April Aviation bits.

[Angry Turnip]

A new month,no April Fools in here.

1st April 1911.....The first flight of the Avro Type D,an experimental aircraft,and the first biplane designed by AV Roe.CH Pixton was the pilot,and 7 of the type were built.

1st April 1915.....Lt Roland Garros scores the first WWI kill using a non-synchronised machine gun,in a Morane Saulnier Type L to down a German Albatros.He was shot down and killed 5th Oct 1918.

1st April 1918.....The Royal Flying Corps,and Royal Naval Air Service combine to form the Royal Air Force.Early headquarters were at Hotel Cecil on the Strand in London.

1st April 1921.....French woman Adrianne Bollard becomes the first woman to fly over the Andes.Using a Cauldron biplane her rout from Mendoza Argentina to Santiago Chile,takes 10hrs.

1st April 1924.....The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is established.It is the branch of the Royal Navy responsible for operation of naval aircraft.

1st April 1924.....The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) is founded.

1st April 1933.....The Indian Air Force commissioned its first squadron,No 1 Sqn had four Westland Wapiti biplanes and five Indian pilots.

1st April 1935.....The first flight of the North American T-6 Texan,a single engine advanced trainer.Used by military forces worldwide,15,495 were built in various versions.

1st April 1939.....The first flight of the iconic Japanese fighter,the Mitsubishi A6M-Zero.The Zero had excellent range and gained a legendary reputation as a dogfighter.

1st April 1940.....The first flight of the Grumman XF5F Skyrocket,a prototype twin engine naval fighter.It had a low wing and a short fuselage,only one was built.

1st April 1947.....A development of the Blackburn Firebrand,the Blackburn Firecrest makes it`s first flight.It is a strike fighter for the FAA-it was found to be unsuitable for carrier use.

1st April 1953.....British European Airways and Air France introduce "tourist class" fares.Later to be widely know as "Sardine Class" :-)

1st April 1954.....The last operational sortie of an RAF Spitfire was by PR Mk19 PS888 from RAF Seletar,Singapore in a photo-recce against bandits in Mayala.

1st April 1955.....Post war bans on powered flight in West Germany are lifted.

1st April 1964.....The Hawker Siddeley HS121 Trident,or de Havilland DH121 as it was originally called,entered service with BEA.

1st April 1975.....SADC is renamed the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF).

1st April 1978.....The Canadian Snowbirds aerobatic team officially becomes 431 Air Demonstration Squadron.

1st April 1982.....Air France flies Concorde to Rio De Janerio and Caracas for the last time.

1st April 1993.....A mass flypast to mark the 75th anniversary of the RAF is cancelled due to bad weather.The Queen reviews 70 aircraft on the ground instead.

 

[Angry Turnip]

2nd April 1937......The Swedish aircraft manufacturer Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolagat (SAA) is established in Trollhattan,Sweden.It later became part of the Saab Group.

2nd April 1949......The first flight of the French SNCASE SE2010 Armagnac,a large French 4 engine airliner.It was powered by P+W R-4360-B13 Wasp Major`s of 3500hp each.

2nd April 1955......Trans Canada Airlines introduce the Vickers Viscount airliner into service.Thus making it the first North American airline to use turbine power aircraft.

2nd April 1957......The first flight of the Short SC.1 (CTOL).It was an experimental aircraft designed to conduct in depth studies into V/TOL flight.

2nd April 1965......The first flight of the Italian built Partenavia Oscar,a two/four seat light tourer high wing monoplane.Over 300 were built,mainly operating in Italy.

2nd April 1982......The Falklands War begins as Argentina in vade the Falkland Islands,South Georgia,and the South Sandwich Islands.A ceasefire was declared on 14th June 1982.

2nd April 1984......Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma becomes the first Indian astronaut,when he is launched with Soyuz T-11.They head to the Salyut 7 Space Station.

2nd April 1987......A RAF Vickers VC-10 sets a new record time between the UK and Perth,Australia of 16hrs and one minute.

[Angry Turnip]

3rd April 1933.....Two British aircraft,a Westland PV-3 and a Westland PV-6,fly over and photograph Mount Everest.The PV-3 was fitted with an uprated engine and prop.

3rd April 1939.....The first flight of the Gloster F.9/37,a twin engine heavy fighter.It was powered by a pair of 14 cylinder 1000hp Bristol Taurus radial engines.

