December 2018 Flight Bites

[Angry Turnip]

23rd Dec 1910...Lt Theodore Ellyson of the United States Navy is assigned to flight training with the Curtiss company,making him the first naval aviator.

23rd Dec 1938...First flight of the Blackburn B-25 Roc,a Fleet Air Arm turret armed fighter aircraft.It became to be viewed as inferior to existing aircraft and had only brief front-line service.

23rd Dec 1939...Anthony Fokker,aviation pioneer,and a Dutch-US aircraft manufacturer dies in New York,aged 49.His famous aircraft were the Eindecker monoplanes,the Dr.1 triplane and the D.VII biplane.

23rd Dec 1941...First flight of the Douglas C-47 Skytrain,a military transport developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner.Modifications include a cargo door,hoist attachment,and strengthened floor.

23rd Dec 1953...The Lockheed XFV,an experimental tailsitter prototype,made a brief hop during ground trials.The official first flight took place on 16 June 1954.

23rd Dec 1961...In Operation Chopper,U.S. Army helicopters airlift 1,000 SVA paratroopers to attack a suspected Viet Cong HQ in South Vietnam west of Saigon.More imagination required for codenames.

23rd Dec 1966...First flight of the Dassault Mirage F1,a French fighter and attack aircraft,a successor to the popular Mirage III.Powered by a single SNECMA Atar 9K-50 turbojet engine.720 built.

23rd Dec 1972...Pioneering Soviet aircraft designer Andrei Nikolayevich Tupolev dies aged 84.He designed and oversaw the design of more than 100 types of aircraft during his career.

23rd Dec 1972...First flight of the Aero Boero 260AG is an Argentine agri aircraft.Despite the similarity in designation,it is completely different from and unrelated to the Aero Boero AB-260.

23rd Dec 1974...First flight of the Rockwell B-1 Lancer,a supersonic variable-swing wing bomber.It was canceled in 1977,after the B-1A prototypes had been built,but reinstated in 1981 as the B-1B.

23rd Dec 1982...First flight of the prototype Short Sherpa,a twin engine transport developed from the Short-330,wearing the civil registration G-BKWM.The first C-23A G-BLLF flew Aug 6,1984.

23rd Dec 1986...Rutan Voyager,piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager,lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California becoming the first aircraft to fly non-stop, non-refueled around the world.

23rd Dec 2002...A MQ-1 Predator is shot down by an Iraqi MiG-25,making it the first time in history that an aircraft and an unmanned drone had engaged in combat.Drone operator must have felt wick.

[Angry Turnip]

24th Dec 1908....The world’s first aeronautical exhibition opens in Paris,when the French President inaugurated the second half of the Annual Automobile Salon at the Grand Palais.

24th Dec 1916....RFC No.54 Sqn arrive in France equipped with Sopwith Pup`s,a single-seater biplane fighter.With pleasant characteristics and good manoeuvrability,it proved very successful.

24th Dec 1937....First flight of the Macchi C.200 Saetta,a Regia Aeronautica single seat fighter.It was underpowered and underarmed in comparison to its contemporaries.1150 were built.

24th Dec 1952....First flight of the Handley Page Victor,a four engine jet bomber,later an aerial tanker.It was the third and final V-bomber to be operated by the RAF.86 were built by 1963.

24th Dec 1962....First flight of the Aérospatiale N 262,a French twin-turboprop high-wing airliner.The new cabin design enabled the aircraft to carry between 24–26 passengers.110 were built.

24th Dec 1963....New York International Airport is rededicated as John F. Kennedy International Airport in honor of the murdered President.

24th Dec 1968....Apollo 8 orbits the moon carrying Frank Borman,James Lovell,and William Anders.They made a Christmas Eve television broadcast,at the time,it was the most watched TV program ever.

24th Dec 1973....First flight of the Kamov Ka-27,a military helicopter developed for the Soviet Navy.Like other Kamov helicopters it has coaxial rotors,removing the need for a tail rotor.

24th Dec 1994....Air France Flight 8969,an Airbus A300,is hijacked on the tarmac at Algiers.After 48hrs the plane is allowed to fly to Marseille,where it is stormed by French commandos.

24th Dec 1999....Indian Airlines Flight 814,an Airbus A300, is hijacked en route to Delhi, India; one hostage is killed.

