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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

Arkia Boeing 757-300
Arkia Boeing 757-300
Arkia Israeli Airlines (Hebrew: ארקיע, I will soar), usually referred to as Arkia, is an airline based in Tel Aviv, Israel. It is Israel's second largest airline operating scheduled domestic and international services as well as charter flights to Western Europe and the Mediterranean. Its main base is Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, whilst it also operates significant numbers of flights out of Sde Dov Airport in Tel Aviv, Eilat Airport, and Ovda International Airport.

Arkia was founded in 1949 as Israel Inland Airlines when it became clear that there was demand for a local airline to connect the north of Israel (especially Tel Aviv) with the southern region of the Negev, as a subsidiary of El Al, Israel's national airline. Flights starting the following year with the airline unsing De Havilland DH.89 aircraft, followed by Douglas DC-3s, to connect Rosh Pina in the north to the port of Eilat in the south. El Al held a 50% stake in the airline at this time with Histadrut, Israel's labour federation, being the other shareholder. The airline later evolved to become Eilata Airlines, Aviron, and then to Arkia Israel Airlines. In its first year of service, Israel Inland carried 13,485 passengers on their twice weekly flight, operated by a Curtis Commando. (Full article...)

Selected image

Controlled Impact Demonstration
Controlled Impact Demonstration
The Controlled Impact Demonstration was a joint project between NASA and the FAA in which a Boeing 720 was deliberately crashed in order to test the ability of the fuel additive FM-9, to inhibit the ignition and flame propagation of Jet-A fuel.

Did you know

...that Ansett Airlines Flight 232 from Adelaide to Alice Springs in 1972 was the first aircraft hijacking to take place in Australia? ... that the Air Zoo in Kalamazoo, Michigan houses the only SR-71B Blackbird in existence? ... that on 28 May 1931, a Bellanca CH-300 fitted with a Packard DR-980 diesel engine set a 55-year record for staying aloft for 84 hours and 32 minutes without being refueled?

More Did you know facts

General images - load new batch

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

Billy Mitchell (1879–1936) was an early aviation pioneer who rose to become a chief of the U.S. Army Air Service. Mitchell was born in Nice, France and raised on his family estate near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He attended George Washington University before enlisting in the Army at age 18 during the Spanish–American War. Due to his family connection he quickly received a commission Signal Corps where he had the opportunity to witness a flight demonstration by the Wright brothers in 1908. In 1916 he took private flight lessons and was transferred to the Aeronautical Division.

Mitchell deployed to France in 1917 when the United States entered World War I. While there he was promoted to brigadier general and placed in command American combat air units in France. After the war Mitchell was appointed the deputy director of the Air Service became a passionate advocate of air power. In 1921 he set up a demonstration to show the capability of airpower against naval vessels. During the course of the demonstrations aircraft successfully sank a captured German destroyer, the light crusier Frankfurt, and the battleship Ostfriesland.

Mitchell regularly sparred with his superiors over the role of airpower in the military. In 1925 he was reverted to his permanent rank of colonel and was transferred to San Antonio, Texas. Later that year, after a series of aviation accidents he accused Army and Navy leadership of incompetence and "almost treasonable administration of the national defense." In response he was court-martialed for insubordination, found guilty, and sentenced to a five-year suspension from active duty. Mitchell resigned on 1 February 1926 in lieu of serving the sentence. He continued to advocate airpower as a civilian until his death in 1936. In 1942 President Franklin Roosevelt posthumously promoted Mitchell to major general in recognition of his contributions to air power.

Selected Aircraft

F-4E from 81st Tactical Fighter Squadron dropping 500 lb (230 kg) Mark 82 bombs
F-4E from 81st Tactical Fighter Squadron dropping 500 lb (230 kg) Mark 82 bombs

The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic fighter-bomber originally developed for the U.S. Navy by McDonnell Aircraft. Proving highly adaptable, it became a major part of the air wings of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Air Force. It was used extensively by all three of these services during the Vietnam War, serving as the principal air superiority fighter for both the Navy and Air Force, as well as being important in the ground-attack and reconnaissance roles by the close of U.S. involvement in the war.