3rd April 1941.....HMS Argus dispatches 12 Hawker Hurricane fighters to a beleaguered Malta,which is relentlessly attacked by German and Italian aircraft.

3rd April 1948.....Alitalia launches it`s first post war service from Rome (Ciampino) to London (Northolt).

3rd April 1953.....BOAC introduces a weekly service to Tokyo using the de Havilland DH-106 Comet jet airliner.

3rd April 1982.....The first flight of the Airbus A310,a twin engine wide body jet airliner.It has also proved popular with military operators.

3rd April 2008.....ATA Airlines formally known as American Trans Air,ceased flight operations.

[jasT1981]

3rd April 2008.....ATA Airlines formally known as American Trans Air,ceased flight operations.

That was a sad day. I loved ATA. I had 4 flights on their Tri-Star aircraft including on one that was landing as Air Force 2, and a couple of Hercs were taxiing for take off. Good memories. 

[Angry Turnip]

4th April 1907......Santos Dumont makes a second attempt at flight in his No.14 Bis,he manages a short flight of 164ft in Saint-Cyr,France.

4th April 1913......Emmanouil Argyropoulos becomes the first Greek military aviator to die when his Bleriot XI crashes on a recon mission over Thessaloniki during the Balkan wars.

4th April 1917......The first flight of the French WW1 Biplane fighter,the SPAD S.XIII.It was developed from the SPAD S.VII.Almost 8500 were built and were used by many air arms.

4th April 1947......The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is founded in Montreal Canada,its aim is to regulate air transportation worldwide.

4th April 1949......The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is formed.It is a collective defence alliance,formed from North American and European countries.

4th April 1950......The first flight of the French light aircraft trainer/tourer,the Jodel D.11.Engines were available in a range from 55hp to over 100hp.

4th April 1957......The first flight of the English Electric Lightning P.1B XA847 ,a supersonic interceptor / fighter.The P.1A had first flown in 1954.

4th April 1993......The first flight of the Fokker 70,a twin engine narrowbody,medium range jetliner.Sempati Air (now defunct) were the launch customer.

[Angry Turnip]

5th April 1907.....The first flight of the Bleriot V,an experimental monoplane built by Louis Bleriot.It only managed two flights before sustaining unrepairable damage.

5th April 1937.....The Douglas Aircraft Company takes over Northrop.Jack Northrop later founded the Northrop Corporation in 1939,which in 1994 became Northrop Grumman.

5th April 1940.....The first flight of the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich Mig-1,a WWII era fighter.It was powered by a Mikulin-AM-35A V-12 of 1350HP.It was developed into the Mig-3.

5th April 1944.....The first flight of the Miles M.33 Monitor,a twin engine glider tug.None entered service and the 20 that were built were scrapped.

5th April 1946.....The Brewster Aeronautical Corporation was dissolved by it`s shareholders.It`s best known aircraft was probably the Brewster F2.A known as the Buffalo in British service.

5th April 1959.....The first flight of the Aero L-29 Delfin,a Czechoslovakian military jet trainer and light attack aircraft.3,600 were built and they are now a popular warbird.

5th April 1968.....Monarch Airlines,a charter and low cost airline,it was highly successful in the days of the package holiday,but it folded in October 2017.

5th April 1976.....Howard Hughes,business magnet and aviation engineer and pilot,dies from kidney failure in a Learjet piloted by Jeff Abrams enroute to a hospital.

5th April 1996.....The first flight of the new generation of C-130,the Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules.It features a new flight deck,new engines,props,and many advanced systems.

5th April 2008.....Ultra low cost US airline Skybus Airlines folds after less than a year in business.It`s company slogan was "Only the birds fly cheaper"

[smudge]

5th April 1946.....The Brewster Aeronautical Corporation was dissolved by it`s shareholders.It`s best known aircraft was probably the Brewster F2.A known as the Buffalo in British service.

There were all sorts of weird things that went on in the Brewster factories.  Not only did they bid on too much work, leading to delays, but apparently there was a number of the workers who were 'sympathetic' to the Axis cause and sabotaged the aircraft.

After Brewster's own designs were dropped they started to build the Corsair under contract until the Navy cancelled that contract, too, due to poor build quality and once again apparent sabotage.  Arrestor hooks would come loose suspiciously easily...

