On 28th January 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger (NASA STS-51-L mission) broke apart, killing all crew aboard. STS-51-L was the 25th mission within the US Space Shuttle programme and, at the same time, had to […]
On 21st January 1885, Italian aviation pioneer and designer, as well as famous explorer of the Arctic areas, was born in Lauro, Italy. Umberto Nobile became famous thanks to his technical skills and passion for […]
On 14th January 1942 (or 13th January, according to some sources), a helicopter designed by Igor Sikorsky and designated Vought-Sikorsky VS-316 (aka XR-4, under its USAAF designation) performed its maiden flight, piloted by Les […]
On 7th January 1785, Jean-Pierre Blanchard and John Jeffries performed the very first successful balloon flight across the English Channel (La Manche), covering the route from Dover Castle to Guînes (Guisines), Pas-de-Calais. Since the childhood, […]
On 24th December 1937, the first prototype of Macchi C.200 Saetta (also known as Macchi-Castoldi M.C.200), successfully performed its maiden flight, flown by chief test pilot Giuseppe Burei. The aircraft was designed by Mario Castoldi, […]
On 10th December 1919, a modified Vickers Vimy heavy bomber with a crew of Keith Macpherson Smith, Ross Macpherson Smith, W.H. Shiers and J.M. Bennet, successfully landed at Darwin, completing the 17,911 kilometres journey from […]
On 3rd December 1945, a Sea Vampire flown by Captain Eric Brown successfully landed onto HMS Ocean. It was the first time ever, when a purely jet-powered aircraft has landed onboard an aircraft carrier. The […]
On 26th November 1943, Lieutenant Commander Edward Henry O’Hare – the US Navy´s first fighter ace – was shot down during a night intercept mission, flying a Grumman F6F Hellcat. His aircraft was never found. […]
On 19th November 1915, Squadron-Commander Richard Bell Davies of No. 3 Squadron RNAS performed a successful rescue operation behind enemy lines, in order to save Flight Sub-Lieutenant Gilbert Formby Smylie. It is widely considered the […]
On 12th November 1906, Alberto Santos-Dumont performed a series of public flights, in one of them covering a distance of 200 metres. That was the very first flight officially observed by the FAI and, in […]
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