List of firsts in aviation
Encyclopedia
The forerunners
- 559559Year 559 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 559 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* The Kutrigurs and Huns under...
Yuan HuangtouYuan HuangtouYuan Huangtou was the son of emperor Yuan Lang of Eastern Wei. At that time, Gao Yang took control the court of Eastern Wei and set the emperor as puppet. Finally, Yan Huangtou was imprisoned by Gao Yang and, against his will, flown from the tower of Ye, China. He survived this flight, but was...
, YeYe, ChinaYe or Yecheng was an ancient Chinese city located in what is now Linzhang County, Hebei and the neighbouring Anyang County, Henan....
, first manned kite glide to take off from a tower — 559559Year 559 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 559 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* The Kutrigurs and Huns under... - MuslimMuslimA Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
AndalusianAndalusian peopleThe Andalusians are the people of the southern region in Spain approximated by what is now called Andalusia. They are generally not considered an ethnically distinct people because they lack two of the most important markers of distinctiveness: their own language and an awareness of a presumed...
polymathPolymathA polymath is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. In less formal terms, a polymath may simply be someone who is very knowledgeable...
Abbas Ibn FirnasAbbas Ibn FirnasAbbas Ibn Firnas , also known as Abbas Qasim Ibn Firnas and عباس بن فرناس , was a Muslim Andalusian polymath: an inventor, engineer, aviator, physician, Arabic poet, and Andalusian musician. Of Berber descent, he was born in Izn-Rand Onda, Al-Andalus , and lived in the Emirate of Córdoba...
, by account of the historian Ahmed Mohammed al-Maqqari seven centuries later, he made a successful attempt at flying. He built his own glider, and launched himself from a mountain. - Possible first hang glider flight: Eilmer of MalmesburyEilmer of MalmesburyEilmer of Malmesbury was an 11th-century English Benedictine monk best known for his early attempt at a gliding flight using wings.- Life :...
, early 11th century (possibly first decade), English Benedictine monk best known for his early attempt at a gliding flight using wings. "...collecting the breeze upon the summit of a tower, flew for more than a furlong [201 metres]. But agitated by the violence of the wind and the swirling of air, as well as by the awareness of his rash attempt, he fell, broke both his legs and was lame ever after." - First person in flight: Bartolomeu de GusmãoBartolomeu de GusmãoBartolomeu Lourenço de Gusmão , was a priest and naturalist born in the then Portuguese colony of Brazil, noted for his early work on lighter-than-air airship design....
in a balloonBalloon (aircraft)A balloon is a type of aircraft that remains aloft due to its buoyancy. A balloon travels by moving with the wind. It is distinct from an airship, which is a buoyant aircraft that can be propelled through the air in a controlled manner....
filled with heated air at the hall of the Casa da India in LisbonLisbonLisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
. August 8, 1709. (However, this claim is not generally recognized by aviation historians outside the Portuguese speaking community, in particular the FAIFédération Aéronautique InternationaleThe Fédération Aéronautique Internationale is the world governing body for air sports and aeronautics and astronautics world records. Its head office is in Lausanne, Switzerland. This includes man-carrying aerospace vehicles from balloons to spacecraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles...
.) - First recorded manned flight: In a hot air balloonBalloon (aircraft)A balloon is a type of aircraft that remains aloft due to its buoyancy. A balloon travels by moving with the wind. It is distinct from an airship, which is a buoyant aircraft that can be propelled through the air in a controlled manner....
built by the Montgolfier brothersMontgolfier brothersJoseph-Michel Montgolfier and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier were the inventors of the montgolfière-style hot air balloon, globe aérostatique. The brothers succeeded in launching the first manned ascent, carrying Étienne into the sky...
and piloted by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and Marquis d'Arlandes, from the Château de la MuetteChâteau de la MuetteThe Château de la Muette is a château located on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France, near the Porte de la Muette.Three châteaux have been located on the site since a hunting lodge was transformed into the first château for Princess Marguerite de Valois, favorite daughter of King...
to the Butte-aux-CaillesButte-aux-CaillesThe Butte-aux-Cailles is a neighbourhood of Paris, France located in the XIIIe arrondissement on one of the hills in the southeast corner of the city....
, ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. November 21, 1783. This was the first free manned flight, however Etienne Montgolfier made a tethered balloon flight on October 15, 1783. - First manned gas balloonBalloon (aircraft)A balloon is a type of aircraft that remains aloft due to its buoyancy. A balloon travels by moving with the wind. It is distinct from an airship, which is a buoyant aircraft that can be propelled through the air in a controlled manner....
flight: Professor Jacques CharlesJacques CharlesJacques Alexandre César Charles was a French inventor, scientist, mathematician, and balloonist.Charles and the Robert brothers launched the world's first hydrogen-filled balloon in August 1783, then in December 1783, Charles and his co-pilot Nicolas-Louis Robert ascended to a height of about...
and Nicolas-Louis Robert, in a hydrogen-filled balloon, from ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to Nesles-la-ValléeNesles-la-ValléeNesles-la-Vallée is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France.-References:** -External links:* *...
December 1, 1783. - First women in a flight: The Marchioness and Countess of Montalembert, the Countess of Podenas and Miss de Lagarde, in a tethered balloon in Paris. May 20, 1784.
- First woman in an untethered balloon: Elizabeth ThibleElizabeth ThibleÉlisabeth Thible, or Tible, born in Lyon was one the first women of aeronautic history and the first woman on record to ride in an hot air balloon....
, in order to entertain Gustav III of SwedenGustav III of SwedenGustav III was King of Sweden from 1771 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Adolph Frederick and Queen Louise Ulrica of Sweden, she a sister of Frederick the Great of Prussia....
in LyonLyonLyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
. June 4, 1784. - First steerable balloonBalloon (aircraft)A balloon is a type of aircraft that remains aloft due to its buoyancy. A balloon travels by moving with the wind. It is distinct from an airship, which is a buoyant aircraft that can be propelled through the air in a controlled manner....
(also known as a dirigibleAirshipAn airship or dirigible is a type of aerostat or "lighter-than-air aircraft" that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust mechanisms...
, modern term "airship"). On July 15, 1784 the Robert brothersRobert brothersLes Frères Robert were two French brothers. Anne-Jean Robert , and Nicolas-Louis Robert , The brothers were the engineers who built the world's first hydrogen balloon for professor Jacques Charles; it flew from central Paris on...
(Les Frères Robert) flew for 45 minutes from Saint-Cloud to Meudon with M. Collin-Hullin and Louis Philippe II, the Duke of Chartres in their elongated balloon. The steerable craft designed by professor Jacques CharlesJacques CharlesJacques Alexandre César Charles was a French inventor, scientist, mathematician, and balloonist.Charles and the Robert brothers launched the world's first hydrogen-filled balloon in August 1783, then in December 1783, Charles and his co-pilot Nicolas-Louis Robert ascended to a height of about...
followed Jean Baptiste MeusnierJean Baptiste MeusnierJean Baptiste Marie Charles Meusnier de la Place was a French mathematician, engineer and Revolutionary general. He is best known for Meusnier's theorem on the curvature of surfaces, which he formulated while he was at the École Royale du Génie . He also discovered the helicoid...
's proposals (1783–85) for a dirigible balloon, with a rudder, but the use of oars as a means of propulsion was not successful. - First flight across the English ChannelEnglish ChannelThe English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
: Jean-Pierre BlanchardJean-Pierre BlanchardJean-Pierre Blanchard , aka Jean Pierre François Blanchard, was a French inventor, most remembered as a pioneer in aviation and ballooning....
and John Jeffries, in a balloonBalloon (aircraft)A balloon is a type of aircraft that remains aloft due to its buoyancy. A balloon travels by moving with the wind. It is distinct from an airship, which is a buoyant aircraft that can be propelled through the air in a controlled manner....
. January 7, 1785. - First aviation disasterAviation accidents and incidentsAn aviation accident is defined in the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft which takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight and all such persons have disembarked, in which a...
: When the town of TullamoreTullamoreTullamore is a town in County Offaly, in the midlands of Ireland. It is Offaly's county town and the centre of the district.Tullamore is an important commercial and industrial centre in the region. Major international employers in the town include 'Tyco Healthcare' and 'Boston Scientific'. In...
, County OffalyCounty OffalyCounty Offaly is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe and was formerly known as King's County until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. Offaly County Council is...
, IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
was seriously damaged when the crash of a balloonBalloon (aircraft)A balloon is a type of aircraft that remains aloft due to its buoyancy. A balloon travels by moving with the wind. It is distinct from an airship, which is a buoyant aircraft that can be propelled through the air in a controlled manner....
resulted in a fire that burned down about 100 houses. May 1785. - First victims of an air crash: Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and Pierre Romain, when their Rozière balloonRozière balloonThe Rozière balloon is a type of hybrid balloon that has separate chambers for a non-heated lifting gas as well as a heated lifting gas...
deflated and crashed to the ground near WimereuxWimereuxWimereux is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Wimereux is a coastal town situated some north of Boulogne, at the junction of the D233 and the D940 roads, on the banks of the river Wimereux. The river Slack forms the northern boundary of...
in the Pas-de-Calais. June 15, 1785. - First woman to pilot her own balloon: Sophie BlanchardSophie BlanchardSophie Blanchard was a French aeronaut and the wife of ballooning pioneer Jean-Pierre Blanchard. Blanchard was the first woman to work as a professional balloonist, and after her husband's death she continued ballooning, making more than 60 ascents...
, when she flew solo from the garden of the Cloister of the Jacobins in ToulouseToulouseToulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
. August 18, 1805. - First woman to be killed in an aviation accidentAviation accidents and incidentsAn aviation accident is defined in the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft which takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight and all such persons have disembarked, in which a...
: Sophie BlanchardSophie BlanchardSophie Blanchard was a French aeronaut and the wife of ballooning pioneer Jean-Pierre Blanchard. Blanchard was the first woman to work as a professional balloonist, and after her husband's death she continued ballooning, making more than 60 ascents...
, when her hydrogen-filled balloon caught fire and crashed to the ground. July 6, 1819. - First successful steerable powered balloonBalloon (aircraft)A balloon is a type of aircraft that remains aloft due to its buoyancy. A balloon travels by moving with the wind. It is distinct from an airship, which is a buoyant aircraft that can be propelled through the air in a controlled manner....
(also known as a dirigibleAirshipAn airship or dirigible is a type of aerostat or "lighter-than-air aircraft" that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust mechanisms...
): By Henri GiffardHenri GiffardHenri Giffard was a French engineer. In 1852 he invented the steam injector and the powered airship.-Career:Baptiste Henri Jacques Giffard was born in Paris in 1825...
, 1852 - First tethered balloonBalloon (aircraft)A balloon is a type of aircraft that remains aloft due to its buoyancy. A balloon travels by moving with the wind. It is distinct from an airship, which is a buoyant aircraft that can be propelled through the air in a controlled manner....
for passengers: developed by Henri GiffardHenri GiffardHenri Giffard was a French engineer. In 1852 he invented the steam injector and the powered airship.-Career:Baptiste Henri Jacques Giffard was born in Paris in 1825...
in the Tuileries Garden in Paris. 1878 - First flight in an airship powered by an internal combustion engineInternal combustion engineThe internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high -pressure gases produced by combustion apply direct force to some component of the engine...
: Alberto Santos Dumont, 1898.
Heavier than air era
- First flight in a powered airplane: Gustave WhiteheadGustave WhiteheadGustave Albin Whitehead, born Gustav Albin Weisskopf was an aviation pioneer who emigrated from Germany to the U.S., where he designed and built early flying machines and engines meant to power them....
, August 14, 1901 (newspaper and eyewitness reports - not officially recognised by mainstream). - First flight in a powered airplane: Richard PearseRichard PearseRichard William Pearse , son of Cornish immigrants from St Columb near Newquay, a New Zealand farmer and inventor who performed pioneering experiments in aviation....
, March 1903 (eyewitness reports - not officially recognised by mainstream). - First controlled, powered, sustained airplane flight: Wright brothersWright brothersThe Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur , were two Americans credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903...
, December 17, 1903 (photographed, eyewitnesses). - First circular flight in a powered airplane: Wilbur Wright, September 20, 1904.
- First heavier-than-air flight of more than 25 meters in Europe, winner of the Archdeacon Prize: Alberto Santos-DumontAlberto Santos-DumontAlberto Santos-Dumont , was a Brazilian early pioneer of aviation. The heir of a wealthy family of coffee producers, Santos Dumont dedicated himself to science studies in Paris, France, where he spent most of his adult life....
in his "14 Bis", October 23, 1906 in ParisChâteau de BagatelleThe Château de Bagatelle is a small neoclassical château with a French landscape garden in the Bois de Boulogne in the XVIe arrondissement of Paris...
). - First flight certified and registered by FAIFédération Aéronautique InternationaleThe Fédération Aéronautique Internationale is the world governing body for air sports and aeronautics and astronautics world records. Its head office is in Lausanne, Switzerland. This includes man-carrying aerospace vehicles from balloons to spacecraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles...
