes off the production line.

[Angry Turnip]

14th Feb 1928.....The first flight of the Short S.8 Calcutta tri-engined biplane flying boat.

14th Feb 1932.....Ruth Nichols sets a new altitude record for a diesel powered aircraft.She reaches 19,928ft in a modified Lockheed Vega.

14th Feb 1936.....The first flight of the British Hawker Hector liason aircraft.13 of the type were supplied to the IAC in 1941-42.

14th Feb 1942.....The first flight of the Douglas C-54 Skymaster four engined transport developed from the DC-4.

14th Feb 1955.....The first flight of the Soviet Ye-2,which would become the Mikoyan-Gurevich Mig-21 fighter and interceptor aircraft.

14th Feb 1963.....The Indian Air Force receives it`s batch of Soviet Mig-21 fighters.

14th Feb 1963.....The USA launches the communication satellite Syncom 1.

14th Feb 1978.....The first flight of the six seat,twin engined Cessna T303 Crusader.

14th Feb 1984.....The first flight of the upgraded Cessna S550 Citation S/II with max seating for 11 pax.

14th Feb 1990.....Voyager 1 takes a photograph of the solar system from the outside.

[smudge]

12th Feb 1960......A Delta Airlines Convair 880 flies from San Diego to Miami in a record time of 3 hrs 31 mins.

58 years of progress; on 12 February 2018 B738 N846NN flew the same route as AAL1402 with a runway-to-runway time of 4 hrs 16 mins

I had to pick American as Delta no longer operate directly between the two airports, they route via a change in Atlanta for a journey time of seven hours 

[Angry Turnip]

15th Feb 1910......The Flying Club of the United Kingdom is given the "Royal" seal of approval by King Edward VII.

15th Feb 1938......The first flight of the prototype French Bloch MB.170,the MB170 AB2-A3 No.01 could operate as a two seater bomber or 3 seater recon.

15th Feb 1940......The WWII British civilian ATA ( Air Transport Auxiliary ) is formed to ferry repaired and new aircraft between factories,and MU`s and active units etc.

15th Feb 1941......The first flight of the US built fighter the Curtis XP-46,only two were completed.

15th Feb 1946......The first flight of the 4 engined US built transport,the DC-6.

15th Feb 1949......The first flight of the unusual French built twin deck transport,the Breguet 761,or Deux Ponts as it became known.

15th Feb 1959......The first flight of the Italian built Aermacchi AL-60 utility aircraft.

15th Feb 1970......Death of Sir Hugh Dowding aged 87,former Air Chief Marshall of the RAF,Commander of RAF Fighter Command during the Battle Of Britain.

15th Feb 1973......The Soviet Union launch Prognoz 3 to study the sun.

15th Feb 1986......The first flight of the weird Model 2000 Beechcraft Starship,executive transport.

15th Feb 1994......The first flight of the much named Eurocopter EC-135 Utility Helicopter.

15th Feb 2005......The roll out of the Boeing B777-200LR Worldliner-first flight was 8th March 2005.

15th Feb 2010......Spanish budget airline Hola! ceases operations.

15th Feb 2011......United Airlines issues a temp grounding of it`s B757 fleet to check a software upgrade that had not been performed to correct spec.

[Angry Turnip]

16th Feb 1912......Frank Coffyn takes aerial shots of New York and flew under the Brooklyn Bridge.Not the best name for a pilot.

16th Feb 1932......The first flight of the US built Martin B-10 twin engine bomber.

16th Feb 1944......The first flight of the US built Curtis SC Seahawk,a scout seaplane.

16th Feb 1946......The first flight of the Sikorsky S-51 helicopter,a modified version of the R5,with larger rotor diameter,greater capacity,and a new tricycle undercarriage.

16th Feb 1957......French jet fighter prototype the Nord 1405 Gerfaut II established several time to height records from a standing start.6000mtrs in 1min 17secs and 9000mtrs in 1min 34 secs.

16th Feb 1961......The first flight of the Avian Gyroplane,a Canadian two seat gyroplane.

16th Feb 1961......The USA launch satellite Explorer 9 to take atmospheric density measurements.

16th Feb 1967......The first flight of the MBB Bo-105 light utility helicopter,which was later developed into the EC-135 and MBB/Kawasaki BK117.

16th Feb 1982......The first Airbus A310 is rolled out destined for launch customer Swissair-its first flight was 3rd April 1982.

16th Feb 2002......The first flight of the Czech kit build two seater UL-Jih Evolution,it is powered by a (98.6HP) Rotax 912 ULS or (79.9 HP) Rotax 912 UL

16th Feb 2006......Japan`s Kobe Airport opens for commercial service.

