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Aviation, or air transport, refers to the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. Aircraft includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, parachutes, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as 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; then a largest 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 with the introduction of the jet which permitted a major form of transport throughout the world.

A Ryanair Boeing 737 on the landing roll at Bristol Airport

Ryanair is an airline based in Ireland. It is Europe's largest low-cost carrier, operating 209 low-fare routes to 94 destinations across 17 European countries. Over the years it has evolved into the world's most profitable airline, running at remarkable margins by relentlessly driving costs down. Ryanair has been characterised by rapid and continuing expansion, enabled by the deregulation of the air industry in Europe in 1997. It operates a fleet of 74 Boeing 737s, and currently has firm orders for an additional 225 Boeing 737-800 airplanes by 2010, with options on a further 193. Ryanair is one of Europe's most controversial companies, praised and criticised in equal measure. Its supporters praise its commitment to exceptionally low fares, its radical management, its populism, and its willingness to challenge what Ryanair calls the 'establishment' within the airline industry. Critics, meanwhile, have attacked its labor union policies, and have charged that it practises deceptive advertising.

Credit: http://www.af.mil/photos/index.asp?galleryID=169

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.

Template:/box-header ...that the Fairey Seafox was a Second World War reconnaissance floatplane of the Fleet Air Arm?

...that the Zagreb mid-air collision over Croatia in 1976 was one of the deadliest mid-air collisions?

... that Jimmy Doolittle commanded a 22 plane demonstration celebrating the opening of Henderson, Kentucky's Audubon Memorial Bridge in 1932? Template:/box-footer

The Avro Lancaster was a British four-engine Second World War bomber aircraft made initially by Avro for the British Royal Air Force (RAF). It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley-Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF and squadrons from other Commonwealth and European countries serving within RAF Bomber Command. The "Lanc" or "Lankie," as it became affectionately known, became the most famous and most successful of the Second World War night bombers, "delivering 608,612 tons of bombs in 156,000 sorties." Although the Lancaster was primarily a night bomber, it excelled in many other roles including daylight precision bombing, and gained worldwide renown as the "Dam Buster" used in the 1943 Operation Chastise raids on Germany's Ruhr Valley dams.

• Span: 102 ft (31.09 m)
• Length: 69 ft 5 in (21.18 m)
• Height: 19 ft 7 in (5.97 m)
• Engines: 4× Rolls-Royce Merlin XX V12 engines, 1,280 hp (954 kW) each
• Maximum Speed: 240 knots (280 mph, 450 km/h) at 15,000 ft (5,600 m)
• First Flight: 8 January 1941
• Number built: 7,377

Infrastructure		Transport		US Air Force		Royal Air Force

Wiley Hardeman Post (November 22, 1898 – August 15, 1935) was the first pilot to fly solo around the world. Also known for his work in high altitude flying, Post helped develop one of the first pressure suits. His plywood aircraft, the Winnie Mae is on display at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA, and his pressure suit is being prepared for display at the same location. On August 15, 1935, Post and American humorist Will Rogers were killed when Post's plane crashed on takeoff from a lagoon near Point Barrow, Alaska.

Wikinews Aviation portal

Template:/box-header August 24

• 2010 – Henan Airlines Flight 8387, an Embraer E-190, overruns the runway and crashes at Yichun, Heilongjiang, northeast China, causing 43 fatalities from 91 passengers and 5 crew members; this is the first hull loss of an Embraer E-Jet.

• 2010 – Agni Air Flight 101, a Dornier Do 228, crashes outside of Kathmandu, Nepal in heavy rain, killing all 14 people on board.

• 2010 – Saudi Arabian airline SAMA ceases operations.

• 2010 – A Spanish Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon fighter crashed while attempting to take off at Moron Air Base. A Lieutenant Colonel of the Royal Saudi Air Force were killed while a Spanish Air Force Commander bailed out.

• 2009 – American Airlines retires its last Airbus A300 from scheduled service.

• 2008 – Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 6895, a Boeing 737, crashes just after take-off from Manas Airport in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. 68 of the 90 passengers and crew on board are killed.