First entering service in 1960, the Phantom continued to form a major part of U.S. military air power throughout the 1970s and 1980s, being gradually replaced by more modern aircraft such as the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon in the U.S. Air Force; the F-14 Tomcat and F/A-18 Hornet in the U.S. Navy; and the F/A-18 in the U.S. Marine Corps. It remained in use by the U.S. in the reconnaissance and Wild Weasel roles in the 1991 Gulf War, finally leaving service in 1996. The Phantom was also operated by the armed forces of 11 other nations. Israeli Phantoms saw extensive combat in several Arab–Israeli conflicts, while Iran used its large fleet of Phantoms in the Iran–Iraq War. Phantoms remain in front line service with seven countries, and in use as an unmanned target in the U.S. Air Force.

Phantom production ran from 1958 to 1981, with a total of 5,195 built. This extensive run makes it the second most-produced Western jet fighter, behind the F-86 Sabre at just under 10,000 examples.

  • Span: 38 ft 4.5 in (11.7 m)
  • Length: 63 ft 0 in (19.2 m)
  • Height: 16 ft 6 in (5.0 m)
  • Engines: 2× General Electric J79-GE-17A axial compressor turbojets, 17,845 lbf (79.6 kN) each
  • Cruising Speed: 506 kn (585 mph, 940 km/h)
  • First Flight: 27 May 1958
  • Number built: 5,195
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Today in Aviation

