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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. 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

United Airlines Flight 93 was a scheduled U.S. domestic passenger flight from Newark International Airport, in Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco International Airport. It was hijacked by four men as part of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Over 40 minutes into the flight the hijackers breached the cockpit, overpowered the pilots and took over control of the aircraft, diverting it toward Washington, D.C. Several passengers and crew members made telephone calls aboard the flight and learned about the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. As a result, the passengers decided to mount an assault against the hijackers and wrest control of the aircraft.

The plane crashed in a field just outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania, about 150 miles (240 km) northwest of Washington, D.C., killing all 44 people aboard, including the hijackers. Many witnessed the impact from the ground and news agencies began reporting on the event within an hour. The plane fragmented upon impact, leaving a crater, and some debris was blown miles from the crash site. The remains of everyone on board the aircraft were later identified. Subsequent analysis of the flight recorders revealed how the actions taken by the passengers prevented the aircraft from reaching either the White House or United States Capitol. A permanent memorial is planned for construction on the crash site. The chosen design has been the source of criticism and is scheduled to be dedicated in 2011. (Full article...)

Selected image

USAF aircraft of the 335th Fighter Squadron (F-16, F-15C and F-15E) fly over Kuwaiti oil fires, set by the retreating Iraqi army during Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

Did you know

...that the Fairey Seafox was a Second World War reconnaissance floatplane of the Fleet Air Arm?

...that the Spartan Cruiser (pictured) was originally designed as mail plane and even flew a test flight to Karachi as such, but was then transformed into a passenger airplane in 1932?

...that the asymmetrical monoplane BV 141 is one of many military aircraft designed by Richard Vogt?

More Did you know facts

General images - load new batch

The following are images from various aviation-related articles on Wikipedia.

In the news

Wikinews Aviation portal
Read and edit Wikinews

Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Selected biography

Amy Johnson (1 July 1903 – 5 January 1941) C.B.E. was a pioneering British aviatrix.

Born in Kingston upon Hull, Johnson graduated from University of Sheffield with a Bachelor of Arts in economics. She was introduced to flying as a hobby, gaining a pilot's A Licence No. 1979 on 6 July 1929 at the London Aeroplane Club. In that same year, she became the first British woman to gain a ground engineer's C License.

Johnson achieved worldwide recognition when, in 1930, she became the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia. She left Croydon on 5 May of that year and landed in Darwin, Australia on 24 May after flying 11,000 miles. Her aircraft for this flight, a De Havilland Gipsy Moth (registration G-AAAH) named Jason, can still be seen in the Science Museum in London. She received the Harmon Trophy as well as a CBE in homage to this achievement, and was also honoured with the No. 1 civil pilot's licence under Australia's 1921 Air Navigation Regulations.

In July 1931, Johnson and her co-pilot Jack Humphreys became the first pilots to fly from London to Moscow in one day, completing the 1,760-mile journey in approximately 21 hours. From there, they continued across Siberia and on to Tokyo, setting a record time for flying from England to Japan. The flight was completed in a De Havilland Puss Moth.

Selected Aircraft

Airbus A380
Airbus A380

The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, four-engined airliner manufactured by Airbus S.A.S. It first flew on 27 April 2005 from Toulouse–Blagnac Airport. Commercial flights began in late 2007 after months of testing, with the delivery of the first aircraft to launch customer Singapore Airlines. During much of its development phase, the aircraft was known as the Airbus A3XX, and the nickname Superjumbo has also become associated with the A380.

The A380 is double decked, with the upper deck extending along the entire length of the fuselage. This allows for a spacious cabin, with the A380 in standard three-class configuration to seat 555 people, up to maximum of 853 in full economy class configuration. Only one model of the A380 was available: The A380-800, the passenger model. It is the largest passenger airliner in the world superseding the Boeing 747. The other launch model, the A380-800F freighter, was canceled and did not join the ranks of the largest freight aircraft such as the Antonov An-225, An-124, and the C-5 Galaxy.

  • Span: 79.8 m (261 ft 10 in)
  • Length: 73 m (239 ft 6 in)
  • Height: 24.1 m (79 ft 1 in)
  • Engines: 4 * Rolls-Royce Trent 900 or Engine Alliance GP7200 (311 kN or 69,916 lbf)
  • Cruising Speed: 0.85 Mach (approx 1,050 km/h or 652 mph or 567 kn)
  • First Flight: 27 April 2005
  • Number built: 254 (including 3 prototypes)
More selected aircraft Read more...

