first flight Archives — Page 15 of 16

12 November 1906 – the first officially observed flight in Europe

11 November 2021 Jacek Domański

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 […]

22 October 1909 – Raymonde de Laroche, the first female pilot

21 October 2021 Jacek Domański

On 22nd October 1909, Raymonde de Laroche became the first woman ever to pilot a heavier-than-air, powered aircraft and also the first female pilot that performed a solo flight. Élisa Léontine Deroche, as that was […]

27 August 1783 – the world´s first hydrogen balloon

26 August 2021 Jacek Domański

On 27th August 1783, French scientist, professor Jacques Charles and engineers Anne-Jean Robert and Nicolas-Louis Robert, have launched the first ever hydrogen-filled balloon. Although the idea of ballooning was as old as ancient China (approximately […]

25 June 1975 – first flight of Yakovlev Yak-50

24 June 2021 Kacper Kolibowski

First flight of Yakovlev Yak-50, aerobatic trainer aircraft. Between 1946 and 1965, Yakovlev design bureau created, under common designation Yak-18, a series of quite different training and aerobatic aircraft. It included a variant designated Yak-18PM, […]

11 June 1937 – first flight of Kawanishi E11K

10 June 2021 Kacper Kolibowski

Kawanishi E11K, a Japanese experimental flying boat performed its first flight. The story of this aircraft began in 1936, when the Imperial Japanese Navy drew up a request for a new small flying boat, intended […]

45 years of Boeing E-3 Sentry – a brief history of AWACS

31 May 2021 Kacper Kolibowski

25th May 2021 marked exactly 45 years since the first flight of Boeing E-3 Sentry. And that makes a perfect occasion to tell the story of this iconic ‘guardian of the skies’. Origins of the […]

21 May 1969 – first flight of Antonov An-26

20 May 2021 Jacek Domański

On 21 May 1969, the Antonov An-26, a twin-engine, turboprop transport aircraft, performed its maiden flight. The Antonov An-26 is one of the most-known aircraft designed by the Antonov construction bureau and, at the same […]

PZL 104 ´Wilga 35A´

27 April 2021 Kacper Kolibowski

PZL 104 ‘Wilga 35A’, STOL utility aircraft (SP-EBK c/n 61123), Aero Club of Włocławek, April 2014. At the turn of the 1950s and 1960s, the need for a modern, lightweight multipurpose aircraft to be used […]

12 March 1938 – first flight of PZL.44 Wicher

11 March 2021 Kacper Kolibowski

Maiden flight of PZL.44 Wicher (English: Gale), a prototype of Polish two-engine airliner. The inter-war years were a period when aviation truly boomed all over the world. Especially in the 1930s, the popularity of air […]

26 February 1937 – First flight of Fiat G.50 Freccia

26 February 2021 Kacper Kolibowski

First flight of Fiat G.50 Freccia (English: Arrow), an Italian fighter aircraft. The Fiat G.50 Freccia was created to meet the demand of Regia Aeronautica (the Italian Air Force) for a modern interceptor aircraft. In […]