March 1

  • 2007 – An OH-58D Kiowa makes a hard landing south of Kirkuk, injuring both crewmembers, and becomes entangled in overhanging wires before hitting the ground.[8] Reports had varied whether the crash was due to a mechanical[9] or electronic failure[10] and whether it is shot down.[11]
  • 2002 – Launch: Space Shuttle Columbia STS-109 at 11:22:02 UTC. Mission highlights: Hubble Space Telescope servicing, last successful mission for Columbia before STS-107.
  • 1999 – (1-20) The hot-air balloon Breitling Orbiter 3, with pilots Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones, begins the first non-stop, round-the-world balloon flight. They will complete the flight on March 19, setting a new distance record for any type of aircraft of 40,804 km (25,360 miles). Taking a total time of 19 days, 21 hours and 47 min.
  • 1989 – Canadian Space Agency (CSA) was formed, taking over the National Research Council as Canada’s primary space agency. In 1993, the CSA established its headquarters in St. Hubert, Quebec
  • 1985 - the Boy Scouts of America officially ended powered aircraft flight in its Aviation Exploring program, citing difficulties with maintaining insurance coverage in the event of an aircraft accident. 450 Explorer Posts and over 10,000 Explorer Scouts were affected.
  • 1976 – Lt. Col. Michael A. Love, 37, chief USAF test pilot on the Martin-Marietta X-24B program, is killed in the crash of an F-4C Phantom II on a dry lakebed at Edwards AFB, California, after take-off on a proficiency flight when his ejection seat malfunctions. Navigator Maj. E. B. Underwood, Jr. ejects before the crash and is hospitalized in stable condition. After serving in the lifting body program as chase pilot on various Northrop M2 and X-24A flights, Love made his first X-24B flight on 4 October 1973, and piloted the plane to its fastest speed—better than 1,860 kph—before terminating the program with a hard-surface runway landing at Edwards on 20 August 1975.
  • 1969 – The U. S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile) begins Operation Massachusetts Striker, a helicopter-borne assault against North Vietnamese forces in South Vietnam’s A Shau Valley. It will continue until May 8
  • 1966 – Venera 3 Soviet space probe crashes on Venus becoming the first spacecraft to land on another planet’s surface.
  • 1965 – The combat debut of the Republic F-105 Thunderchief takes place, as U. S. Air Force F-105D aircraft based at Da Nang, South Vietnam, begin bombing missions over North Vietnam.
  • 1962 – American Airlines Flight 1, a Boeing 707, crashes in Jamaica Bay, Queens, New York due to a rudder malfunction, killing all 95 passengers and crew on board.
  • 1962 – Los Angeles Airways sets up the world’s first commercial service using turbine-powered, multi-engine helicopters, the Sikorsky S-621L, which could accommodate up to 28 passengers.
  • 1962 – Fourth Lockheed U-2A, Article 344, 56-6677, delivered to the CIA on 20 November 1955, converted to U-2F by October 1961, crashes near Edwards Air Force Base, California, during aerial refueling training, killing SAC pilot Capt. John Campbell. Airframe entered jetwash behind the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, and broke up.
  • 1956 – The International Air Transport Association finalizes a draft of the Radiotelephony spelling alphabet for the International Civil Aviation Organization.
  • 1951 – No. 441 Squadron was reformed at St. Hubert, Quebec, and equipped with DH 1200 Vampire fighters.
  • 1949 – North American’s B-45 Tornado bomber sets an unofficial speed record of 675 miles per hour.
  • 1946 – Two Silverplate Boeing B-29 Superfortresses written off in taxi accident at Kirtland Army Air Field, New Mexico. Pilot of Boeing B-29-60-MO Superfortress, 44-86473, of the 509th Composite Group, assigned to Roswell AAF, New Mexico, attempts to taxi without energizing the hydraulic brake system, cannot stop bomber which collides with Boeing B-29-36-MO, 44-27296, "Some Punkins", also of the 509th. "Some Punkins" stricken in August 1946 and destroyed in fire-fighting training. 44-86473 dropped from inventory, April 1946, after salvage.
  • 1945 – First vertical take-off manned rocket flight test, launched from the Lager Heuberg military training area near Stetten am kalten Markt, of Bachem Ba 349 Natter, 'M23', a vertically launched bomber interceptor, fails when Oberleutnant Lothar Sieber, 22, a volunteer, is killed as rocket-powered aircraft reaches ~1,650 feet, cockpit canopy detaches, Ba 349 noses over onto back, then falls from ~4,800 feet, killing pilot. No cause for crash determined but it was thought that improperly latched canopy may have knocked Siebert unconscious. Three successful manned flights subsequently flown and a group of the fighters readied for intercept mission, but advancing U.S. 8th Army armoured units overrun launch site before Natters can be used
  • 1945 – Carrier aircraft of U. S. Navy Task Force 58 strike Okinawa and conduct photographic reconnaissance flights over Okinawa, Kerama Retto, Minami Daito, and Amami O Shima.
  • 1945 – Two Bell P-59A Airacomets of the 29th Fighter Squadron collide in mid-air over the Grey Butte Army Airfield during an anti-aircraft tracking exercise. 2nd Lt. Robert W. Murdock (pilot of #44-22620), and 2nd Lt. Howard L. Wilson (pilot of #44-22626) are killed in the collision.
  • 1943 – Since January 14, Royal Air Force Bomber Command has launched major raids on Wilhelmshaven four times, Berlin, Cologne, and Hamburg three times each, and Bremen, Düsseldorf, and Nuremberg once each, as well as on Milan and Turin.
  • 1943 – (Overnight) Royal Air Force Bomber Command flies the last raid of its early 1943 campaign against German submarines and their bases in France. It has attacked Lorient nine times and Brest once since the start of the campaign on January 14, but found German submarine pens impervious to its bombs. The raids have caused much damage to the French cities and their residents.
  • 1942 – Formation of RCAF Accident Board.
  • 1942 – The U. S. Navy sinks a German submarine for the first time in World War II when a Patrol Squadron 82 (VP-82) PBO-1 Hudson piloted by Ensign William Tepuni USNR sinks U-656 off Cape Race, Newfoundland.
  • 1941 – To avoid confusion with RAF units, RCAF squadrons overseas were renumbered 400 series i. e. 110 became 400 Squadron, No. 1 Squadron became 401 Squadron, etc.
  • 1941 – No. 402 Squadron became operational at Digby, Lincolnshire, England.
  • 1941 – No. 403 (Fighter) Squadron was formed at Bagington, England.
  • 1939 – Clarence Decatur C. D. Howe opened the first TransCanada Air Lines transcontinental passenger service from Montreal to Vancouver.
  • 1938 – Western Air Command with Headquarters at Vancouver, BC, was formed to control all RCAF units in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
  • 1938 – The 1938 Yosemite TWA crash; a Douglas DC-2, disappears on a flight from San Francisco to Winslow, Arizona; the aircraft is found three months later on a mountain in Yosemite National Park; all 9 on board die.
  • 1933 – U. S. Air Commerce Regulations are amended to increase the flying time required for a pilot’s license from 10 hours to 50 hours.
  • 1932 – Entered Service: Berliner-Joyce P-16 with United States Army Air Corps
  • 1932 – The 20-months-old son of aviator Charles Lindbergh has been kidnapped from the family’s home in Hopewell, New Jersey.
  • 1928 – The British aircraft carrier HMS Courgaeous enters service as the world’s first aircraft carrier with transverse arresting gear.
  • 1928 – An airmail route between France and Chile is opened with a fast sea link between Dakar, Senegal and Natal, Brazil.
  • 1924 – Deke Slayton, American astronaut, was born (d. 1993). was one of the original “Mercury Seven” NASA astronauts. Initially grounded by a heart condition, he would serve as NASA’s Director of Flight Crew Operations. Deke Slayton was responsible for all crew assignments at NASA from November 1963 until March 1972, when he was granted medical clearance to fly as docking module pilot of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. At the time of the flight, he became the oldest person to fly into space.
  • 1912 – Capt. Albert Berry makes the first parachute descent from a powered airplane in America when he jumps from a Benoist aircraft that is being flown by the company pilot, Anthony Jannus. The aircraft is flying at a height of 1,500 ft. over Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis, Missouri, and Berry uses a static line parachute.
  • 1911 – The first four Royal Navy pilots, Lieutenants Charles R. Samson, R. Gregory, and Arthur M. Longmore of the Royal Navy and Lieutenant E. L. Gerrard of the Royal Marine Light Infantry, report for flight training at Eastchurch airfield, using borrowed Short S.27 aircraft.