16th Feb 2009......An entire South African Airways crew are arrested at LHR after a crew bag containing 5 kilos of cocaine is found.Sniffy,the sniffer dog was really on top form that day.

[Angry Turnip]

More Feb flight bites.........Not much to report today.

17th Feb 1926.....Alan Cobham completes a flight in a DH.50 J from Croydon to Cape Town.

17th Feb 1934.....The first airmail flight from Australia to New Zealand is flown by Charles T.Ulm in an Avro 10,a license built Fokker FVII.B/3m registered VH-UXX.

17th Feb 1965.....The USA launches Ranger 8 to transmit high res images of the lunar surface for use in the Apollo Missions.

17th Feb 1988.....Asiana Airlines is established in Seoul,South Korea.

17th Feb 2005.....Another new airport for Japan with the opening of Chubu Centrair International in Nagoya.

[Angry Turnip]

18th Feb 1921......The first successful helicopter flight was made by French man Etienne Oehmichen,in a machine of his own design.

18th Feb 1923......The Canadian Air Force is granted the "Royal" prefix.

18th Feb 1930......Elm Farm Oillie becomes the first cow to fly in a fixed wing aircraft,she also becomes the first cow to be milked in an aircraft.

18th Feb 1934......TWA assembles a team of famous flyers including Eddie Rickenbacker,to fly a prototype of the DC-1 from Burbank California,to Newark New Jersey in 13hrs and 4 mins.

18th Feb 1939......The first flight of the US built Martin PBM Mariner,a twin engine flying boat.

18th Feb 1941......The first flight of the Grumman XP-50,a US built twin engine fighter prototype.

18th Feb 1944......Operation Jericho,de Havilliand Mosquito`s of the RNZAF and RAAF breach the prison walls at Ameins,France in an attempt to allow resistance fighters to escape.

18th Feb 1957......Douglas Aircraft delivers the last of the 3180 AD Skyraiders to the US Navy after a production run of almost 12 years.

18th Feb 1969......Terrorists attack an Israeli EL AL Boeing 720-058B on the ground at Zurich Airport.The first officer is killed.

18th Feb 1973......Two French pilots land their SA 319 B Alouette II on Mount Kilimanjaro at a height of 19,341ft.

18th Feb 1977......The first flight of the Boeing B747 SCA with Shuttle Enterprise on top to test handling of the mated system.

18th Feb 1981......US aviation industrialist and co-founder of Lockheed Corporation and later Northrop Corporation,Jack Northrop dies at the age of 85.

18th Feb 1988......Binter Canarias,a Spainish regional carrier is founded.

[Angry Turnip]

Bah Humbug....I had this nearly finished and hit backspace by mistake and lost it all,so second time of asking....


Feb 19th 1912......First flight of the German Zeppelin LZ II, " Victoria Louise ".

Feb 19th 1916......The death of Austrian physicist Ernst Mach.

Feb 19th 1926......The first flight of the Dornier N / Kawasaki KA87 bomber intended for production in Japan under license.

Feb 19th 1933......The first flight of the US built Vultee V-1,an eight pax transport.

Feb 19th 1934......The USAAC begin delivering US Airmail,all contracts had been cancelled due to possible corruption.

Feb 19th 1934......The first flight of the British prototype fighter,the Supermarine Type 224,designed by a certain RJ Mitchell,what became of him I wonder................?

Feb 19th 1941......The first flight of the British Airspeed AS.45 Cambridge advanced trainer,only two were built.

Feb 19th 1957......The first flight of the US built Bell X-14,an experimental VTOL aircraft.

Feb 19th 1965......The first flight of the Cessna 188 AG light agri aircraft based heavily on the C180.

Feb 19th 1965......Lufthansa signs up to be the launch customer for the forthcoming Boeing B737.

Feb 19th 1970......The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 52.

Feb 19th 1982......The first flight of the Boeing B757 airliner.

Feb 19th 1986......The Soviet Union luanches Mir Space Station.

Feb 19th 1988......The first flight of the baby B737,the B737-400 series.

Feb 19th 2002......The first flight of the Brazilian Embraer EMB-170,a twin engine medium range airliner.

[Angry Turnip]

20th Feb 1924......In Dakar,Lt Col.Tulasne,Cpt.Gama and Lt.Michel complete the first flight across the Sahara and back.The use Breguet-14 aircraft.

20th Feb 1939......The first flight of the DC-5,probably the least known of the DC series.Only 12 were built.

20th Feb 1940......The first flight of the Soviet bomber,the Yakovlev Yak-4,developed from the Yak-2.

20th Feb 1942......Lt.Ed O`Hare becomes the first US Navy ace of WWII,after shooting down 5 Japanese bombers.

20th Feb 1958......The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter enters USAF service with 83rd Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Hamilton AFB California.

