On 2nd May 1891, the founding commander of the South African Air Force, General Sir Helperus Andreas van Ryneveld – commonly known as Pierre van Ryneveld – was born in Senekal, in the then Orange […]
The idea of crossing the Atlantic by air dates back to the era of ballooning. In the late 1850s, John Wise attempted to build a balloon capable of such a journey, but his project ended […]
On 28th March 1910, an experimental floatplane developed by Henri Fabre, performed its first flight marking the aviation history with the first successful take-off of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft from water. The first floatplane in […]
Traian Vuia was a Romanian inventor and aviation pioneer. In 1903, he developed the “aeroplane-car”, a flying machine concept that he presented to the French Academy of Sciences. Vuia was born on 17 August 1872 […]
On 7th February 1906, Oleg Konstantinovich Antonov (Олег Константинович Антонов), the world-known aviation engineer, aviation designer and the founder of the Antonov construction bureau (OKB-153), was born in Troitsa village, in the Moscow region of […]
Hugo Junkers, a renowned German aviation engineer and aircraft pioneer, was born on 3 February 1859 in Rheydt, today a borough of the city of Mönchengladbach. His father owned a cotton weaving mill, ensuring the […]
At the end of January 1769, the French aviation pioneer, balloonist and inventor of the frameless parachute, André-Jacques Garnerin, was born. The exact date of his birth varies, depending on the source. Although it seems […]
On 17th January 1847, a Russian scientist, mathematician and engineer, as well as founding father of aerodynamics, was born. Nikolay Yegorovich Zhukovsky (Николай Егорович Жуковский, sometimes transliterated Joukovsky) was born in Orekhovo village, in the […]
Charles Toussaint Védrines, commonly known as Jules Védrines, was born in December 1881 in Saint-Denis, France. His aviation career began with an apprenticeship at Société des Moteurs Gnome (the Gnome Motor Company), after which he […]
On 7th September 1920, on their way from Italy to Finland, two crews of the Finnish Air Force made an attempt to fly across the Alps in Savoia S.9 flying boats. Regrettably, they never reached […]
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