References

  1. ^ Gartrell, Adam (1 March 2011). "Rudd Ramps Up Call for Libya No-Fly Zone". Australian Associated Press (via The Age). Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  2. ^ "Live Blog – Libya 2 March". Al Jazeera. 1 March 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  3. ^ Fahim, Kareem; Kirkpatrick, David D. (2 March 2011). "Libyan Rebels, Invoking UN, May Ask West for Airstrikes". The New York Times.
  4. ^ "Gaddafi's Friend Turns Foe". Al Jazeera. 1 March 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  5. ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 6 March 2010. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  6. ^ Hradecky, Simon. "Accident: ACT Airlines A30B at Bagram on March 1st 2010, left main gear collapsed on landing". Aviation Herald. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
  7. ^ Hradecky, Simon. "Accident: Air Tanzania B732 at Mwanza on March 1st 2010, veered off runway, nose gear collapsed". Aviation Herald. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  8. ^ "US copter makes "hard landing" in northern Iraq". The Peninsula On-line. 2007-03-02. Archived from the original on March 4, 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-30.
  9. ^ "U.S. helicopter makes 'hard landing' in Iraq; Baghdad quieter". International Herald Tribune. 2007-03-01. Retrieved 2007-05-30.
  10. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  11. ^ "Iraqi News".[dead link‍]
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