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The Aviation Portal

A Boeing 747 in 1978 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 aircraft 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. Clément Ader built the "Ader Éole" in France and made an uncontrolled, powered hop in 1890. This is the first powered aircraft, although it did not achieve controlled flight. Some of the most significant advancements in aviation technology came with the controlled gliding flying of Otto Lilienthal in 1896; then a large step in significance came with the construction of the first powered airplane by the Wright brothers in the early 1900s. Since that time, aviation has been technologically revolutionized by the introduction of the jet which permitted a major form of transport throughout the world. (Full article...)

Selected article

A U.S. Air Force F-35A off the coast of Florida
A U.S. Air Force F-35A off the coast of Florida
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions. It is also able to provide electronic warfare and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities. Lockheed Martin is the prime F-35 contractor, with principal partners Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems. The aircraft has three main variants: the conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) F-35A, the short take-off and vertical-landing (STOVL) F-35B, and the carrier-based (CV/CATOBAR) F-35C. (Full article...)

Selected image

Schematic diagram of a V-2 rocket.
Schematic diagram of a V-2 rocket.
Credit: Image credit: Fastfission
A schematic of the V-2 rocket, the first ballistic missile, the first man-made object to achieve sub-orbital spaceflight, and the progenitor of all modern rockets. Developed by Wernher von Braun on behalf of Nazi Germany, and based on work by Robert H. Goddard, over 3,000 V-2s were launched during World War II against Allied targets, resulting in the death of an estimated 7,250 military personnel and civilians. An estimated 20,000 inmates at Mittelbau-Dora died constructing V-2s, making the V-2 perhaps the only weapon system to have more deaths caused by its production than its deployment.

Did you know

...that in 1929 the Graf Zeppelin completed a circumnavigation of the globe in 21 days, 5 hours and 31 minutes?

...that the Spartan Cruiser (pictured) was originally designed as mail plane and even flew a test flight to Karachi as such, but was then transformed into a passenger airplane in 1932?

...that the Lockheed NF-104A (pictured), equipped with a reaction control system as well as a rocket engine to supplement a jet engine, was a low-cost training vehicle for American astronauts in the 1960s?

More Did you know facts

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

In the news

Wikinews Aviation portal
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Associated Wikimedia

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

Selected biography

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.

Selected Aircraft

Avro Arrow replica at CASM Arrow rollout in 2006
Avro Arrow replica at CASM Arrow rollout in 2006

The Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow was a delta-winged interceptor aircraft, designed and built by Avro Aircraft Limited (Canada) in Malton, Ontario, Canada, as the culmination of a design study that began in 1953. Considered to be both an advanced technical and aerodynamic achievement for the Canadian aviation industry, the CF-105 held the promise of Mach 2 speeds at altitudes exceeding 50,000 ft (15,000 m), and was intended to serve as the Royal Canadian Air Force's primary interceptor in the 1960s and beyond. Not long after the 1958 start of its flight test program, the development of the Arrow (including its Orenda Iroquois jet engines) was abruptly and controversially halted before the project review had taken place, sparking a long and bitter political debate. The controversy engendered by the cancellation and subsequent destruction of the aircraft in production, remains a topic for debate among historians, political observers and industry pundits. "This action effectively put Avro out of business and its highly skilled engineering and production personnel scattered... The incident was a traumatic one... and to this day, many mourn the loss of the Arrow."

  • Span: 50 ft 0 in (15.24 m)
  • Length: 77 ft 9 in (23.71 m)
  • Height: 20 ft 6 in (6.25 m)
  • Engines: 2×Pratt & Whitney J75-P-3
  • Cruising Speed: Mach 0.91 (607 mph, 977 km/h) at 36,000 ft (11,000 m)
  • First Flight: 25 March 1958
  • Number built: 5
More selected aircraft Read more...

