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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

Rear view of CFM56-5
Rear view of CFM56-5
The CFM International CFM56 series is a family of high-bypass turbofan aircraft engines made by CFM International with a thrust range of 18,500 to 34,000 pound-force (lbf) (80 to 150 kilonewtons (kN)). CFMI is a 50–50 joint-owned company of SNECMA and GE Aviation. Both companies are responsible for producing components and each has its own final assembly line. The CFM56 first ran in 1974 and, despite initial political problems, is now one of the most prolific jet engine types in the world: more than 20,000 have been built in four major variants. It is most widely used on the Boeing 737 airliner and under military designation F108 replaced the Pratt & Whitney JT3D engines on many KC-135 Stratotankers in the 1980s, creating the KC-135R variant of this aircraft. It is also one of two engines used to power the Airbus A340, the other being the Rolls-Royce Trent. The engine is also fitted to Airbus A320 series aircraft. Several fan blade failure incidents were experienced during the CFM56's early service, including one failure that was noted as a cause of the Kegworth air disaster, and some variants of the engine experienced problems caused by flight through rain and hail. However, both these issues were resolved with engine modifications. (Full article...)

Selected image

F-15 Eagle in a near vertical climb
F-15 Eagle in a near vertical climb
Credit: Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Allen, USAF
An F-15D Eagle from the 325th Fighter Wing based at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida releasing flares. The F-15 is a multi-role tactical fighter designed by McDonnell Douglas. The first flight of the F-15A was in July 1972, but since then it has been produced in six model variations with both single seat and dual seat versions. The original and largest operator of the F-15 is the United States Air Force, but it is also operated by the air forces of Israel, Japan, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.

Did you know

...that in 1943 British Overseas Airways Corporation Flight 777 was shot down by German Junkers Ju 88s, killing actor Leslie Howard and leading to speculation that it was an attempt to assassinate Winston Churchill? ...that PWS-10 designed in late 1920s was the first Polish fighter to enter serial production? ...that Royal Brunei Catering, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Royal Brunei Airlines, was named as Best Regional Caterer 1995/1996 by Singapore Airlines?

More Did you know facts

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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

Charles Yeager
Charles Elwood "Chuck" Yeager (born February 13, 1923) is a retired Brigadier-General in the United States Air Force and a noted test pilot. In 1947, he, at age 24, became the first pilot to travel faster than sound in level flight and ascent.

His career began in World War II as a private in the U.S. Army Air Forces. After serving as an aircraft mechanic, in September 1942 he entered enlisted pilot training and upon graduation was promoted to the rank of Flight Officer (WW 2 U.S. Army Air Forces rank equivalent to Warrant Officer) and became a P-51 Mustang fighter pilot. After the war he became a test pilot of many kinds of aircraft and rocket planes. Yeager was the first man to break the sound barrier on October 14, 1947, flying the experimental Bell X-1 at Mach 1 at an altitude of 45,000 ft (13,700 m). Although Scott Crossfield was the first man to fly faster than Mach 2 in 1953, Yeager shortly thereafter exceeded Mach 2.4.[1] He later commanded fighter squadrons and wings in Germany and in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, and in recognition of the outstanding performance ratings of those units he then was promoted to Brigadier-General. Yeager's flying career spans more than sixty years and has taken him to every corner of the globe, even into the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War.

Selected Aircraft

The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engine heavy bomber aircraft developed for the U.S. Army Air Corps (USAAC). Competing against Douglas and Martin for a contract to build 200 planes, the airplane outperformed both the other entries and the Air Corps' expectations. Although losing the contract due to an accident, the Air Corps was so in favor of the B-17 that they ordered 13 B-17s regardless. Evolving through numerous design stages, from B-17A to G, the Flying Fortress is considered the first truly mass-produced large aircraft. From its pre-war inception, the USAAC touted the aircraft as a strategic weapon; it was a high-flying, long-ranging potent bomber capable of defending itself. With the ability to return home despite extensive battle damage, its durability, especially in belly-landings and ditchings, quickly took on mythical proportions.

The B-17 was primarily involved in the daylight precision strategic bombing campaign of World War II against German industrial targets. The United States Eighth Air Force based in England and the Fifteenth Air Force based in Italy complemented the RAF Bomber Command's night-time area bombing in Operation Pointblank, which helped secure air superiority over the cities, factories and battlefields of Western Europe in preparation for Operation Overlord. The B-17 also participated, to a lesser extent, in the War in the Pacific.