Today in Aviation

December 16

  • 2009 – Scotland’s largest airline Flyglobespan enters administration and ceases all flights.
  • 2009 – Pakistan Air Force Dassault Mirage III fighter aircraft crashed during a training mission due to a technical fault. The pilot managed to eject safely, landing in the Durrab Lake, (Kallar Kahar) and was rescued by a boat.
  • 2006 – A Mexican Air Force Antonov An-32, 3103, of 3 Grupo Aero/EATP 301, crashes into the sea off the coast of Mexico, near Acapulco. The four crew members on board are killed.
  • 1980 – Douglas Campbell (aviator), American pilot dies (b. 1896). Campbell was an American aviator and World War I flying ace. He was the first American aviator flying in an American unit to achieve the status of ace.
  • 1979 – The British Airways Concorde lands in London after flying from New York in less than three hours (2 hours 58 min) at an average speed of 1,172 miles per hour (1,886 km/h).
  • 1969 – U.S. Navy Vought F-8 Crusader, BuNo 145611, of Detachment 19, VFP-63, crashes into the Gulf of Tonkin ~60 miles (97 km) E of Đồng Hới, killing pilot Lt. Victor Patrick Buckley, of Falls Church, Virginia, while returning to the USS Hancock from a photographic reconnaissance mission. Cause of loss thought to be accidental.
  • 1958 – Convair B-58 Hustler, 58-1008, c/n 15, accepted and delivered to the 6592nd Test Squadron, 43rd Bomb Wing, for pod and suitability testing during October: 1958. Crashed this date, the first Convair B-58 Hustler accident, 70 kilometres (43 mi) NNE of Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico, due to loss of control during normal flight when auto trim and ratio changer were rendered inoperative due to an electrical system failure. Air Force pilot Maj. Richard Smith killed; AF Nav/bombardier Lt. Col. George Gradel, AF DSO Capt. Daniel Holland, both survive.
  • 1955 – Republic F-105 Thunderchief, 54-0098, the first prototype, crash lands at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Republic test pilot Russell M. "Rusty" Roth was forced to make an emergency landing after the right main landing gear had been torn away after having been inadvertently extended during high speed flight. Pilot uninjured. Although the airframe was returned to the factory, it was deemed too costly to repair.
  • 1945 – Second of two prototypes of the Douglas XB-42 Mixmaster, 43-50225, on routine flight out of Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, D.C., suffers in short order, a landing gear extension problem, failure of the port engine, and as coolant temperatures rose, failure of starboard engine. Maj. Hayduck bails out at 1,200 feet (370 m), Lt. Col. Haney at 800 feet (240 m), and pilot Lt. Col. (later Major General) Fred J. Ascani, after crawling aft to jettison pusher propellers, at 400 feet (120 m) - all three survive. Aircraft impacts at Oxen Hill, Maryland. Secret jettison-able props caused a problem for authorities in explaining what witnesses on ground thought was the aircraft exploding. Possible fuel management problem speculated, but no proof.
  • 1943 – (16-17) – Almost continuous unopposed Japanese air attacks on the landing force at Arawe damage and destroy various U. S. landing craft and small craft.
  • 1940 – (Overnight) For the first time, Royal Air Force Bomber Command conducts a raid focusing on attacking a city center rather than specific targets in Operation Rachel, a raid by 134 British bombers against Mannheim, Germany, in reprisal for the German raid on Coventry in November. Their bombs are dispersed widely, killing 34 people in Mannheim and Ludwigshafen.
  • 1929 – Tydeo Larre Borges is the first South American pilot to cross the South Atlantic Ocean.
  • 1921 – USS Wright (AV-1) is commissioned as the United States Navy’s first and only balloon ship. She is the only U. S. Navy ship ever to bear the “AZ” designation for “lighter-than-air craft tender. ”
  • 1919 – Construction of the Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carrier Japanese aircraft carrier Hōshō begins. She is the second aircraft carrier in the world designed and built as such to be laid down, and will be the first to be completed.
  • 1914 – SMS Glyndwr is the first Imperial German Navy aviation ship to be commissioned. She serves initially as a seaplane pilot training ship.

References

Edit today's anniversaries – December Archive – All anniversaries...


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