Today in Aviation

March 27

  • 2008 – An Iraqi military Mil Mi-17 helicopter is shot down during heavy fighting in northern Basra.[1]
  • 2004 – Nasa's X-43 pilotless plane breaks world speed record for an atmospheric engine by briefly flying at 7,700 km (4,800 mi) per hour (seven times the speed of sound)
  • 2003 – OH-58D Kiowa 95-0024 from C Troop, 2–17th Cavalry Regiment crashes in Iraq, pilots survive.
  • 1999 – 1999 F-117A shoot-down: A USAF Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk, on a bombing mission over Serbia, was shot down by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia unit using a SA-3 Goa. The pilot ejected and the F-117A crashed in hostile territory.
  • 1997 – The Royal Thai Navy commissions its first aircraft carrier, HTMS Chakri Naruebet.
  • 1990 – An Angolan Government CASA C-212 Aviocar 300 is shot down near Kuito, Angola by UNITA forces, killing all 25 on board.
  • 1990 – An Uzbek Civil Aviation Administration Ilyushin IL-76D (CCCP-78781) stalls on final and crashes before reaching Kabul, Afghanistan. All 11 aboard are killed.
  • 1984 – British Airways inaugurates a Concorde service from London to Miami twice weekly. The service operates through Washington-Dulles, necessitating a 50-minute stopover. The overall trip lasts 6 hours 35 min, a saving approximately 2.5 hours over the direct flight by subsonic airliners. The round-trip fare is quoted a £2,509.
  • 1978 – A USN Grumman F-14A-70-GR Tomcat, BuNo 158995, 'NK 106', of VF-1, crashes and catapults across scrub grass to come to rest against a concrete highway divider on CA-163, the Cabrillo Freeway, on approach to NAS Miramar, San Diego, California, exploding in flames. Both crew members eject seconds before impact; one fatality, no civilian deaths.
  • 1977 – In the Tenerife airport disaster, KLM Flight 4805 and Pan Am Flight 1736, both Boeing 747s, collide on the runway in Los Rodeos Airport; 583 of 644 people on board both aircraft are killed in the worst accident in the history of commercial aviation.
  • 1969 – Mariner 7, one of two robotic probes sent to inspect Mars’ atmosphere and ice caps, launches.
  • 1968 – While on a routine training flight out of Chkalovsky Air Base, Kosmonaut Yuri Gagarin and flight instructor Vladimir Seryogin (Seregin) die in a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15UTI, c/n 612739, callsign 625, crash near the town of Kirzhach. Gagarin and Seryogin were buried in the walls of the Kremlin on Red Square. It is not certain what caused the crash, but a 1986 inquest suggests that the turbulence from a Su-11 'Fishpot-C' interceptor using its afterburners may have caused Gagarin's plane to go out of control. Russian documents declassified in March 2003 showed that the KGB had conducted their own investigation of the accident, in addition to one government and two military investigations. The KGB's report dismissed various conspiracy theories, instead indicating that the actions of air base personnel contributed to the crash. The report states that an air traffic controller provided Gagarin with outdated weather information, and that when Gagarin flew, conditions had deteriorated significantly. Ground crew also left external fuel tanks attached to the aircraft. His planned flight activities needed clear weather and no outboard tanks. The investigation concluded that Gagarin's aircraft entered a spin, either due to a bird strike or because of a sudden move to avoid another aircraft. Because of the out-of-date weather report, the crew believed their altitude to be higher than it actually was, and could not properly react to bring the MiG-15 out of its spin.
  • 1967 – A Douglas A-4 Skyhawk of VA-72 out of NAS Cecil Field, Florida, crashes into a wooded area W of Lake City, Florida after pilot Lt. Cmdr. Robert W. McKay, 34, ejects from the crippled jet. "He suffered no apparent injuries", a Navy spokesman said. "He was picked up by the Highway Patrol and will be returned to Cecil Field on a Navy helicopter."