Today in Aviation

April 13

  • 2013 – Lion Air Flight 904, a Boeing 737-8GP carrying 108 people, ditches in shallow water off Bali 0.6 nautical miles (1.1 km) from the runway while attempting to land at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, Indonesia. All on board survive, although 22 people are injured.
  • 2010 – Unable to adjust their thrust settings due to an engine malfunction, the flight crew of Cathay Pacific Flight 780, an Airbus A330-342 with 322 people on board, is forced to land at Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong, China, at 230 knots (265 mph; 426 km/h), 95 knots (109 mph; 176 km/h) higher than normal landing speed. The aircraft makes a successful landing, but 57 passengers are injured during the subsequent emergency evacuation.
  • 2010 – A Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet E122/F-TERD of the French Air Force (Patrouille de France) crashed near Plan de Dieu Airport (LF51), Vaucluse area. The pilot ejected and escaped with minor injuries.
  • 2006 – Eagle III MBB Bo 105 accident occurred at GRBC Rescue Heliport in Green Bay, Wisconsin during a post-maintenance flight of a MBB Bo 105 air ambulance helicopter operated by Eagle III. This crash claimed the life of James Vincent Jr, the sole occupant and an experienced pilot flying with Eagle III since 2004. This was the first accident for County Rescue's air ambulance service, which took delivery of its first helicopter in May 1998, and was also believed to be the first among the 12 or so air ambulance services operating in the state of Wisconsin. As of June 2007, the cause of the crash is still under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board, but is believed to be caused by a mechanical failure of the tail rotor.
  • 1989 – The first flight-tests of the Pratt & Whitney / Alison prop-fan engine are carried out in the U. S.
  • 1989 – Two U.S. Navy North American T-2C Buckeyes, BuNos. 156694, 'A 994' and 159724, 'A 996' of VT-19, suffer mid-air collision and crash near Macon, Mississippi, killing two crew of one, but two crew of other parachute safely.
  • 1984 – Landed: Space Shuttle Challenger STS-41-C at 13:38:07 UTC Edwards AFB. Mission highlights: Solar Max servicing (first satellite rescue by astronauts), LDEF deployment.
  • 1970 – An oxygen tank aboard Apollo 13 explodes, putting the crew in great danger.
  • 1967 – Lockheed SR-71A, 61-7966, Article 2017, crashed near Las Vegas, New Mexico, after a night refuelling devolved into a subsonic high-speed stall. Pilot Boone and RSO Sheffield eject safely.
  • 1966 – Royal Iraqi Air Force de Havilland DH.104 Dove 1, RF392, c/n 04032, crashes near Basra, Iraq on flight from Baghdad during a Haboob, killing all seven on board, including President of Iraq Colonel Abd-al-Salam Mohammad Arif (8 February 1963 - 13 April 1966), and two ministers. Some sources report this accident as a helicopter crash.
  • 1966 – Boeing announces in Seattle an order worth $525 million from Pan Am for 25 Model 747 jumbo jets.
  • 1963 – United States Marine Corps UH-34 Seahorse transport helicopters based at Da Nang, South Vietnam, airlift 435 South Vietnamese troops to attack a suspected Viet Cong stronghold in mountains along the Thu Bồn River. For the first time, Marine Corps helicopters receive attack helicopter escort in the form of United States Army UH-1 B gunships.
  • 1958 – A USAF Douglas C-133A-10-DL Cargomaster, 54-0146, c/n 44716 of the 1607 ATW crashed inverted during a local flight test out of Dover AFB, DE 17 minutes after takeoff near Georgetown, DE. 4 Fatalities.
  • 1944 – During a Naval Air Training Command (NATC) evaluation flight of Budd RB-1 Conestoga prototype, U.S. Navy NX37097, at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, the aircraft crashed, killing one of the crew. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and written off, but the pilot reported that the stainless steel construction of the plane contributed to saving his life.
  • 1944 – After downing 3 planes on 8 April, Don Gentile was the top scoring 8th Air Force ace when he crashed his personal North American P-51B-7-NA Mustang, 43-6913, 'VF-T', named "Shangri La", this date while stunting over the 4th FG's airfield at Debden for a group of assembled press reporters and movie cameras. He buzzed the airfield too low, struck the rising ground, and broke the back of his fighter. Col. Donald Blakeslee immediately grounded Major Gentile as a result, even though his combat tour was completed, and he was sent back to the US for a tour selling War Bonds.
  • 1945 – The last Boeing-built B-17 is delivered.
  • 1943 – 188 Japanese planes from Rabaul raid Milne Bay, New Guinea, destroying one merchant ship and damaging others. Twenty-four Royal Australian Air Force Curtiss Kittyhawks intercept them, shooting down seven Japanese aircraft in exchange for three Kittyhawks.
  • 1940 – During the Second Battle of Narvik, a Swordfish floatplane from the British battleship HMS Warspite sinks the German submarine U-64 in Herjangsfjorden off Bjerkvik, Norway – The first time that a Royal Navy aircraft sinks an enemy submarine during World War II – spots gunfire for Warspite and ships accompanying her in Ofotfjord, resulting in the destruction of seven German destroyers, and finishes off one of the destroyers with a bombing attack.
  • 1938 – Ground was broken at Malton Airport, Toronto for the Aircraft Division of the National Steel Car Corp. The plant later became Victory Aircraft Ltd and Avro Aircraft Ltd.
  • 1925 – First scheduled airfreight service begins in the US
  • 1925 – A Navy NB-1 was the first airplane using oleo-type hydraulic landing gear struts.
  • 1919 – The Vickers Vimy Commercial, a civilian version of the bomber with an enclosed fuselage capable of holding a maximum of ten passengers, makes its maiden flight in Kent, England.
  • 1917 – Royal Naval Air Service flying boats begin flying “Spider Web” patrols over the North Sea in the vicinity of the North Hinder light ship to detect German submarines in the area. The new patrol pattern, resembling a spider web, allows four aircraft to search a 4,000-square-mile (10,000-square-kilometer) area in about five hours, only half the time it takes a surfaced submarine to transit the area. The flying boats make 27 patrols in the next 18 days, sight eight German submarines, and make bombing attacks against three of them.
  • 1897 – Werner Voss, German World War I pilot and ace, was born (d. 1917).

References

  1. ^ Yeager, Chuck, and Janos, Leo. Yeager: An Autobiography. p. 252 (paperback). New York: Bantam Books, 1986. ISBN 0-553-25674-2.
  2. ^ Lucas, Ryan, "Activists Say Syrian Airstrike Kills 20 People," Associated Press, April 13, 2013.
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