24th Dec 2017....The worlds largest amphibious aircraft,the Chinese AG600 Kunlong makes it`s first flight. More here........http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-42471045

[Angry Turnip]

25th Dec 1914....HMS Empress,HMS Engadine and HMS Riviera,launch a seaplane attack on the Zeppelin sheds at Cuxhaven.Fog prevents the aircraft from reaching their target,six aircraft are lost in fog.

25th Dec 1934....In a Caudron 460,a French racing plane,powered by a supercharged 456 6-cylinder inverted air-cooled engine,Raymond Delmotte sets a new world speed record for land planes of 314.33mph.

25th Dec 1940....Two British Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Grumman Martlets of 804 Naval Air Squadron shoot down a German Junkers Ju 88 off Scapa Flow.

25th Dec 1958....First flight of the Sukhoi Su-11,a Soviet single engine Mach2+ capable interceptor aircraft.Development problems and accidents delayed squadron introduction,only 108 built.

25th Dec 1966....Hoping to begin peace talks with the Vietcong and the North Vietnamese,President Lyndon B.Johnson’s administration orders a 48hour cessation of American air strikes in Vietnam.

25th Dec 1968....Apollo 8 performs the very first successful Trans Earth Injection (TEI) manoeuvre,sending the crew and spacecraft on a trajectory back to Earth from Lunar orbit.

25th Dec 1979....Antonov An-12s and An-22s airlift the first Soviet troops into Afghanistan.5,000 arrive in the first 24 hours.

25th Dec 1997....First flight of the Gulfstream G200,formerly known as the IAI Galaxy,a twin-engine business jet.It was designed originally by (IAI) and was produced for Gulfstream Aerospace until 2011.

[Angry Turnip]

26th Dec 1939...The first RAAF squadrons to join the war arrive in Britain.RAAF personnel were notable in RAF Bomber Command,although they also served in  fighter,reconn and other squadrons.

26th Dec 1948...I.V. Fedorov becomes the first Soviet pilot to break the sound barrier.He uses a shallow dive in his Lavochkin La-176 jet, powered by a modified RR Nene engine, at full throttle.

26th Dec 1956...First flight of the Convair F-106 Delta Dart,an all-weather interceptor/fighter.It proved to be the last dedicated interceptor in USAF service to date.

26th Dec 1967...The Soviet Union commissions its first helicopter carrier, Moskva.It was followed up by Leningrad,they were designed primarily as anti-submarine warfare (ASW) vessels.

26th Dec 1975...The Soviet SST Tupolev Tu-144S went into service,flying mail and freight between Moscow and Alma-Ata in preparation for passenger services,which commenced on 1 November 1977.

26th Dec 1980...The Ilyushin Il-86 enters service with Aeroflot.It is a four engine wide-body jet airliner.The Il-86 used engines more typical of the 1960s,and spent a decade in development.

26th Dec 1982...First flight on the Antonov AN-124,a strategic airlift quadjet transporter.It was to fly on 24th Dec,but poor weather delayed the flight.55 were built when production ended 2004.

26th Dec 1989...First flight of the Hongdu N-5,a Chinese agricultural aircraft.It is a single-engined low-wing monoplane,and is available in versions powered by a piston engine or a turboprop.

[Angry Turnip]

27th Dec 1773....George Cayley was born.As a pioneer of early aviation,regarded by many as the father of flight.His glider had taken his coachman on the first manned flight in 1853.

27th Dec 1919....First flight of the Boeing Model 6, also known as the B-1,a small biplane flying boat.It had a Hall-Scott engine driving a pusher propeller mounted amongst the cabane struts.

27th Dec 1922....The Hosho,Japan's first aircraft carrier is commissioned.The ship provided valuable lessons and experience for the IJN in early carrier air operations.

27th Dec 1941....No. 404 (Coastal Fighter) Squadron provided air support for a Commando raid on Vaagso,Norway.During Operation Archery 8 RAF aircraft were shot down,the island had accurate AAA.

27th Dec 1942....First flight of the Mitsubishi Ki-67 Hiryū,a twin-engine medium bomber.Unlike many Japanese warplanes,was required to have good defensive armament and to survive heavy battle damage.

27th Dec 1942....First flight of the Kawanishi N1K Kyōfū,the N1K-J was considered by both its pilots and opponents,to be one of the finest land-based fighters flown by the Japanese during WW II.

27th Dec 1949....US carriers American Airlines and TWA,begin coast-to coast coach-class flights with 60-passenger DC-4 s,charging US $110 one-way.

27th Dec 1951....First flight of the North American FJ-2/-3 Fury,a series of swept-wing carrier-capable fighters for the USN and USMC.They were an attempt to navalize the USAF's F-86 Sabre.