: Brazilian Alberto Santos Dumont in Paris on November 12, 1906 in his "14 bisSantos-Dumont 14-bisThe 14-bis , also known as , was a pioneer-era canard biplane designed and built by Brazilian inventor Alberto Santos-Dumont...
". - First person to die in a crash of a powered airplane: passenger Thomas SelfridgeThomas SelfridgeThomas Etholen Selfridge was a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army and the first person to die in a crash of a powered airplane. He was a passenger while Orville Wright was piloting the aircraft.-Biography:...
, September 17, 1908; pilot Orville Wright injured. - First ditching of an airplane in the sea: Hubert LathamHubert LathamArthur Charles Hubert Latham was a French aviation pioneer. He was the first person to attempt to cross the English Channel in an aeroplane...
, the English ChannelEnglish ChannelThe English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
, July 19, 1909 - First airplane flight across the English Channel: Louis BlériotLouis BlériotLouis Charles Joseph Blériot was a French aviator, inventor and engineer. In 1909 he completed the first flight across a large body of water in a heavier-than-air craft, when he crossed the English Channel. For this achievement, he received a prize of £1,000...
, July 25, 1909 - First take-off by an airplane from a ship: Eugene ElyEugene Burton ElyEugene Burton Ely was an aviation pioneer, credited with the first shipboard aircraft take off and landing.-Background:...
in a Curtiss pusher from a temporary platform aboard light cruiserLight cruiserA light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
USS BirminghamUSS Birmingham (CL-2)USS Birmingham , named for the city of Birmingham, Alabama, was a laid down by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company at Quincy, Massachusetts on 14 August 1905; launched on 29 May 1907; sponsored by Mrs L...
, November 14, 1910 - First landing by an airplane on a ship: Eugene ElyEugene Burton ElyEugene Burton Ely was an aviation pioneer, credited with the first shipboard aircraft take off and landing.-Background:...
in a Curtiss pusher on a temporary platform aboard armored cruiserArmored cruiserThe armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Like other types of cruiser, the armored cruiser was a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship, and fast enough to outrun any battleships it encountered.The first...
USS PennsylvaniaUSS Pennsylvania (ACR-4)The second USS Pennsylvania , also referred to "Armored Cruiser No. 4", and later renamed Pittsburgh and numbered CA-4, was a United States Navy armored cruiser, the lead ship of her class....
, January 11, 1911 - First woman to die in a crash of a powered airplane: Denise MooreDenise MooreDenise Moore , was the pseudonym of E. Jane-Wright . She was the first known female aviator to die in a flight accident.- Biography :...
, July 21, 1911 - First flight across the Continental Divide: Cromwell DixonCromwell DixonCromwell Dixon was the first person to fly across the Continental Divide.-Biography:Cromwell Dixon was born in 1892 in San Francisco; later his family moved to Columbus, Ohio. As a boy, Dixon showed his inventing skills by building a rollercoaster for the neighborhood kids; in 1903 he built his...
in a Curtiss on September 30, 1911 (both directions) - First Chief of State flying on an airplane: Francisco I. MaderoFrancisco I. MaderoFrancisco Ignacio Madero González was a politician, writer and revolutionary who served as President of Mexico from 1911 to 1913. As a respectable upper-class politician, he supplied a center around which opposition to the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz could coalesce...
in a Deperdussin on November 30, 1911, Mexico CityMexico CityMexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole... - First woman to fly across the English ChannelEnglish ChannelThe English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
: Harriet QuimbyHarriet QuimbyHarriet Quimby was an early American aviator and a movie screenwriter. In 1911 she was awarded a U.S. pilot's certificate by the Aero Club of America, becoming the first woman to gain a pilot's license in the United States. In 1912 she became the first woman to fly across the English Channel...
, from Dover, England and landing at Hardelot-Plage, Pas-de-Calais, on April 16, 1912, taking 59 minutes. - First take-off by an airplane from a moving ship: CommanderCommanderCommander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
Charles R. SamsonCharles Rumney SamsonAir Commodore Charles Rumney Samson CMG, DSO & Bar, AFC was a British naval aviation pioneer. He also operated the first British armoured vehicles in combat...
in Short Improved S.27 No. 38 from a temporary platform aboard battleshipBattleshipA battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
HMS HiberniaHMS Hibernia (1905)HMS Hibernia was a King Edward VII-class predreadnought battleship of Britain's Royal Navy. Like all ships of the class she was named after an important part of the British Empire, namely Ireland....