[Angry Turnip]

6th April 1909......Anglo-French Henry Farman takes to the air in his HF1 biplane,the first aircraft to incorporate practical ailerons.

6th April 1917......The USA declares war on Germany,bringing them into WWI.

6th April 1930......US Navy Lt.Apollo Soucek sets a world altitude record of 43,166ft.His aircraft is a Wright XF3W Apache,with a P+W R-1340B 450hp engine.

6th April 1938......The first flight of the US built Bell P-39 Airacobra,it was one of the most successful fixed wing aircraft built by Bell.In total 9588 were built.

6th April 1949......A Sikorsky S-51 completes a world record helicopter flight of 3,750 miles,from Elizabeth,New Jersey to Port Angeles,Washington.

6th April 1957......Aristotle Onassis forms Olympic Airways,from the ashes of former TAE Greek National Airlines which went bankrupt in 1955.

6th April 1962......The RCAF retires its last Canso flying boat of 162 Sqn,Downsview Ontario.Canso was the Canadian name for the Catalina,Canadian-Vickers built 620 under license.

6th April 1965......The BAC TSR.2 Advanced tactical strike and recon aircraft is cancelled.Bitter political fighting surrounded the project,with some suggesting the US F-111 was the best option.

6th April 1967......TWA becomes the first American airline with a fleet made up of entirely jet aircraft.

[Angry Turnip]

7th April 1922.....The first mid-air collision of airliners occurs when a de Havilland DH.18 G-EAWO collides with a Farman F.60 F-GEAD All 7 on board the two aircraft are killed.Both aircraft were following a                                    road as reference,in bad weather.

7th April 1940.....The French twin engine bomber,the Amiot 354 enters service with the French Air Force.Four were commandeered by the Luftwafe after the Battle Of France in WWII.

7th April 1941.....The Douglas A-20 Havoc/Boston enters service with the RAF 85 Sqn as a night fighter.Almost 7500 were built in many different versions.

7th April 1945.....USAAF P-51 Mustangs based on Iwo Jima become the first allied fighters to escort B-29 Superfortresses all the way to Toyko and back.Typical escort flights are 7+ hrs duration.

7th April 1967.....The first flight of the SUD Aviation / Aerospatiale SA340 Gazelle utility helicopter.The SA341 version first flew August 1971.1775 were built,some under license.

7th April 1983.....Space Shuttle Challenger launches.STS-6,this is the first Space Shuttle mission to include a spacewalk.

7th April 1992.....Azerbaijan Airlines is founded,formally established Aug17th 1992.Their headquaters are at Baku,the airline statrted with a mix of Tupolev airliners.

7th April 2006.....The first frrefall test of the X-37,a reusable crewless spacecraft.Upon landing the craft over ran the runway and sustained mainor damage.

7th April 2010.....A minor international incident occured onboard United Airlines flight 663,from Washington DC to Denver.A Qatari diplomat promted an alert after smoking in the toilet.

[Angry Turnip]

8th April 1920.....The first flight of the de Havilland DH.18,it was a single engine biplane with an enclosed cabin for 8.The pilot sat in an open cockpit behind the cabin.

8th April 1931.....Amelia Earhart climbs to a record altitude of 18,415ft in a Pitcairn PCA-2 Autogyro at Willow Grove.

8th April 1943.....The first flight of the Douglas BTD Destroyer,a dive/torpedo bomber developed for the USN.A small number had been delivered before WWII`s end,but none saw combat.

8th April 1946.....Ethiopian Airlines commenced flight operations.It began with 5 Douglas C-47 Skytrains,although intended for military use,the airline operated them in a mixed passenger/cargo configuration.

8th April 1967.....The first flight of the Beagle B.121 Pup.It is a 2/4 seater trainer and touring aircraft.Design and production of the military version,the Bulldog was taken over by Sottish Aviation.

8th April 1988.....Pacific Southwest Airlines shuts down operations and is interegrated into US Air,now called US Airways.

8th April 1993.....Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery STS-56,with ATLAS-2 Science Platform.

8th April 2002.....Launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-110,an ISS assembly flight.

[Angry Turnip]

9th April 1929......French airline,Air Union commences a nightly service from Paris to London.They operated a range of Farman and Bleriot aircraft,before merging with 4 other French airlines to form Air France.

