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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

Credit: Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Jonathan Chandler, U.S. Navy
An F/A-18C Hornet, assigned to the "Golden Dragons" of Strike Fighter Squadron One Nine Two (VFA-192), launches from the flight deck of the conventionally powered aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63). Kitty Hawk and embarked Carrier Air Wing Five (CVW-5) are currently returning to their homeport after a scheduled deployment in the 7th Fleet area of responsibility.

Did you know

...that George H. W. Bush flew a TBF Avenger while he was in the U.S. Navy? ..that Elm Farm Ollie in 1930 became the first cow to be milked while flying in an airplane? ... that 820 Naval Air Squadron was involved in attacks on the German battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz during the Second World War?

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

Sophie Blanchard
Sophie Blanchard (25 March 1778 – 6 July 1819) 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. Known throughout Europe for her ballooning exploits, Blanchard entertained Napoleon Bonaparte, who promoted her to the role of "Aeronaut of the Official Festivals", replacing André-Jacques Garnerin. On the restoration of the monarchy in 1814 she performed for Louis XVIII, who named her "Official Aeronaut of the Restoration".

Ballooning was a risky business for the pioneers. Blanchard lost consciousness on a few occasions, endured freezing temperatures and almost drowned when her balloon crashed in a marsh. In 1819, she became the first woman to be killed in an aviation accident when, during an exhibition in the Tivoli Gardens in Paris, she launched fireworks that ignited the gas in her balloon. Her craft crashed on the roof of a house and she fell to her death. She is commonly referred to as Madame Blanchard and is also known by many combinations of her maiden and married names, including Madeleine-Sophie Blanchard, Marie Madeleine-Sophie Blanchard, Marie Sophie Armant and Madeleine-Sophie Armant Blanchard.

Selected Aircraft

AN-225 with the Soviet Space Shuttle, Buran.
AN-225 with the Soviet Space Shuttle, Buran.

The Antonov An-225 Mriya (Антонов Ан-225 Мрія, NATO reporting name: Cossack) was a strategic airlift transport aircraft built by Antonov, and was the world's largest powered aircraft before its destruction in February 2022. Mriya (Мрія) means "dream" (inspiration) in Ukrainian.

With a maximum gross weight of 640,000 kg (1,400,000 lb), the An-225 was the world's heaviest aircraft. Although its wingspan is less than that of the Hughes H-4 "Spruce Goose", the latter never went beyond a single short low-altitude test flight, making the An-225 the largest aircraft in the world to take off more than once. Both the An-124 and An-225 are larger than the C-5 Galaxy, the largest aircraft in the U.S. inventory. The An-225 was also larger than the Airbus A380.

  • Span: 88.40 m (291 ft 2 in)
  • Length: 75.30 m n(246 ft 11 in)
  • Height: 18.1 m (59.3 ft)
  • Engines: 6× ZMKB Progress D-18 turbofans, 229 kN (51,600 lbf) each
  • Cruising Speed: 750 km/h (400 knots, 465 mph)
  • First Flight: December 21, 1988