, May 1912 - First bombing attack against a surface ship: Didier MassonDidier MassonDidier Masson was a pioneering French aviator. He was born in Asnières, France. He died and was buried in Mérida, Yucatan, Mexico. Among his adventures was his life as a pioneering barnstormer, being the second flier in history to bomb a surface warship, as well as combat service in the Lafayette...
and Captain Joaquín Bauche Alcalde, flying for Mexican RevolutionMexican RevolutionThe Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
ist Venustiano CarranzaVenustiano CarranzaVenustiano Carranza de la Garza, was one of the leaders of the Mexican Revolution. He ultimately became President of Mexico following the overthrow of the dictatorial Huerta regime in the summer of 1914 and during his administration the current constitution of Mexico was drafted...
, dropped dynamite bombsImprovised explosive deviceAn improvised explosive device , also known as a roadside bomb, is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action...
on Federalist gunboats at GuaymasGuaymasGuaymas is a city and municipality located in the southwest part of the state of Sonora in northwestern Mexico. The city is located 117 km south of the state capital of Hermosillo, and 242 miles from the U.S. border, and is the principal port for the state. The municipality is located in the...
, Mexico on May 10, 1913 - First air drop of propaganda leaflets from the air: Didier MassonDidier MassonDidier Masson was a pioneering French aviator. He was born in Asnières, France. He died and was buried in Mérida, Yucatan, Mexico. Among his adventures was his life as a pioneering barnstormer, being the second flier in history to bomb a surface warship, as well as combat service in the Lafayette...
, flying for the Mexican Revolutionist Venustiano Carranza, post May 10, 1913 - First pilot to fly a loop: Pyotr NesterovPyotr NesterovPyotr Nikolayevich Nesterov was a Russian pilot, an aircraft technical designer and an aerobatics pioneer.-Life and career:The son of a military academy teacher, Pyotr Nesterov decided to choose a military career. In August 1904 he left the military school in Nizhny Novgorod and went to the...
in a Nieuport IVNieuport IV-External links:**...
, September 9, 1913. - First flight across the Mediterranean SeaMediterranean SeaThe Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
: Roland Garros from the South of France to Tunisia, September 23, 1913 - First dogfight: Dean Ivan LambDean Ivan LambDean Ivan Lamb was an aviator born on January 25, 1886 in Pennsylvania, USA.During the Mexican Revolution, Lamb was hired as a mercenary. He flew reconnaissance missions and dropped primitive bombs. Phil Rader, a mercenary for a rival faction, was sent up to intercept Lamb...
, flying a Curtiss Pusher vs Phil Rader in a Christopherson biplane during the Siege of Naco, Mexico, November 30, 1913 (date not confirmed) - First aircraft to shoot-down another aircraft: Sergeant Joseph Frantz (pilot) and Corporal Louis Quénault (observer) in a Voisin 3 shot down an Aviatik B.IAviatik B.I|-See also:-External links:*...
near Rheims, October 5, 1914. - First aerial victory for a fighter aircraft armed with a forward-firing synchronized machine gunMachine gunA machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
: Leutnant Kurt WintgensKurt WintgensLeutnant Kurt Wintgens was a German World War I fighter ace. He was the first military fighter pilot to score a victory over an opposing aircraft in an aircraft armed with a synchronized machine gun. Wintgens was the recipient of the Iron Cross and the Blue Max.-Background:Wintgens was born into a...
of the LuftstreitkräfteLuftstreitkräfteThe Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte , known before October 1916 as Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches , or simply Die Fliegertruppen, was the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I...
, flying a production prototype (M.5K/MG) of the Fokker E.IFokker E.I|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Boyne, Walter J. The Smithsonian Book of Flight for Young People. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1988. ISBN 0-689-31422-1....
Eindecker, over a French Morane-Saulnier L "Parasol" on July 1, 1915, near LunevilleLunévilleLunéville is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in France.It is a sub-prefecture of the department and lies on the Meurthe River.-History:...