9th April 1937......A Mitsubishi Ki-15 named Kamikaze(J-BAAI),makes a record flight from Toyko to London.Flight time 51hrs 17mins.In WWII they served with Japans Airforce and Navy.

9th April 1942......HMS Hermes,the worlds first ship designed to be an aircraft carrier,is sunk by Japanese aircraft near Batticaloa.She becomes the first carrier to be sunk by aircraft.

9th April 1945......The UK transfers escort carrier HMS Biter to France.It is renamed Dixmude,and is Frances first aircraft carrier since the demilitarization of Bearn in 1942.

9th April 1958......One of the most futuristic looking aircraft,the Handley Page Victor enters RAF service with 10Sqn at RAF Cottesmore.Part of the UK`s V-force,they were retired in 1993.

9th April 1959......NASA names the first seven astronauts for the Mercury space programme.The media name them "The Mercury Seven".  Catchy :-)

9th April 1960......The monster Soviet Airliner the Tupovlev Tu-114 sets a new world speed record for prop driven aircraft of 545.07 mph.Despite carrying a payload of 26.5 tonnes.

9th April 1964......The first flight of the de Havilland Canada DHC-5 Buffalo.It is a STOL turboprop utility aircraft developed from the piston powered DHC-4 Caribou.

9th April 1964......The RCAF officially retires it`s Avro Lancaster`s at Downsview,Ontario.

9th April 1965......The BAC One-Eleven enters service with BUA (British United Airlines).The 1-11 was originally a Hunting Aircraft,but was developed by BAC.Some were built under license in Romania as the                                    Rombac 1-11.

9th April 1967......The first flight of the Boeing B737.It is the best selling commercial jetliner in history.The number built reached 10,000 on 13th March 2018.

9th April 1969......The UK built Concorde 002 G-BSST makes it`s first flight from Filton to Fairford.It is now preserved at RNAS Yeovilton on belhalf of The Science Museum.

9th April 1976......Air France opens it`s second Concorde route,Paris to Caracas Venezuela via a stop at the Azores.The flight time is 6 hours.

9th April 1983......Space Shuttle Challenger lands safely after it`s first mission STS-6.

9th April 1994......Launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour STS-59.This was Endeavour`s sixth mission,it was also the subject of a Discovery Channel Special.

9th April 1994......The first Boeing B777,line number WA001 was rolled out in 15 ceremonies held on the day for over 100,000 guests.The first flight was 12th June 1994.

9th April 1997......The first F-22,an engineering and manufacturing development (EMD aircraft) named Raptor 4001 is unveiled at Marietta,Georgia.It first flew 7th Sept 1997.

[Angry Turnip]

10th April 1923.....Daimler Airways begins the first scheduled service between London and Berlin (via Bremen and Hamburg).They operated one DH-18A and 3 DH-34`s.It became part of Imperial Airways in                                       April 1924.

10th April 1930.....English aviatrix Duchess Mary Russell and CD Barnard make a record breaking flight in her Fokker F.VII G-EBTS from Lympne UK to Cape Town.She died aged  71 in a crash over the North Sea                                   near Great Yarmouth in a DH60 GIII Moth Major G-ACUR,her body was never recovered.

10th April 1933.....The first flight oof the Airspeed AS5 Courier,a six seat single engine light aircraft.It was powered by a Armstrong Siddeley Lynx IVC radial of 240hp.

10th April 1945.....The Luftwaffe launches it`s last sortie over the UK,an Arado Ar234 jet powered recon/bomber aircraft,on a recon mission.

10th April 1963.....The first flight of the German built EWR VJ101-the worlds first supersonic V/STOL aircraft. Nope,I had never heard of it either ! Learning Day. :-)

10th April 1967.....Gates Rubber Company aquires a controling interest in Learjet Industries.

10th April 1969.....The first European air force to take delivery of the Lockheed P3-B Orion maritime patrol and ASW aircraft,is The Royal Norwegian Air Force.

10th April 1979.....The first flight of the Westland 30,a medium sized helicopter aimed at the VIP market.Interest was limited and only 41 were completed.

10th April 1981.....The first flight of the SIAI-Marchetti S.211,a turbofan powered jet trainer and light attack aircraft.60 were built,mainly for export.

[smudge]

10th April 1981.....The first flight of the SIAI-Marchetti S.211,a turbofan powered jet trainer and light attack aircraft.60 were built,mainly for export.