  • 1963 – North American T-28A-NI Trojan, 52-1242, c/n 189-57, converted to first prototype RA-28 (a proposed turboprop combat version for use in SE Asia), later redesignated North American YAT-28E. To Air Force Special Evaluation Center at Eglin AFB, Florida, for tests. Deficiency in tailfin area (tail unit separated in flight) led to its entering a flat spin and crashing whilst on its 14th test flight, killing North American Aviation pilot George Hoskins when he is unable to bail out due to a jammed canopy.
  • 1962 – A Cubana de Aviacion Ilyushin IL-14 (CU-T819) crashes into the sea about a mile from Santiago, Cuba, killing all 22 aboard.
  • 1958 – A United States Air Force Douglas C-124C Globemaster II, 52-0981, collides in midair with a USAF Fairchild C-119C Flying Boxcar, 49-0195, over Bridgeport, Texas, United States, killing all 15 on the Globemaster and all three on the Flying Boxcar.
  • 1954 – USAF Capt. Berry H. Young, 9th Bomb Squadron, 7th Bomb Wing, lands his Convair B-36H Peacemaker safely at Carswell AFB, Texas, with all three reciprocating engines on the starboard wing inoperative, the outboard jets completely disabled, and the landing flaps inoperative. These problems are further compounded when two engines windmill, without cockpit control, and the landing gear has to be lowered by emergency procedures. This incident becomes known as the "Miracle Landing". In acknowledgement of this feat, the entire crew is awarded the Carswell Crew of the Month Award, and later receives a personal commendation from General Curtis E. LeMay, Commander-In-Chief, Strategic Air Command.
  • 1951 – In the 1951 Ringway Dakota accident, a Douglas C-47 A-75-DL Dakota 3 cargo aircraft operated by Air Transport Charter and en route to Nutts Corner Airport, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, shortly after take-off following the aircraft's failure to gain height, killing two of the three crew and two of the three passengers.
  • 1946 – An air agreement is signed by France and the US giving Air France the right to serve the cities of Boston, New York, Washington, D. C., and Chicago. Air France has a fleet of 375 aircraft as of December 31, 2004. It has over 1,800 daily flights. Between 2003 and 2004, 43,7 million passengers flew on flights operated by Air France to 189 destinations in 84 countries.
  • 1945 – In support of the upcoming U. S. invasion of Okinawa, Twentieth Air Force B-29 s strike airfields and an aircraft factory on Kyushu and lay naval mines in Shimonoseki Strait.
  • 1945 – The final V-2 missile to hit England falls in Kent.
  • 1944 – The Arctic convoy JW 58 departs Loch Ewe, Scotland, bound for the Kola Inlet in the Soviet Union. The British aircraft carriers HMS Activity and HMS Tracker escort JW 58 and the return convoy RA 58, which reaches Loch Ewe on April 14. During their cruise, their aircraft sink or contribute to sinking two German submarines, attack three more, and shoot down six German aircraft without the loss of a merchant ship.
  • 1943 – The British escort aircraft carrier HMS Dasher suffers a massive accidental internal explosion and sinks off the Isle of Arran in the Firth of Clyde, killing 379. There are 149 survivors.
  • 1936 – First flight of the Fokker D.XXI fighter, a low-wing monoplane with a steel tube fuselage covered in large part by fabric, designed for use by the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force.
  • 1927 – Young American airmail pilot Charles A. Lindbergh registers his entry in the Raymond Orteig challenge for the first man to cross the Atlantic Ocean solo. The challenge and a $25,000 prize, has been issued in 1920, but no one has so far been successful in making the flight.
  • 1918 – Attacked by German planes while flying reconnaissance, bomber pilot Lt. Alan McLeod of 2 Squadron RFC is strafed from below. Three bullets strike him and others puncture his fuel tank, setting his plane on fire. Lt McLeod climbs onto the lower left wing and steers the plane to a crash landing between the front lines. He pulls his gunner out of the wreck into a fox hole, from which they are rescued. Lt. Alan A. McLeod was awarded the Victoria Cross for action this day.
  • 1907 – Romanian Trajan Vuia begins tests of his airplane, newly fitted with steering surfaces. He makes a short flight of 33 feet in Paris, France.

References

  1. ^ "Iraqi copter shot down by gunmen in Basra". Aswat Aliraq. 2008-03-29. Retrieved 2008-03-30.
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