, France. - First Aerial torpedoAerial torpedoThe aerial torpedo, airborne torpedo or air-dropped torpedo is a naval weapon, the torpedo, designed to be dropped into water from an aircraft after which it propels itself to the target. First used in World War I, air-dropped torpedoes were used extensively in World War II, and remain in limited...
attack on a ship: Charles EdmondsCharles EdmondsAir Vice-Marshal Charles Humphrey Kingsman Edmonds CBE DSO RAF was a decorated British naval aviator during World War I and a senior commander in the Royal Air Force during World War II....
in a Short 184 on August 12, 1915. - First combat search and rescueCombat search and rescueCombat search and rescue are search and rescue operations that are carried out during war that are within or near combat zones.A CSAR mission may be carried out by a task force of helicopters, ground-attack aircraft, tankers and an airborne command post...
: Richard Bell-DaviesRichard Bell-DaviesRear-Admiral Richard Bell Davies VC, CB, DSO, AFC , also known as Richard Bell Davies was a British First World War fighter pilot and Royal Navy officer...
rescued a comrade who had been shot down in Bulgaria on November 19, 1915. - First medical evacuation (medevacMEDEVACMedical evacuation, often termed Medevac or Medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to the wounded being evacuated from the battlefield or to injured patients being evacuated from the scene of an accident to receiving medical facilities using...
) by air: Louis PaulhanLouis PaulhanIsidore Auguste Marie Louis Paulhan, known as Louis Paulhan, was a pioneering French aviator who in 1910 flew "Le Canard", the world's first seaplane, designed by Henri Fabre....
evacuated the seriously ill Milan Stefanik from the Serbian front, 1915. - First landing by an airplane on a moving ship: Squadron Commander Edwin Dunning in a Sopwith PupSopwith PupThe Sopwith Pup was a British single seater biplane fighter aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It entered service with the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service in the autumn of 1916. With pleasant flying characteristics and good maneuverability, the aircraft proved very...
landed on HMS FuriousHMS Furious (47)HMS Furious was a modified cruiser built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. Designed to support the Baltic Project championed by the First Sea Lord of the Admiralty, Lord John Fisher, they were very lightly armoured and armed with only a few heavy guns. Furious was modified while...
, August 2, 1917. - First non-stop trans-Atlantic flight: Alcock and BrownAlcock and BrownBritish aviators Alcock and Brown made the first non-stop transatlantic flight in June 1919. They flew a modified World War I Vickers Vimy bomber from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Clifden, Connemara, County Galway, Ireland...
— St. John's, NewfoundlandSt. John's, Newfoundland and LabradorSt. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...
to a bog near ClifdenClifdenClifden is a town on the coast of County Galway, Ireland and being Connemara's largest town, it is often referred to as "the Capital of Connemara". It is located on the Owenglen River where it flows into Clifden Bay...
, IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, June 14-15, 1919 - First England to Australia flightEngland to Australia flightIn 1919 the Australian government offered a prize of £A10,000 for the first Australians in a British aircraft to fly from Great Britain to Australia. Of the six entries that started the race, the winners were two brothers and their two crew in a Vickers Vimy....
, by Keith Macpherson SmithKeith Macpherson SmithSir Keith Macpherson Smith KBE, was an Australian aviator, who, along with his brother, Sir Ross Macpherson Smith and two other men, became the first people to fly from England to Australia....
and Ross Macpherson SmithRoss Macpherson SmithSir Ross Macpherson Smith KBE, MC & Bar, DFC & Two Bars, AFC was an Australian aviator, who, along with his brother, Sir Keith Macpherson Smith, became the first pilots to fly from England to Australia, ....
, (plus mechanics Sergeant W.H. (Wally) Shiers and J.M. (Jim) Bennett) completed the journey from Hounslow Heath AerodromeHounslow Heath AerodromeHounslow Heath Aerodrome was a grass airfield, operational 1914-1920. It was situated in the London borough of Hounslow, and in 1919 was the location from which the first scheduled daily international commercial air services took place.-1909-1914:...
to DarwinDarwin, Northern TerritoryDarwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
in a Vickers VimyVickers VimyThe Vickers Vimy was a British heavy bomber aircraft of the First World War and post-First World War era. It achieved success as both a military and civil aircraft, setting several notable records in long-distance flights in the interwar period, the most celebrated of which was the first non-stop...
on December 10, 1919 - First flight across the South Atlantic Ocean, and also the first using astronomical navigation only, from Lisbon, Portugal, to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, by Artur de Sacadura Freire Cabral and Gago Coutinho, in 1922.
- First aerial refuelingAerial refuelingAerial refueling, also called air refueling, in-flight refueling , air-to-air refueling or tanking, is the process of transferring fuel from one aircraft to another during flight....