• 2004 – Volga-AviaExpress Flight 1303 and Siberia Airlines Flight 1047 explode south of Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow. The Russian government declares the explosions to have been caused by Chechen terrorists

• 2004 – A Venezuelan Air Force Shorts 360 crashes near Maracay, Venezuela, killing all 25 on board.

• 2001 – Air Transat Flight 236 runs out of fuel over the Atlantic Ocean and makes an emergency landing in the Azores. Upon landing some of the tires blow out, causing a fire that is extinguished by emergency personnel on the ground. None of the 304 people on board the Airbus A330-200 were seriously injured.

• 1999 – On board a Uni Air McDonnell Douglas DC-9 a fire starts in an overhead luggage compartment over Hualien Taiwan. The fire was cause by the accidental ignition fumes from a bottle of household cleaner. One person dies.

• 1998 – Myanma Airways Flight 635, a Fokker F-27 Friendship, crashes while on approach to Tachilek Airport; all 36 on board die.

• 1990 – Early in the build-up of forces in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the U. S. Air Force has 222 fighters, ground-attack aircraft, and bombers deployed in and around Saudi Arabia.

• 1990 – A fatal aircraft accident involving a U.S. Coast Guard Grumman E-2C Hawkeye at the former Naval Station Roosevelt Roads in Puerto Rico prompted to the Coast Guard discontinue flying E-2Cs and to return all of its borrowed E-2s to the U.S. Navy.

• 1988 – Assembly of the first McDonnell Douglas C-17 begins at Douglas Aircraft facilities in Long Beach, Calif.

• 1983 – A Canadair Challenger 601 business jet arrives at London from Calgary, setting a world distance record for a business jet, at 4,364.2 miles (6,982 km).

• 1979 – A Stearman biplane, aircraft registration number N48784, flew into electrical transmission lines that cross Lake Natoma at Mississippi Bar. Jacquelyn Burnett, a passenger in the biplane, was killed. The pilot, Stephen Francis Williams, was convicted of manslaughter. His conviction marked the first time in United States history that a pilot was held criminally responsible for the death of a passenger. Williams had previously killed his own 12-year-old daughter, Patricia Anna Williams, by attempting a takeoff in dense fog at the Salinas Municipal Airport.

• 1977 – First flight of the Learjet 28

• 1970 – Two USAF Sikorsky HH-53 C helicopters complete a non-stop trans-Pacific crossing from Eglin AFB, Florida to Da Nang, South Vietnam, aided by refueling encounters with Lockheed C-130 tankers.

• 1965 – An American military C-130 Hercules aircraft carrying 71 passengers and crew crashes into Yau Tong Bay in Hong Kong shortly after takeoff. The plane is carrying U. S. military personnel, mostly U. S. Marines flying back to South Vietnam after leave during the Vietnam War. Thirteen people reportedly survive the crash.

• 1961 – Beginning this day through October 12, U. S. aviatrix Jacqueline Cochran, flying a Northrop T-38 Talon, sets a wide range of records for women (altitude of 56,072.8 ft., a distance of 1,492.39 mi., a 100-km (62.14 mi.) closed circuit speed record of 784.29 mph and 15-km (9.32 mi.) course speed of 844.2 mph).

• 1959 – Pan American World Airways inaugurates the first jetliner service between the continental United States and Hawaii, using Boeing 707 s.

• 1956 – A U. S. Army helicopter becomes the first rotary-winged aircraft to fly non-stop across the United States.

• 1954 – The pilot of an Republic F-84G Thunderjet dies at Eglin AFB following an ejection as the aircraft rolled to a stop after landing at Eglin Auxiliary Field 6. The Thunderjet was on a routine training mission.

• 1951 – United Airlines Flight 615, a Douglas DC-6 B, crashes near Decoto (now Union City, California), while on final approach to Oakland, California; all 44 passengers and 6 crew members die.

