APRIL19

1861 – Thaddeus S.C. Lowe, American inventor and balloonist, makes a balloon (named enterprise) trip from Cincinnati, Ohio to the South Carolina coast in 9 hours. Planned initialy to fly to the eastern coast, The flight misdirected him to Unionville, South Carolina where he was put under house arrest as a Yankee spy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thaddeus_S._C._Lowe

1883 - Birth of Richard Edler von Mises, Austro-Hungarian born American scientist and mathematician who worked on solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, aerodynamics, aeronautics, statistics and probability theory.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_von_Mises

1888 - Birth of Harold Evans Hartney, American canadian born WWI flying ace.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Hartney - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/usa/hartney.php

1892 - Birth of Hans Weiss, German WWI fighter ace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Weiss_(aviator) - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/weiss.php

1898 - Birth of Pierre Desire Augustin Ducornet, French WWI flying ace who also served in WWII

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Ducornet - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/france/ducornet.php

1898 - Birth of Kenneth Russell Unger, American WWI flying ace, US Airmail pilot, and WWII transport pilot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_R._Unger - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/usa/unger.php

1904 - Birth of Riccardo Helmut Seidl, Italian WWII pilot.

http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riccardo_Helmut_Seidl

1905 - Birth of John Smith "Jimmy" Thach, WWII naval aviator, air combat tactician, and US Navy admiral. Thach developed the Thach Weave, a combat flight formation that could counter enemy fighters of superior performance, and later the big blue blanket, an aerial defense against Kamikaze attacks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Thach

1905 - Birth of James Allan ("Jim") Mollison, famous Scottish pioneer aviator who set many records during the rapid development of aviation in the 1930s.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Mollison

1907 - Louis Blériot flies and crashes his powered monoplane Nº V at Bagatelle, France.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bl%C3%A9riot_V

1918 - Birth of Alexandr Alexeevich Mironenko, Soviet WWII fighter ace and high ranking officer post-war.

http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/soviet_mironenko.htm

1919 – Leslie Irvin of the United States makes the 1st successful voluntary free-fall parachute jump using a new kind of self-contained parachute.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Irvin_(parachutist)

1922 – Birth of Erich Hartmann, German WWII fighter ace, highest-scoring fighter ace in the history of aerial warfare.352 aerial victories (of which 345 were won against the Soviet Air Force, and 260 of which were fighters) in 1,404 combat missions

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_Hartmann - http://www.luftwaffe.cz/hartmann.html

1925 - Ryan Airline Company is formed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Airline_Company

1926 - Pitcairn Aviation (later Eastern Airlines) is formed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Air_Lines

1927 - 1st flight of the Canadian Vickers Vanessa, single-engine, twin-float biplane of mixed construction, flown from the St Lawrence at the Canadian Vickers plant by Flt Lt R. S. (Bill) Grady, who then made a series of flights, terminating on 27 April.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Vickers_Vanessa

http://canadianaviationhistory.pbworks.com/w/page/13801114/On-this-day-in-Canadian-Aviation-History-April

1930 - Dame Mary Russell, Duchess of Bedford, with her personal pilot C.D.Barnard and mechanic Robert Little, sets a record-breaking flight from Lympne Airport to Cape Town, in the single-engined Fokker F.VII "Spider", flying 9,000 miles in 100 flying hours.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Russell,_Duchess_of_Bedford

1932 - 1st flight of the Dewoitine D-535, French parsol wing fighter prototype.

http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=3084

1932 - Charles Scott takes off for a new solo speed record between the UK and Darwin, (will take 8 days 20 hours) in a de Havilland Gipsy Moth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._W._A._Scott

1933 - 12 Keystone PK-1 seaplanes from Patrol Squadron One stationed at Ford Island, performed the 1st mass seaplane flight from Hawaii to French Frigate Shoals, a 759 miles distance.

http://hawaii.gov/hawaiiaviation/publications/above-the-pacific-by-william-j-horvat-1966/9-early-1930s

1935 - Amelia Earhart flies her Lockheed Vega "old Bessie, the fire horse" from Burbank, California, to Mexico City in 13 hours and 32 minutes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amelia_Earhart#Other_solo_flights

1937 - 1st flight of the Tupolev MTB-2, Heavy Naval Bomber also known as ANT-44, a four-engine flying boat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_MTB-2

1937 - 1st letter to encircle the world by commercial air mail is despatched from New York via San Francisco to Hong Kong, Penang, Amsterdam and Brazil and back to New York.