: June 27, 1923 by the United States Army Air ServiceUnited States Army Air ServiceThe Air Service, United States Army was a forerunner of the United States Air Force during and after World War I. It was established as an independent but temporary wartime branch of the War Department by two executive orders of President Woodrow Wilson: on May 24, 1918, replacing the Aviation...
. - First solo non-stop trans-Atlantic flight: Charles LindberghCharles LindberghCharles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
, May 20-21, 1927. - First non-stop flight from U.S. mainland to Hawaii: Oakland, California to Honolulu, by U.S. Army lieutenants Albert Francis HegenbergerAlbert Francis HegenbergerAlbert Francis Hegenberger was a Major General in the United States Air Force and a pioneering aviator who set a flight distance record in 1927.-Biography:He was born on September 30, 1895 in Boston, Massachusetts....
and Lester J. MaitlandLester J. MaitlandLester James Maitland was an aviation pioneer and career officer in the United States Army Air Forces and its predecessors. Maitland began his career as a Reserve pilot in the U.S. Army Air Service during World War I and rose to brigadier general in the Michigan Air National Guard following World...
, in the "Bird of Paradise," a Fokker F.VII, June 28-29, 1927. - First trans-Pacific flight: Charles Kingsford SmithCharles Kingsford SmithSir Charles Edward Kingsford Smith MC, AFC , often called by his nickname Smithy, was an early Australian aviator. In 1928, he earned global fame when he made the first trans-Pacific flight from the United States to Australia...
and crew in the Southern CrossSouthern Cross (aircraft)Southern Cross is the name of the Fokker F.VIIb/3m trimotor monoplane which in 1928 was flown by Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and his crew in the first ever trans-Pacific flight, from the mainland United States to Australia, about ....
, between May 31 and June 9, 1928. - First successful trans-Tasman flight: Charles Kingsford SmithCharles Kingsford SmithSir Charles Edward Kingsford Smith MC, AFC , often called by his nickname Smithy, was an early Australian aviator. In 1928, he earned global fame when he made the first trans-Pacific flight from the United States to Australia...
and crew in the Southern CrossSouthern Cross (aircraft)Southern Cross is the name of the Fokker F.VIIb/3m trimotor monoplane which in 1928 was flown by Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and his crew in the first ever trans-Pacific flight, from the mainland United States to Australia, about ....
, September 9 - 10, 1928. - First solo trans-Tasman flight: Guy MenziesGuy MenziesGuy Lambton Menzies was the Australian aviator who flew the first solo trans-Tasman flight, from Sydney, Australia to the West Coast of New Zealand, on 7 January 1931....
in an Avro AvianAvro AvianThe Avro Avian was a series of British light aircraft designed and built by Avro in the 1920s and '30s. While the various versions of the Avian were sound aircraft, they were comprehensively outsold by the de Havilland Moth and its descendants....
, January 7, 1931. - First people to reach the stratosphereStratosphereThe stratosphere is the second major layer of Earth's atmosphere, just above the troposphere, and below the mesosphere. It is stratified in temperature, with warmer layers higher up and cooler layers farther down. This is in contrast to the troposphere near the Earth's surface, which is cooler...
: Auguste PiccardAuguste PiccardAuguste Antoine Piccard was a Swiss physicist, inventor and explorer.-Biography:Piccard and his twin brother Jean Felix were born in Basel, Switzerland...
and Paul Kipfer in a balloonBalloon (aircraft)A balloon is a type of aircraft that remains aloft due to its buoyancy. A balloon travels by moving with the wind. It is distinct from an airship, which is a buoyant aircraft that can be propelled through the air in a controlled manner....
. May 27, 1931. - First successful single-lift rotor helicopter: Alexei Cheremukhin & Boris Yuriev's TsAGITsAGITsAGI is a transliteration of the Russian abbreviation for Центра́льный аэрогидродинами́ческий институ́т or "Tsentralniy Aerogidrodinamicheskiy Institut", the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute....
-1EA, which flew to a record altitude of 605 meters (1,985 ft) on August 14, 1932. - First female fighter pilot: Sabiha GökçenSabiha GökçenSabiha Gökçen was a Turkish aviatrix. First Turkish female combat pilot, aged 23. She was one of the eight adopted children of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.- Early life :...
was the world's first combat-ready female pilot in 1937. At the same year she also took part in maneuvers in Turkish ThraceThraceThrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
and on the country's Aegean coast, and in combat operations in Eastern AnatoliaAnatoliaAnatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
and became the world's first female fighter pilot. - First flight by a turbojet-powered aircraft: Heinkel He 178Heinkel He 178|-See also:*List of firsts in aviation-Bibliography:* Warsitz, Lutz: The First Jet Pilot - The Story of German Test Pilot Erich Warsitz, Pen and Sword Books Ltd., England, 2009, ISBN 9781844158188.-External links:...