27th Dec 1952....All Nippon Airways is founded.On 15 December 1953,it operated its first cargo flight between Osaka and Tokyo using a de Havilland Dove, JA5008.

27th Dec 1968....Apollo 8 splashes down in the Pacific Ocean,ending the first manned mission to the Moon.The command module was picked up by helicopter and returned to the USS.Yorktown.

27th Dec 1991....Both engines of Scandinavian Airlines Flight 751, a McDonnell-Douglas MD-81,fail shortly after takeoff from Stockholm.The pilots make an emergency landing in a nearby field.

[Angry Turnip]

28th Dec 1910....French aviator Alexandre Laffont and passenger Mario Pola are killed after taking off in an attempt to fly to Belgium with two passengers.Their Antoinette monoplane collapses in midair.

28th Dec 1916....Imperial German Navy Zeppelin LZ69 L 24,crashed into a wall while being "stabled",broke its back,and burned out together with L 17, LZ53.

28th Dec 1926....Imperial Airways de Havilland DH.66 Hercules G-EBMX City of Delhi left Croydon for a survey flight to India.The flight reached Karachi on 6 January 1927 and Delhi on 8 January 1927.

28th Dec 1929....First flight of the Mitsubishi B2M,a Japanese carrier-based biplane torpedo bomber.Blackburn developed a design,the Blackburn T.7B and it was built under license,206 were built.

28th Dec 1938....First flight of the Blackburn B.26 Botha,a twin engine four-seat reconn and torpedo bomber.The design was underpowered and unstable,it was quickly withdrawn from operations.

28th Dec 1945....First flight of the Edo XOSE-1,prototype of the Edo OSE,an American single-seat multi-role floatplane.Eight production aircraft were built to a USN order but none were accepted.

28th Dec 1952....The Grumman F9F/F-9 Cougar fighter began entering USN service.Based on the F9F Panther,it replaced the Panther's straight wing with a swept wing.Engine thrust was also increased.

28th Dec 1968....Israeli commandos mount a surprise raid on Beirut Airport,destroying 13 aircraft and jeopardising the Lebanese aviation industry.

28th Dec 1975....The Soviet Union commissions the “heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser” Kiev,the first Soviet or Russian ship capable of operating fixed-wing aircraft.

28th Dec 1985....First flight of the Fokker 50,a turboprop-powered airliner,designed as a refinement of,and successor to the highly successful Fokker F27 Friendship.213 were built 1985-1997.

28th Dec 1988....An analysis of the wreckage of the Pan Am Boeing 747,which crashed at Lockerbie,Scotland,reveals that a bomb had been planted in the jet’s luggage hold.

28th Dec 1988....First flight of the Let L-610,was designed as a twin engined turboprop aircraft powered by the new Czech engine,Walter M602,with a seating capacity of 40.8 were built,6 flew.
 
28th Dec 2001....USA3000 Airlines began operations.A U.S. airline headquartered in Newtown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania.They started with one Airbus A320.

[Angry Turnip]

29th Dec 1916...German Navy Zeppelin LZ84 L 38,is damaged beyond repair in a forced landing (due to heavy snowfall) during an attempted raid on Reval and Saint Petersburg.

29th Dec 1921...Flying a BMW-engined Junkers-Larsen over Roosevelt Field,Edward Stinson and Lloyd Bertaud set a world endurance record of 26 hrs,18 mins and 35 secs.

29th Dec 1931...First flight of the Grumman FF "Fifi",a biplane fighter operated by the USN.It was the first carrier aircraft with retractable landing gear.It was also operated by the RCAF.

29th Dec 1936...Compañía Aeronáutica Uruguaya S. A. is founded.Its initial fleet is two Junkers Ju 52 floatplanes,which begin service between Montevideo,Uruguay,and Buenos Aires,Argentina.

29th Dec 1939...First flight of the Consolidated B-24 Liberator,a four engine heavy bomber.At approximately 18,500 units – including over 4,600 manufactured by Ford Motor Company – it holds records as the                                 world's most produced bomber,heavy bomber,multi-engine aircraft,and American military aircraft in history.

29th Dec 1940...The Luftwaffe makes a devastating attack on London,making extensive use of incendiary weapons,and time delay mines.

29th Dec 1948...First flight of the Supermarine Swift,a single-seat jet fighter.Due to a spate of accidents incurred,the Swift was grounded for a time,and experienced a relatively brief service life.