Today in Aviation

April 11

  • 2012 – An MV-22B from USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) crashed near Agadir, Morocco, during a joint training exercise. Two Marines were killed and two others were seriously injured, and the aircraft was lost.
  • 2011 – NATO announces that its Operation Unified Protector airstrikes have destroyed 49 Libyan government tanks since 9 April, including 13 on 9 April, 25 on 10 April, and 11 on 11 April.[1]
  • 2008 – In the 2008 Chişinău Antonov An-32 crash, a Sudanese airline Antonov An-32 crashes when returning shortly after taking off from Chişinău International Airport, Moldova for Turkey. All eight on board are killed.
  • 2004 – An AH-64D Apache 02-5301 from C Company, 1–227 Aviation Regiment, 4th BCT, 1st Cavalry Division shot down west of Baghdad, killing both pilots.
  • 1969 – Lockheed SR-71A, 61-7954, Article 2005, crashes on runway during take off from Edwards Air Force Base, California. Pilot Lt. Col. Bill Skliar and RSO Maj. Noel Warner escape without injury.
  • 1961 – A USAF McDonnell F-101 Voodoo of the 75th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, returning from an Air Defense Command patrol over the Atlantic Ocean, dropped too low in poor visibility on approach to Dow AFB, Maine, and struck Bald Mountain, near Ellsworth, Maine, killing pilot Capt. Vernal Johnson and Lt. Edward Masaltis. Wreckage remains in place and the Maine Aviation Historical Society has erected a plaque commemorating the crew and asking that the wreck remain undisturbed.
  • 1955 – An Air India Lockheed L-749 Constellation named Kashmir Princess explodes under suspicious circumstances; 16 people are killed and three survive.
  • 1954 – S/L RG Christie flew from Vancouver to Ottawa in 3 hrs, 46 mins flying time with stops at Calgary and Winnipeg. He was flying a Canadair-built North American Sabre.
  • 1952 – The Piasecki H/CH-21 Shawnee tandem-rotor helicopter makes its first flight.
  • 1952 – Pan Am Flight 526A, a Douglas DC-4, suffers engine failure and is forced to ditch in the Atlantic 11 mi (18 km) north of San Juan, Puerto Rico; 52 of 69 on board die.
  • 1950 – A USAF Boeing B-29-100-BW Superfortress, 45-21854, of the 830th Bomb Squadron, 509th Bomb Group (M), on a ferry mission crashes into mountain on Manzano Base Nuclear Weapons Storage Area (WSA), three minutes after take-off from Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, killing 13 crew. One fully assembled bomb casing (a Mark IV atomic bomb) on board is completely shattered when detonators explode. A fuel capsule, carried separately, is recovered.[2]
  • 1945 – Second of two Northrop XP-61E Black Widows, 42-39557, modified from P-61B with cut-down fuselage and bubble canopy, is written off when over-eager pilot tries P-38 Lightning trick of retracting landing gear on take-off while still on runway, but heavier Widow settles onto runway, hollow steel props shatter, airframe strikes tool shack on side of runway, airframe written-off, pilot survives. First XP-61E, 42-39549, is modified into sole XF-15 photo-reconnaissance prototype, 36 of which will be built as Northrop F-15A Reporter.
  • 1944 – Short Stirling B.Mk.III, EH947, of 75 Squadron, suffers engine failure during non-operational flight, force-landed at Icklingham, Suffolk.
  • 1940 – The first aerial torpedo attack of World War II and the first coordinated torpedo attack launched from an aircraft carrier in history takes place, as Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers from the British aircraft carrier HMS Furious attack two German destroyers in Trondheimsfjord, Norway. The torpedoes all ground in the shallows and no hits are achieved; three aircraft are lost.
  • 1934 – Renato Donati sets a new altitude record of 14,433 m (47,352 ft) in a Caproni Ca 113.
  • 1933 – (11-20) Departing England on April 11 in the Avro Mark VIA Avian Southern Cross, William N. “Bill” Lancaster begins an attempt to set a speed record for a flight to South Africa. He crashes in the Sahara Desert on April 12 and dies on April 20 while awaiting rescue. His mummified body and wrecked aircraft will not be discovered until February 1962.
  • 1929 – The Boeing P-12 fighter makes its first flight. The Navy version, the F4 B-1, will make its first flight on May 6. The military will order 586 airplanes in the series.
  • 1929 – Edmond Thieffry (28 September 1892] – 11 April 1929) was a Belgian First World War air ace and aviation pioneer. He made, with Léopold Roger and Jef de Bruycker, the first successful flight between Belgium and Congo (then the Belgian Congo).
  • 1921 – The first Canadian Air Force flying fatality occurred at Camp Borden, Ontario when S/L K. Tailyour crashed in an Avro 504 K while performing aerobatics. 1917 – First flight of the Marinens Flyvebaatfabrikk M. F.3
  • 1911 – Imperial Japanese Army officer Yoshitoshi Tokugawa makes the first flight from Japan’s first permanent airfield at Tokorozawa, piloting a Farman III biplane.
  • 1911 – The U. S. Army sets up its first permanent flying school at College Park, Maryland.
  • 1908 – Delagrange flies 12,878 feet in six minutes, 30 seconds in his Voisin-Delagrange Nº 2 in Paris.

References

  1. ^ Press release (11 April 2011). "NATO Strikes Further Reduce Pro-Gaddafi Forces Capacity". NATO. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
  2. ^ Press release (11 April 2019). "Kirtland Dedicates Marker to Fallen B-29 Aircrew". Retrieved 19 April 2019.
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