One of those, privately-owned, appears in some scenes of the movie Hot Shots.  Subbing for Gnats & Ajeets, it blends in well and you have to keep your eyes sharp:

http://www.impdb.org/index.php?title=File:Hot-Shots_S-211_0h39m50.jpg

By the way the latest Airfix release of the Gnat model has decals for The Navy

[Angry Turnip]

11th April 1908.....Leon Delagrange makes a flight of 6 mins 30secs in his Voisin-Delagrange No.2.He was killed on 4th Jan 1910 in a crash when his monoplane collapsed in a turn in windy conditions.

11th April 1911.....The US Army establishes it`s first permanent flight school at Collage Park,Maryland.

11th April 1921.....The first flight of the Short Cromarty,a prototype twin engine biplane flying boat.It was powered by a pair of Rolls Royce Condor IA engines of 650HP each.

11th April 1934.....Renato Donati sets a new altitude record of 47,352ft in a modified Caproni CA.113.It was powered by a 370hp Piaggio Stella VII C.35 engine.

11th April 1943.....The first flight of the Piasecki PV-2,a technology demonstrator helicopter.It was the second successful helicopter to fly in the USA.

11th April 1952.....The first flight of the tandem rotor Piasecki H-21 Shawnee helicopter.It was known as the "flying banana",it served with US and French military forces.

11th April 1958.....North American Aviation is issued a contract to build two prototypes of the XF-108 Rapier high speed interceptor.One mockup is built before the project is scrapped.

11th April 1970.....Apollo 13 is launched.Lovell,Haise,and Swigert`s mission becomes one of survival,after an explosion destroyed both power and propulsion systems of the  Service Module.

11th April 2018.....A IL-76 Transport aircraft crashes shortly after takeoff from Boufarik Airbase,Algeria. Sadly all 257 on board are killed.

[Angry Turnip]

12th April 1911.....Pierre Prier makes the first non-stop flight from London to Paris.

12th April 1918.....During WWI,Capt HW.Woolett of 43 Sqn RAF,scores six kills in two sorties including five Albatros DV`s.

12th April 1935.....The first flight of the Type 142 Bristol Blenheim,a light bomber/fighter of WWII.Originally a civil design,the military version the Type 142M made it`s first flight June 1936.

12th April 1937.....Frank Whittle ground tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft,at the Thomson-Houston factory in Rugby.

12th April 1961.....Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man in space,in Vostok 1,he orbits the Earth once in 108 mins.

12th April 1966.....The first flight of the prototype Pilatus PC-7,the Swiss built light trainer is still in production with over 600 built in different versions.

12th April 1981.....STS-1,the first launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia,blasts off on a two day mission from Kennedy Space Centre,Crew is John W.Young and Robert L.Crippen.

12th April 1989.....A British Airways Concorde G-BOAF loses a large piece of it`s rudder on a special charter flight between Christchurch and Sydney.

[Angry Turnip]

13th April 1919.....The first flight of the civil version of the Vickers Vimy bomber.The Vimy commercial had a wider fuselage and featured an enclosed cabin for ten passengers.

13th April 1920.....The first flight of the Nieuport London,it was a twin engine triplane bomber,powered by ABC-Dragonfly 9 cylinder,air cooled radial engines of 320hp each.

13th April 1928.....The first nonstop flight across the Atlantic East to West,James Fitzmaurice and crew fly from Baldonnel to Greenly Island Canada,in a Junkers W.33 in 37hrs,as they were blown off course.

13th April 1931.....The first flight of the Boeing YB-9,it was the first all metal monoplane bomber designed for the USAAC.It was a twin engine aircraft,only seven were built.

13th April 1940.....The RAF begin deploying sea mines around the German coastal areas.

13th April 1945.....The last Boeing built B-17 is delivered,12,371 were completed,and as of 2015,ten are still airworthy,although none of them were ever flown in combat.

13th April 1966.....In Seattle,Boeing announces an order worth $525 million from Pan Am for 25 Boeing B747`s. I wonder how many that would buy now? 4 or 5 perhaps???

13th April 1984.....The Space Shuttle`s 11th mission (STS-41C) ends successfully after Challenger`s 5 man crew lands at Edwards Air Force Base.The mission was originally numbered STS-13.

