Portal:Aviation

Foulois conducted the acceptance test for the Army's first aircraft, a Wright Model A, in 1909. He participated in the Mexican Expedition from 1916–17 and was part of the American Expeditionary Force in France during World War I where he was responsible for the logistics and maintenance of the U.S. air fleet. During World War I he and Billy Mitchell began a long and hostile relationship over the direction of military aviation and the best method to get there. After the war he served as a military attaché to Germany where he gathered a great deal of intelligence on German aviation. He later went on to command the 1st Aero Squadron and ultimately commanded the Air Corps.

He retired in 1935 as part of the fallout from the Air Mail scandal. Foulois continued to advocate for a strong air service in retirement. In 1959, at the invitation of the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Foulois began touring Air Force bases advocating national security. He died of a heart attack on 25 April 1967 and is buried in his home town of Washington, Connecticut.

British Airways Boeing 747-400

The Boeing 747 is a widebody commercial airliner, often referred to by the nickname Jumbo Jet. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first widebody ever produced. Manufactured by Boeing's Commercial Airplane unit in the United States, the original version of the 747 was two and a half times the size of the Boeing 707, one of the common large commercial aircraft of the 1960s. First flown commercially in 1970, the 747 held the passenger capacity record for 37 years.

The four-engine 747 uses a double deck configuration for part of its length. It is available in passenger, freighter and other versions. Boeing designed the 747's hump-like upper deck to serve as a first class lounge or (as is the general rule today) extra seating, and to allow the aircraft to be easily converted to a cargo carrier by removing seats and installing a front cargo door. Boeing did so because the company expected supersonic airliners (whose development was announced in the early 1960s) to render the 747 and other subsonic airliners obsolete; while believing that the demand for subsonic cargo aircraft would be robust into the future. The 747 in particular was expected to become obsolete after 400 were sold but it exceeded its critics' expectations with production passing the 1,000 mark in 1993. As of June 2009, 1,416 aircraft have been built, with 107 more in various configurations remaining on order.

The 747-400, the latest version in service, is among the fastest airliners in service with a high-subsonic cruise speed of Mach 0.85 (567 mph or 913 km/h). It has an intercontinental range of 7,260 nautical miles (13,450 km; 8,350 mi). The 747-400 passenger version can accommodate 416 passengers in a typical three-class layout or 524 passengers in a typical two-class layout. The next version of the aircraft, the 747-8, is in production and scheduled to enter service in 2010. The 747 is to be replaced by the Boeing Y3 (part of the Boeing Yellowstone Project) in the future.

April 7

• 2013 – Widespread Syrian airstrikes against rebel forces in seven cities and regions kill at least 20 people.[1]

• 2011 – Unaware that Libyan rebels had taken possession of any tanks, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) aircraft mistakenly strike a Libyan rebel tank convoy near Ajdabiya, killing thirteen and wounding many,[2][3] Other NATO airstrikes mistakenly kill two rebels and wound 10 in Brega.[4][5]

• 2010 – United Airlines Flight 663 incident was a "minor international incident" in 2010 involving a Qatari diplomat on the leg of a United Airlines flight from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (Washington, DC) to Denver International Airport (Denver, Colorado). The diplomat prompted a mid-air terrorism alert after smoking in the airplane lavatory, which led the Qatari government to recall him two days later.

• 2009 – A Philippine Air Force Bell 412 helicopter crashes in bad weather in a heavily forested area at Mount Mangingihe, Sitio Tawangan, Kabayan, Benguet, Philippines. The helicopter was travelling from Loakan Airport to Ifugao in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon when it crashed killing the 3 crew and 5 government officials.

• 2006 – First Fight: First free-flight of Boeing X-37

• 2004 – OH-58D Kiowa crashes near Baquba after being hit by ground fire; pilots rescued.

• 2003 – F-15E 88-1694/SJ of 4th FW/335th FS crashed on a combat bombing mission near Tikrit, Iraq. Both the pilot and Weapon Systems Officer (WSO) were killed.[6][7][8]

• 2001 – The robotic spacecraft Odyssey launches on its mission to orbit Mars, arriving at the planet the following October. The craft later collects data that would guess water to be on the plant. This is later confirmed by the Phoenix lander in July of 2008.

• 1999 – A Boeing KC-135R-BN Stratotanker, 57-1478, c/n 17549, of the 151st Air Refueling Squadron, Tennessee Air National Guard, is written off while undergoing maintenance at the Oklahoma ALC, Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, when the cabin is over-pressurized during a test and ruptures, tearing a 35 foot (10.6 m) hole in the aft fuselage, allowing tail section to drop to the ground.

• 1994 – TAAG Angola L-100 (C-130) D2-THC catches fire while taxiing to a parking spot due to overheated brakes in Malengue, Angola. All 4 occupants escaped unharmed.

• 1994 – Federal Express Flight 705, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30, experiences an attempted hijacking by a FedEx employee; the three crew members are severely injured, but manage to subdue the attacker and land the aircraft safely with no loss of life.

• 1992 – Azerbaijan Airlines were established.

• 1983 – STS-6, using space Shuttle Challenger, launches. The mission is the first perform to a spacewalk.

• 1972 – Both CF Bomarc SAM Squadrons closed.

• 1972 – American aircraft resume regular bombing of North Vietnam in response to the North Vietnamese "Easter Offensive" invasion of South Vietnam.

• 1969 – Mitsubishi-assembled, from Sikorsky components, Sikorsky HSS-1N Seabat, 8567, c/n 58-1528, of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, crashes this date, the sole loss of the type during Japanese service.