20th Feb 1959......The Canadian government cancels the Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow,a delta winged interceptor.

20th Feb 1963......Austrian Airlines receives it`s first jet aircraft,the first of five SUD-Aviation SE.210 VIR Caravalles.

20th Feb 1965......The US Ranger 8 probe crashes on the moon.

20th Feb 1967......The death of Cecil Brock,Canadian WW I ace who took part in the action which led to Manfred von Richtofen`s death.

20th Feb 1968......A standard Learjet 25 sets a new time to climb record of 40,000ft in 6mins 29 secs.

20th Feb 1998......TWA retires the last of it`s Boeing B747`s.

20th Feb 2005......A BA Boeing B747-400 flight 268 LAX to LHR suffers an engine failure in No2.It continues on to Manchester were it makes an emergency landing.  Naughty!

20th Feb 2011......The death of BA Pilot Barbara Harmer,the first female Concorde pilot.

[Angry Turnip]

21st Feb 1910......Birth of British WW II Ace,Douglas Bader.

21st Feb 1916......German Zeppelin LZ47 is attacked and destroyed during a raid in the Batlle Of Verdun.

21st Feb 1919......The first flight of the Thomas Morse MB3.It is the first US designed fighter,and is to be built by Boeing.

21st Feb 1938......The first flight of the British light touring aircraft,the Miles M.17 Monarch.

21st Feb 1945......The first flight of the British Hawker Sea Fury fighter,one of the fastest single seat piston engine aircraft ever built.

21st Feb 1952......The first flight of the Swedish built SAAB 210,double delta testbed aircraft.

21st Feb 1953......The first flight of the US Built light helicopter,the Brantly B-2.

21st Feb 1962......The first flight of the Us built Piasecki 16H Pathfinder,an experimental high speed helicopter.

21st Feb 1967......McDonnell Douglas completes the 2000th F-4 Phantom II,multi-role fighter.

21st Feb 1971......All Nippon Airways operates their first international flight with a chartered B727,Tokyo to Hong Kong.

21st Feb 1972......The Soviet unmanned spacecraft Luna 20 lands on the moon.

21st Feb 1995......Steve Fossett lands in Leader,Canada after departing South Korea.He is the first person to cross the Pacific solo in a balloon.

21st Feb 2011......Two senior Libyan Air Force pilots land their Mirage F1`s in Malta and request political asylum.

[smudge]

Feb 19th 1965......Lufthansa signs up to be the launch customer for the forthcoming Boeing B737.

I missed this the other day, but it reminded me that the 10,000th ( yes ten-thousandth ) 737 fuselage was recently delivered to Renton.

Ten thousand.  Bonkers.

Meanwhile the A320 family is at 8,114!

[Angry Turnip]

Feb almost gone already....

22nd Feb 1912.....The Fokker Aviatik GmbH is registered in Berlin,Dutchman Anthony Fokker moved to Germany where he designed his first aircraft,the Spider N0 1.

22nd Feb 1913.....Frenchman Jules Vedrine in a Deperdussin monoplane,is the first pilot to fly at over 100mph.

22nd Feb 1925.....The first flight of the British built de Havilland DH.60 Moth G-EBKT,with Geoffrey de Havilland at the controls.

22nd Feb 1925.....The first flight of the British fighter,the Gloster Gamecock.

22nd Feb 1928.....Bert Hinkler arrives in Darwin Australia,after a 11,000 mile solo flight.

22nd Feb 1934.....The first flight of the Fairey S.9/30,only one was built,but the Fairey Swordfish was developed from it.

22nd Feb 1938.....The first flight of the Fleet 50 Freighter,it was underpowered and only five were completed.

22nd Feb 1948.....The first flight of the Polish built trainer,the LWD Junak.

22nd Feb 1954.....The first flight of the US built,turboprop powered flying boat,the Convair R3Y Tradewind.

22nd Feb 1965.....The Soviet Union launches Kosmos 57 into Earth orbit.

22nd Feb 1974.....US Navy Lt.Barbara Allen becomes the first female pilot in the US armed forces.

22nd Feb 1975.....The first flight of the Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot,close air support aircraft.

22nd Feb 1978.....Launch of OPS 5111 or Navstar-1,the first satellite in the Global Positioning System (GPS).

22nd Feb 1987.....The first flight of the Airbus A-320 airliner,the first airliner with digital fly-by wire.

22nd Feb 1993.....The first flight of the McDonnell Douglas MD-90 airliner,developed from the MD-80.

22nd Feb 2009.....Australian airline SkyAirworld ceased flight operations.

22nd Feb 2013.....All US Military F-35 Lightening II`s are grounded,when a crack is found in an engine blade.