13th April 1990.....The first flight of the Russian Sukhoi Su-34 (Fullback),a two crew,twin engine fighter bomber,strike aircraft.Developed from the SU-27,114 have been built so far.

[Angry Turnip]

14th April 1906......The Wright Brothers send letters to the Ministers of War of Germany,Italy,Russia,and Japan offering to sell them aircraft.

14th April 1929......Ed Link introduced a ground based fighter trainer.During WWII alone over 500,000 pilots received flight training in the Link Trainer.

14th April 1945......An RAF Avro Lancaster bomber on a night raid against Postdam,is the last British bomber to be shot down by a Luftwaffe night fighter in WWII.

14th April 1947......The first flight of the Douglas D-558-1 Skystreak,a turbojet powered research aircraft.The engine was an Allison J35-A-11 of 5,000lbs thrust.

14th April 1949......The first flight of the Helio Courier,a US built high wing,light STOL Utility aircraft.Powered by a 295HP Lycoming GO-480 G1-D6 geared 6 cylinder engine.

14th April 1962......The first flight of the Bristol 188,a British supersonic research aircraft.One of the three built,survives at RAF Cosford Museum,minus it`s engines.

14th April 1981......Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-1) lands safely back at Edwards AFB on runway 23,after it`s first test mission.

14th April 1986......(overnight) Operation El Dorado Canyon.US forces launch airstrikes against Libya and it`s leader Col.Gaddafi.One USAF F-111 Bomber was shot down by a Libyan ZSU-23-4 Mobile AA System.

14th April 1992......Turkish low cost airline Onur Air is established,intially using A320 and MD-80`s.It seems they don`t operate to the UK at present,they were a regular at BFS not so long ago.

14th April 2010......Eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull Volcano in Iceland,created an ash cloud that led to the closure of large areas of European IFR airspace,from 15th to 20th April.

14th April 2018......US,UK and French military launch missile and airstrikes against military targets,involved in Syria`s chemical weapons infrastructure.

[smudge]

14th April 1929......Ed Link introduced a ground based fighter trainer.During WWII alone over 500,000 pilots received flight training in the Link Trainer.

There's an old Donald Duck cartoon wherein he goes to an amusement arcade and has a go in a Link-type simulator for 5 cents; most of the early sales were for entertainment instead of training! 

Link still exist as a division of CAE, the big Canadian simulation company.

[Angry Turnip]

14th April 1929......Ed Link introduced a ground based fighter trainer.During WWII alone over 500,000 pilots received flight training in the Link Trainer.

There's an old Donald Duck cartoon wherein he goes to an amusement arcade and has a go in a Link-type simulator for 5 cents; most of the early sales were for entertainment instead of training! 

Link still exist as a division of CAE, the big Canadian simulation company.

I recall one of the UAS members had Link Machine that he was restoring,but I`m not sure if the project ever got finished.

[Angry Turnip]

15th April 1909.....Wilbur Wright makes a 10 min demonstration flight at Centocelle Field,Rome.

15th April 1919.....Collier USS Jupiter,is selected by the US Navy for conversion into it`s first aircraft carrier,(CV-1 AV-3) USS Langley.

15th April 1935.....The Douglas TBD Devastator makes it`s first flight.It was a US Navy torpedo bomber.They entered service in 1937,but quickly became outdated by more modern machines of WWII.

15th April 1936.....The North American BT-9 trainer makes it`s first flight. It was designated NA-19 by the manufacturer it had evolved from the NA-16 which flew a year earlier.

15th April 1941.....Easter Tuesday,200 bombers of the Luftwaffe attacked military and manufacturing targets in Belfast.Over 900 died and 1500 injured in the second German raid on the city.

15th April 1943.....The first production model of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress is rolled out at the Wichita plant.Almost 4000 of these strategic bombers were built in different versions.

15th April 1947.....BOAC launch its first regular service to Canada,it is a weekly flight from London to Montreal using a Lockheed Constellation aircraft.

15th April 1948.....A Pan-Am Lockheed Constellation ( Flt 1-10) crashes on approach to Shannon Airport.Out of the 31 persons on board,sadly only one survives.

15th April 1952.....The first flight of the B-52 Boeing Stratofortress Strategic Bomber.The B-52H`s still in service,are powered by 8 P+W TF-33 P3/103 turbofans,a number of re-engining plans have all been scrubbed.