• 1967 – (7-22) The U. S. Army's first Cavalry Division (Airmobile) conducts Operation Lejeune, a helicopter and ground assault against Viet Cong forces in Quang Ngai Province, South Vietnam.

• 1967 – First flight of the Aérospatiale Gazelle.

• 1961 – Boeing B-52B-30-BO Stratofortress, 53-0380, c/n 16859, "Ciudad Juarez", of the 95th Bomb Wing, Biggs AFB, Texas, shot down by inadvertent launch of AIM-9 Sidewinder from a 188th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, New Mexico ANG North American F-100A-20-NA Super Sabre, 53-1662. Two F-100s, piloted by 1st Lt. James W. van Sycoc and Capt. Dale Dodd, had made five passes at the bomber when, on the sixth pass, pilot 1st Lt. van Sycoc radioed "Look out! One of my missiles is loose!" The heat-seeker missile struck one of the BUFF's engine pods on the port wing causing failure of the wing structure, and subsequent break-up of the bomber. Pilot, co-pilot, crew chief and tail gunner successfully eject, but three other crew are KWF when the B-52 crashed on Mount Taylor, New Mexico.

• 1961 – Moisture condensing in a connector plug causes a GAR-8 Sidewinder air-to-air missile carried by a New Mexico Air National Guard F-100A Super Sabre of the 188th Fighter Interceptor Squadron to fire accidentally while the F-100A is practicing bomber interception tactics against the U.S. Air Force B-52B Stratofortress Ciudad Juarez of the Strategic Air Command's 95th Bombardment Wing. The missile blows off the B-52B's port wing, and the bomber crashes on Mount Taylor in New Mexico, killing three members of its crew.[9]

• 1958 – AREA Ecuador Flight 222, a Douglas C-47 (DC-3) registered HC-ACL, crashes into a Chugchilan range of mountains after not maintaining the proper heading, resulting the fatalities of all 32 aboard.

• 1957 – A Varig Curtiss C-46 Commando (PP-VCF) crashes shortly after takeoff due to a fire in the left main gear wheel well. The pilot thought it was one of the engines, and shut it down unnecessarily. A go-around during a landing attempt when the gear doesn’t drop (due to the fire), allows more time for the fire to spread, leading to the left wing separating from the aircraft after the metal fatigue. All 40 aboard the aircraft perish.

• 1956 – USAF Douglas C-124C-DL Globemaster II, 52-1078, c/n 43987, of the 1501st Air Transport Wing, crashes just after takeoff from Travis AFB, California, killing three of the seven crew on board. Aircraft stalled at 100 feet, dropped one wing and plunged to the ground just SW of the base. Airframe splits into three sections, burns. The cause is attributed to incorrect assembly of the elevator and aileron control cables.

• 1950 – ASole prototype, Nord NC 1080 single-engine naval fighter, F-WFKZ, first flown 29 July 1949, is completely destroyed in a flight accident. Pilot Pierre Gallay dies in the accident. Cause is never determined and the project is abandoned.

• 1948 – The Royal Canadian Navy’s aircraft carrier, HMCS Magnificent, was commissioned to replace HMCS Warrior.

• 1945 – Accompanying B-29 Superfortresses, P-51 Mustangs of the U. S. Army Air Forces’ 15th, 21st, and 506th Fighter Groups based on Iwo Jima become the first Allied fighters to escort bombers all the way to Tokyo, Japan, and back. The escort flights last seven to eight hours. Fifty-four B-29 s land on Iwo Jima during the day.

• 1945 – 386 carrier aircraft of Task Force 58 attack an Imperial Japanese Navy task force bound for Okinawa while it is steaming in the East China Sea, sinking the battleship Yamato, the light cruiser Yahagi, and four of their eight escorting destroyers. It ends the last offensive sortie by Japanese surface ships of World War II.

• 1945 – The P-51 s flew for their first mission to Japan. The were escorted by the B-29.

• 1941 – Entered Service: Douglas Havoc night fighter with No. 85 Squadron, Royal Air Force

• 1940 – Entered Service: Amiot 354

• 1936 – TWA Flight 1, a Douglas DC-2, crashes near Uniontown, Pennsylvania due to pilot error, killing 12 of the 14 passengers and crew aboard.

• 1924 – Portuguese Commander Brito Pais and Captain Sarmento de Beires depart Lisbon eastbound in the Breguet 16.Bn2 Patria, beginning an attempt to fly around the world. They will crash Patria in India, but will continue in the de Havilland DH.9 A Patria II before being forced to end their attempt in June in Macau.

• 1922 – A Daimler Airways de Havilland DH.18 collides with a Cie des Cgrands Express Aériens Farman Goliath over France. A total of seven people – Everyone aboard the two aircraft – Is killed in the first mid-air collision of two airliners.

• 1922 – In the first mid-air collision of airliners, a Daimler Hire Ltd.-operated de Havilland DH.18 A, G-EAWO, collides with a Compagnie des Grands Express Aériens (CGEA)-operated Farman F.60 Goliath, F-GEAD, over the Thieulloy-St. Antoine road near Picardie, France, killing all seven people on both aircraft; the pilots of both machines were using the road as a route marker in bad weather and poor visibility

• 1922 – The United States’ Corps Observation Group makes its first patrol, becoming the first American aviation unit to enter action in Europe.

• 1908 – The members of the Aerial Experiment Association enter a competition sponsored by the Scientific American, which has offered $25,000 for a flight of over 0.62 miles. The Wrights refuse to enter because the rules state the airplane must take off without help.

• 1906 – Charles Rolls, in his new balloon, races Frank Hedges Butler and friends aboard the Aero Club III. Rolls outdistances his opponents, who come down at Wimbledon, while he lands at Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England.