29th Dec 1986...First flight of the Scaled Composites ATTT,a technology demon project built by Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites.A 62% scaled version of a proposed tandem wing STOL transport.

29th Dec 2012...Red Wings Airlines Tupolev Tu-204-100B RA-64047,on a repositioning flight with a crew of eight and no pax,overruns the runway on landing at Vnukovo International Airport                                                             in Moscow,crossing partly onto a highway before splitting into three parts.

[Angry Turnip]

30th Dec 1922....A Deutsche Luft-Reederei Dornier Komet became the first German aircraft to fly over Britain since the end of World War I.

30th Dec 1934....First flight of the Martin M-130,a 4 engine commercial flying boat.3 were built for Pan-Am:China Clipper,Philippine Clipper and the Hawaii Clipper.All three had crashed by 1945.

30th Dec 1947....First flight of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15,a swept wing jet fighter.The MiG-15 is often mentioned,along with the F-86 Sabre,as the best fighter aircraft of the Korean War.

30th Dec 1960....The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II,a two seat multi-role combat aircraft,enters USN service with the VF-121 "Pacemakers" at NAS Miramar.

30th Dec 1970....Prototype Grumman F-14 Tomcat suffers hydraulic fluid leak on second flight,both crew eject as airframe plunges into woods short of runway.

30th Dec 1978....First flight of the Vulcanair SF.600 Canguro,a twin engine feederliner.10 were built but failed to attract buyers,even when the original piston engines were exchanged for turboprops.

30th Dec 2007....TAROM Flight 3107,a charter flight operated by a Boeing 737-300,during the takeoff procedure,hit a service car carrying out repair work on lighting equipment on the runway at                                                      Henri Coandă International Airport in Otopeni, Romania.

[Angry Turnip]

Last one for 2018....

31st Dec 1908....Wilbur Wright wins a prize of FF 20,000 from Michelin for the longest flight of the year – 124 kilometres (77 mi) from Camp d'Auvours.

31st Dec 1942....Guided by an Oboe-equipped Mosquito,eight Pathfinder Force Avro Lancasters bomb on sky markers suspended by parachute for the first time in a raid on Düsseldorf.

31st Dec 1943....First flight of the Kawanishi N1K2-J Shiden-Kai fighter.It offered a formidable if demanding aircraft in limited quantities.As a result,they were distributed to elite units only.

31st Dec 1958....First flight of the Boeing C-137 Stratoliner,a USAF VIP transport derived from the Boeing 707 airliner.

31st Dec 1967....The Royal Air Force's V-bomber force begins to be dismantled,pending the deployment of the Polaris missile aboard Royal Navy submarines to act as Britain's nuclear deterrent.

31st Dec 1968....First flight of the Tupolev Tu-144,a commercial SST.It flew two months before the first flight of the Concorde.A Tu-144 crashed in 1973 at the Paris Air Show,delaying its development.

31st Dec 1986....The first flight of the IAI Lavi - A slightly unfortunate name for an Israeli Multi role fighter.Only 3 prototypes were built and the project was flushed/cancelled.

31st Dec 1989....First flight of the Sukhoi Su-30,a twin-engine,two-seat multi-role fighter.It is able to perform some very advanced manoeuvres using thrust vectoring,and a fly-by-wire control system.

31st Dec 1999....Fear of the Y2 K computer bug spreads around the airline industry.Due to possible issues for those planes flying during the night of Dec 31,1999 and the morning of Jan 1,2000.

31st Dec 2012....Aleppo International Airport is closed due to fighting between Syrian government and rebel forces around the base of the Syrian Army force protecting the airport.

[smudge]

31st Dec 1999....Fear of the Y2 K computer bug spreads around the airline industry.Due to possible issues for those planes flying during the night of Dec 31,1999 and the morning of Jan 1,2000.

Eeeek the memories!

I started working on Y2K pre-emption in 1998 and that was already cutting it fine.  We did some rather hairy hacks to get our programs through the rollover, contrary to the media at the time it wasn't a 'false alarm' but a case of minimising the amount of problems and cleaning-up the outlying errors afterwards.

In about November 1999 a demand for patent licensing went around the big US companies from a guy who claimed to have invented 'windowing' which was one of the techniques used for converting old two-digit dates to proper four-digit, and storing the result.  That nearly derailed everything since by then most of the coding had been done, but the US Government squashed him quite promptly given the chaos it would have caused.

Thankfully I wasn't on the pager rota for the rollover, but was in the next day.  Fun times!



Good work Mr Turnip.  Anything planned for 2019?