15th April 1965.....The first flight of the Aerospatiale SA330 Puma,a twin engined medium utility helicopter.They have operated in many roles worldwide with civil and military operators.

15th April 1971.....The AV-8A Harrier entered service with the US Marine Corps,VMA-513.The AV-8A`s and AV-8C` were retired in 1987,but the AV-8B` ares till in service,due to be replaced by the F-35.

15th April 2009.....The Russian ATA cancels the operating license of airline Elbrus-Avia.The airline operated 4 x Yak 42`s and 3 x Yak 40`s,plus some Mil-Mi 2 and Mil-Mi 8 Helicopters.

[Angry Turnip]

16th April 1912.....Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly across the English Channel.She was killed in an accident over Boston Harbour 1st July 1912,she was only 37.

16th April 1913.....The first Schneider Trophy air races are held at Monaco,Maurice Prevost won in a Deperdussin Monoplane,with an avergae speed of the 6.2mile course of a blistering 45.75 mph.

16th April 1923.....Lt McCready and Lt Kelly USAAS flew a modified Fokker F.IV over a closed circuit at Ohio,for a duration record 36hrs,14mins and 8 secs non-stop.

16th April 1929.....The first flight of the Short Gurnard,a single engine,two seat biplane naval fighter.It failed to attract orders,and only two were completed.

16th April 1935.....The first airline flight from the continental US to Hawaii,is made by a Pan-Am Sikorsky S-42 flying boat.

16th April 1937.....The Supermarine Stranraer flying boat entered RAF service.Aircrew named it "The Whistling S**thouse" as the toilet opened directly to the air,and when the seat was lifted airflow caused it to                              whistle.

16th April 1941.....Igor Sikorsky demonstrates the VS-300 Helicopter by hovering for over an hour over Straford Connecticut,setting a new helicopter record.

16th April 1949.....The first flight of the Lockheed F-94 Starfire,an all weather interceptor.Developed from the T-33,it was the first operational USAF to have an afterburner.

16th April 1956.....The US Navy`s first supersonic fighter,the Douglas F4D Skyray enters service.

16th April 1961.....The first flight of the British light aircraft,the Beagle Airedale,it was a 4 seat high wing monoplane,originally designed as the Auster D8.

16th April 1969.....The first flight of the Czech short range transport,the Let L-410 Turbolet.Designed as a replacement for the Antonov An-2,over 1200 have been produced.

16th April 1972.....Apollo 16 is launched,crewed by Young,Duke,and Mattingly.They land on the lunar surface 21st April 1972 at the Descartes Crater.

16th April 1973.....The Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante entered service.It is a 15-21 pax turboprop light transport for military or civil operators.501 were produced in several versions.

16th April 1988.....The first flight of the McDonnell Douglas T-45 Goshawk jet trainer.It is a carrier capable version of the BAe Hawk,all have been upgraded to the glass cockpit T-45C spec.

[Angry Turnip]

17th April 1913.....Gustav Hamel lands after a nonstop flight of 4 hrs 18mins from Dover to Cologne in a Bleriot XI aircraft.

17th April 1934.....The first flight of the "Stringbag",The Fairey Swordfish torpedo bomber.The Swordfish was also produced by Blackburn (1699) and Fairey built (692).

17th April 1934.....The first flight of the de Havilland Dragon Rapide,a short haul biplane airliner,that saw use with civil and military operators where it was known as the Dominie.

17th April 1944.....Howard Hughes and TWA`s Jack Frye fly a Lockheed Constellation from Burbank to Washington DC in a record time of 6hrs,57mins.

17th April 1957.....The first flight of the French built Nord 3202,a military two-seat trainer.Power came from a Potez 4D 32,4cylinder air cooled engine of 240hp.

17th April 1963.....Joseph A.Walker flies the North American Bell X-15A to a height of 271,000ft.He died in 1966 in a collision with the NA XB-70 Valkyrie whilst flying an F-104 Starfighter.

17th April 1970.....The crew of Apollo 13 return to Earth safely,after suffering an explosion on board their craft enroute to the moon.

17th April 1973.....Federal Express delivers it`s first parcel.( well actually they left it with a neighbour,as the driver couldn`t be arsed walking up the lane) :-)

17th April 1973.....The first flight of the Polish built PZL-106 Kruk,an agricultural aircraft for crop dusting work.

