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17 October 1922 – The first aircraft launched from the first U.S. Navy aircraft carrier

16 October 2025 Jacek Domański

On 17 October 1922, the first aircraft, a Vought VE-7 biplane, was launched from USS Langley, the first aircraft carrier of the US Navy. Although it was neither the first time an aeroplane had taken […]

Clément Ader and the first powered flight of an aeroplane

9 October 2025 Jacek Domański

Today marks the 135th anniversary of the first manned flight in a heavier-than-air aircraft, successfully performed by the French aviation pioneer Clément Ader. Although the flight was uncontrolled and reached a height of only twenty […]

Glenn Curtiss

8 October 2025 Jacek Domański

On 7 October 1909, American aviation pioneer Glenn Hammond Curtiss became the first pilot in the United States to receive an aviation certificate issued by Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Born on 21 May 1878 in […]

VFW 614

7 October 2025 Jacek Domański

VFW 614 (c/n G18, D-AXDB, formerly 17+02 of Luftwaffe / the German Air Force), exhibited at the Aeronauticum Nordholz aviation museum, June 2019. The VFW 614 (also known as the VFW-Fokker 614) was a twin-engine […]

5 September 1934 – Wiley Post becomes the first to use pressure suit

4 September 2025 Jacek Domański

On 5th September 1934, the American aviator Wiley Post became the first person to fly in pressure suit, reaching an altitude of 12,000 metres (40,000 feet) over Chicago. Wiley Hardeman Post, born on 22nd November […]

Sophie Blanchard

6 August 2025 Jacek Domański

On 18 August 1805, Sophie Blanchard became the first woman in aviation history to pilot an aircraft solo when she successfully completed a balloon flight from Toulouse, France. Marie Madeleine Sophie Blanchard (née Armandt) was […]

The world’s first military aeroplane

30 July 2025 Jacek Domański

OOn 2 August 1909, the US Army Signal Corps received the first Wright Military Flyer. Officially designated Signal Corps No. 1 and commonly known as Aeroplane No. 1, it became the world’s first military aeroplane. […]

25 billion kilometres from Earth and counting – Voyager 1

16 July 2025 Jacek Domański

At the moment we publish this article, the Voyager 1 space probe is approaching another milestone in space exploration – the distance of 25 billion kilometres (15.534 billion miles / 167.115 Astronomical Units) from Earth. […]

Birth of the naval aviation

9 July 2025 Jacek Domański

The origins of Austro-Hungarian naval aviation can be traced back to 1910, when the naval department of k.u.k. Kriegsministerium (the Imperial and Royal Ministry of War) began to consider the military potential of aircraft. By […]

Jean-Pierre Blanchard

26 June 2025 Jacek Domański

Jean-Pierre Blanchard, a French inventor, aviation pioneer and the world’s first professional balloon pilot, was born on 4 July 1753, in Les Andelys, France. From an early age, Blanchard displayed remarkable mechanical talent and a […]