, August 27, 1939 - First to break the sound barrier: Chuck YeagerChuck YeagerCharles Elwood "Chuck" Yeager is a retired major general in the United States Air Force and noted test pilot. He was the first pilot to travel faster than sound...
on October 14, 1947 - First supersonic scheduled passenger flights; LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to BahrainBahrain' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
and ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to Rio de JaneiroRio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
by ConcordeConcordeAérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
on 21 January 1976 - First non-stop, un-refueled fixed-wing aircraft flight around the Earth: Dick RutanDick RutanRichard Glenn "Dick" Rutan is an aviator who piloted the Voyager aircraft around the world non-stop with co-pilot Jeana Yeager...
and Jeana YeagerJeana YeagerJeana Yeager is an aviator. She is most famous for co-piloting a non-stop, non-refueled flight around the world in the Rutan Voyager aircraft from 14 to 23 December 1986. The flight took 9 days, 3 minutes, and 44 seconds and covered 24,986 miles , more than doubling the old distance record set by...
, aboard the Rutan Model 76 Voyager, December 14–23, 1986. The flight took 9 days, 3 minutes and 44 seconds. - First trans-Pacific solo flight in a balloonBalloon (aircraft)A balloon is a type of aircraft that remains aloft due to its buoyancy. A balloon travels by moving with the wind. It is distinct from an airship, which is a buoyant aircraft that can be propelled through the air in a controlled manner....
: Steve FossettSteve FossettJames Stephen Fossett was an American commodities trader, businessman, and adventurer. Fossett is the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon...
— from South KoreaSouth KoreaThe Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
to Leader, SaskatchewanSaskatchewanSaskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. February 21, 1995 - First non-stop balloon flight around the Earth: Bertrand PiccardBertrand PiccardBertrand Piccard is a Swiss psychiatrist and balloonist.Born in Lausanne, Vaud canton, Bertrand Piccard, along with Brian Jones, was the first to complete a non-stop balloon flight around the globe...
and Brian JonesBrian Jones (aeronaut)Brian Jones is an English balloonist.Brian Jones, along with Bertrand Piccard, co-piloted the first successful uninterrupted circumnavigation of the world on board the balloon Breitling Orbiter 3...
, from Château d'Oex, SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
to EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, on board the balloon Breitling Orbiter 3Breitling OrbiterBreitling Orbiter was the name of three different Rozière balloons made by Cameron Balloons to circumnavigate the globe, named after the sponsor Breitling...
. Between March 1, 1999 and March 20, 1999, taking a total time of 19 days, 21 hours and 47 minutes. - First solo non-stop balloon flight around the Earth: Steve FossettSteve FossettJames Stephen Fossett was an American commodities trader, businessman, and adventurer. Fossett is the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon...
— from NorthamNortham, Western AustraliaNortham is a town in Western Australia, situated at the confluence of the Avon and Mortlock Rivers, about north-east of Perth in the Avon Valley. At the 2006 census, Northam had a population of 6,009. Northam is the largest town in the Avon region...
, Western AustraliaWestern AustraliaWestern Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
to QueenslandQueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, on a 10-story high balloonBalloon (aircraft)A balloon is a type of aircraft that remains aloft due to its buoyancy. A balloon travels by moving with the wind. It is distinct from an airship, which is a buoyant aircraft that can be propelled through the air in a controlled manner....
Spirit of Freedom. Between June 19, 2002 and July 3, 2002, taking a total time of 13 days, 8 hours, 33 minutes. - First solo non-stop fixed-wing aircraft flight around the Earth: Steve FossettSteve FossettJames Stephen Fossett was an American commodities trader, businessman, and adventurer. Fossett is the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon...
— from SalinaSalina, KansasSalina is a city in and the county seat of Saline County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 47,707. Located in one of the world's largest wheat-producing areas, Salina is a regional trade center for north-central Kansas...
, KansasKansasKansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
eastbound and back, on a Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer. Between February 28, 2005 and March 3, 2005, taking a total time of 67 hours, 1 minute, 10 second.