17th April 2012.....The Shuttle Carrier B747 carries the retired Space Shuttle Discovery from Florida to Washington DC to be put on display at the National Air and Space Museum.

[Angry Turnip]

18th April 1916......Nieuport Sqn No.124 unofficially known as the American Sqn,is made up of volunteers under the command of French Capt Georges Thenault.

18th April 1942......The General Electric 1-A is the first working jet engine built in the US.It was a basically a copy of Frank Whittle`s company Power Jets W.2B engine.

18th April 1942......Col.James Doolittle leads a force of 16 B-25 Mitchells flying from USS Hornet on a raid over Tokyo,in what becomes known as the Doolittle Raid.

18th April 1950......The first flight of the Convair XP-5Y-1,it was the worlds first turboprop flying boat to fly.The design was developed into the R3Y Tradewind for the USN.

18th April 1952......The first flight of the Convair YB-60 prototype strategic bomber.It was powered by 8 P+W J57 P3 Turbojets,just like the aircraft it lost out to,the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress.

18th April 1967......Aeroflot and Japan Air Lines jointly launch a Moscow to Tokyo service.

18th April 1973......The results of the USAF A-X fly off are announced with the winner being the Farichild YA-10 over the Northrop YA-9.Production of the A-10 ended in 1984 with 716 built.

18th April 1978......The Vickers Viscount becomes the first turboprop airliner to see 25 years in service.First flight was 16th July 1948,entered service 18th April 1953 with BEA.

18th April 1981......Bell Helicopters delivers it`s 25,000th helicopter,a Bell 222 for Omniflight Helicopters.

18th April 1986......STS-61C Space Shuttle Columbia returns to earth.The next Space Shuttle mission is the Challenger Disaster.

18th April 2006......The first flight of the Diamond D-Jet,a composite five seat single engine very light jet.Built by Austrian Diamond Aircraft Industries.Development was suspended in 2013.

[smudge]

18th April 1950......The first flight of the Convair XP-5Y-1,it was the worlds first turboprop flying boat to fly.The design was developed into the R3Y Tradewind for the USN.

How odd, I watched a restored film about the Tradewind yesterday!

Amazing machine, I particularly like how it can refuel four Cougars at once:

Convair R3Y Tradewind Flying Boat: "A Report on the Tradewind" ~ 1956 Convair Div., General Dynamics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Elz8UQ-qkDI

[Angry Turnip]

19th April 1907.....Louis Bleriot flew his Bleriot V briefly before his aircraft stalled,and hit the ground somersaulting,Bleriot was very lucky not to injured or killed.His aircraft was destroyed.

19th April 1916.....A German Navy Zeppelin bombs Great Yarmouth and King`s Lynn,it is the first major aerial bombardment of a civilian target,at least 20 are killed.

19th April 1924.....Raul Pateras-Pescara`s helicopter manages a flight of 4mins,11 secs at a height of 6ft covering 2500ft.His machine incorporates auto-rotation incase power is lost.

19th April 1937.....Howard Hughes sets a new US transcontinental record in a modified H-1 Racer.His time is 7hrs 28 mins LA to NYC,beating his own previous record by 2 hrs.

19th April 1944.....The first flight of the de Havilland DH103 Hornet,a long range land and naval fighter.Slightly smaller than it`s Mosquito,it was powered by RR Merlin 130/131 engines of 2070hp each.

19th April 1945.....The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is formed to fix rates and ensure coopertion on flight safety.It succeeds the previous 1919 IATA.

19th April 1951.....The first flight of the de Havilland Sea Venom,a carrier capable fighter bomber.Power came from a Rolls Royce Ghost 103 to 105 turbojet engine.

19th April 1960.....The first flight of the Grumman A-6 Intruder,a twinjet,midwing all weather attack aircraft.An electronic warfare version was known as the EA-6 Prowler.

19th April 1979.....The first flight of the Learjet 55 business jet.It was planned to have 3 "50" series Learjets,but only the 55 went into production.Build total 147.

19th April 1985.....STS-51D,Space Shuttle Discovery landed KSC,runway 33.First spaceflight of a sitting politician by US Senetor Jack Garn.

19th April 2006.....Jet Airways purchase Air Sahara,creating the largest domestic airline in India.

19th April 2009.....Russian regional airline Arkaim is established.It is based at Ufa Bashkortostan.