• 1950 – ATwo B-26 Invaders of the 729th Bombardment Squadron (Light), 452d Bombardment Group (Light), based at George AFB, California, collide in flight over El Mirage Dry Lake, 10 miles NW of Victorville, California. B-26B, 44-34174, c/n 27453, built as A-26B-45-DL, piloted by Ouris H. Cuerton, and B-26B, 44-34677, c/n 29956, built as A-26B-66-DL, piloted by Lyle N. Leavitt, both crash with crew fatalities during attempted bail-outs. The 729th/452d had been ordered to active service on 10 August 1950.

• 1948 – Two separate accidents kill 13 U.S. airmen, this date. Nine are killed aboard an Army Douglas C-117A-1-DK Skytrain, 45-2554, c/n 18557/34212, 45-2554, near Newton, New Jersey, after a mid-air collision with an Army North American B-25J-30-NC Mitchell, 44-86870. The bomber suffers damage to a wingtip but lands safely. In a separate accident, two C-47 Skytrains engaged in the Berlin Airlift collide in mid-air near Ravolzhausen, killing two crew on each airlifter. Killed in the C-47s were Maj. Edwin C. Diltz, Capt. William R. Howard, Capt. Joel M. DeVolentine, and 1st Lt. William T. Lucas. Capt. Howard was piloting C-47A-80-DL, 43-15116, while Capt. DeVolentine was flying C-47A-90-DL, 43-16036, c/n 20502.

• 1945 – Second (of two prototypes) McDonnell XFD-1 Phantom, BuNo 48236, is damaged in a belly landing.

• 1944 – Aircraft from the British aircraft carriers HMS Indomitable and HMS Victorious raid Sumatra, striking the cement works at Indaroeng and the harbor facilities and shipping at Emmahaven.

• 1944 – Goodwood III, the third airstrike of Operation Goodwood, is the most successful Goodwood raid. Thirty-three Fairey Barracudas attack Tirpitz, hitting her with a 500-lb (227-kg) bomb and a 1,600-lb (726-kg) bomb. The latter penetrates the armored deck and could have caused extensive damage or sunk the ship, but fails to explode.

• 1943 – P/O DF McRae and crew, flying a Vickers Wellington of No. 179 (RAF) Squadron, sank the German submarine U-134.

• 1942 – (24-25) The Battle of the Eastern Solomons takes place north of the Solomon Islands. It includes an aircraft carrier action on during which U. S. Navy carrier aircraft sink the Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō, while Japanese carrier aircraft heavily damage the U. S. aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6).

• 1942 – (Overnight) 226 British bombers attack Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany, but most of their bombs land well west of the city; 16 aircraft do not return, including five Pathfinders.

• 1940 – A German bomber crew bombs a residential area of south London, apparently in error.

• 1939 – The Royal Air Force forms the Advanced Air Striking Force. Initially consisting of 10 squadrons of Fairey Battle bombers, its mission is to deploy to France in the event of war with Germany and strike targets in Germany from French bases.

• 1937 – The Republicans launch an offensive against Nationalist in forces in Aragon, supported by about 200 aircraft; the opposing Nationalists have only 15 Heinkels. The Nationalists redeploy 20 Fiat CR.32 fighters commanded by the ace Joaquín García Morato, 20 Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 bombers, and 20 cargo aircraft from northern Spain to the area to bolster the defense.

• 1933 – First flight of the Blackburn Shark

• 1932 – Amelia Earhart is the first woman to fly across the United States non-stop (from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey).

• 1925 – First flight of the Supermarine S.4

• 1924 – The U. S. Navy light cruiser USS Richmond (CL-9) rescues the crew of an Italian flying boat that is forced down in the Arctic Ocean by bad weather.

• 1921 – The British airship R38 (ZR-2) due to be delivered to the United States Navy as the ZR-2, broke in two on a test flight near Hull, England, half falling to the ground in flames. 44 died, including British Air Commodore E.M. Maitland, Leader of Airships, and 16 Americans. Maxfield Field at NAS Lakehurst, New Jersey, named 6 January 1944 in honor of Commander Louis H. Maxfield, Naval Aviator No. 17, who lost his life in the R38 crash.

• 1918 – U.S Army Maj. William R. Ream becomes the first flight surgeon to die in an aircraft accident, at the Effingham, Illinois airport, out of Chanute Field, Illinois, when his aircraft stalls/spins and crashes.

References

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