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/history-of-aviation-timeline/interactive-aviation-timeline/world-aviation/1937.aspx

1939 - 1st flight of The Avia FL.3 (also later known as the Lombardi FL.3), Italian two-seat cabin monoplane.

http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/AVIA_FL.3

1940 - 1st flight of the Bloch MB-700, french light fighter prototype.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloch_MB.700 - http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=1581

1942 - 1st Flight of The Macchi C.205 (also known as MC.205, "MC" standing for "Macchi Castoldi") Veltro (Italian: Greyhound),Italian WWII fighter aircraft.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macchi_C.205

1944 - 1st flight of The de Havilland DH.103 Hornet, private venture for a long-range twin engine fighter destined for the Pacific Theatre in WWII, it exploited the wooden construction techniques pioneered by de Havilland's classic Mosquito.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Hornet

1944 - U.S. Navy airship K-133, of Airship Patrol Squadron 22 (ZP-22), operating out of NAS Houma, Louisiana, was caught in a thunderstorm while patrolling over the Gulf of Mexico. It went down and twelve of thirteen crew were lost; the sole survivor was recovered after spending 21 hours in the water

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_airship_accidents#1940s

1945 - Death or Aurelio Morandi, Italian pilot, last of the 210 italians pilots shot down during WWII.

http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurelio_Morandi

1945 - 1st flight of the De Havilland Sea Hornet F 20 prototype (PX 212) , British piston twin engine fighter, Navalised version of the Hornet which did not have the wing-fold mechanism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Sea_Hornet#Sea_Hornet

1945 - The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is formed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Air_Transport_Association

1946 - The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-9 'Fargo', prototype of the 1st Soviet turbojet fighter performed a 4m "hop".

http://www.aviastar.org/air/russia/mig-9.php

1949 - Birth of Lawrence Richard Walters, nicknamed "Lawnchair Larry" or the "Lawn Chair Pilot". Well known for Flying a lawn chair with weather balloons.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Walters

1951 - 1st flight of the de Havilland Sea Venom, British postwar carrier-capable jet aircraft developed from the de Havilland Venom.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Sea_Venom

1954 - 1st tethered flight of The Convair XFY Pogo tailsitter, US experiment in vertical takeoff and landing. The Pogo had delta wings and three-bladed contra-rotating propellers and intended to be a high-performance fighter aircraft capable of operating from small warships.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convair_XFY#Testing_and_evaluation

1958 - The SNCASO SO.9050 Trident II (prototype O4), set a world climb record at 18000m in 3 Min and 17 secs.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/SO.9000_Trident#SO.9050_Trident_II - http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=9365

1960 - 1st Flight of The Grumman A-6 Intruder, American twin jet-engine, mid-wing attack aircraft built in the US by Grumman Aerospace. In service with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps between 1963 and 1997, the Intruder was designed as an all-weather medium attack aircraft to replace the piston-engined A-1 Skyraider.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grumman_A-6_Intruder

1961 - 1st flight of the 1st Italian-built LASA 60 (Lockheed-Azcarate SA 60 or LASA 60), light civil utility aircraft.

http://www.aviastar.org/air/usa/lok_al-60.php

1961 - 1st fully equipped Grumman E-2 Hawkeye E2A (Twin turboprop American all-weather, aircraft carrier-capable tactical airborne early warning aircraft) makes his 1st flight.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_Grumman_E-2_Hawkeye

1965 - 1st flight of the Bell Model 208 Twin Delta, twin-engined experimental civil variant of the UH-1.

http://www.aviastar.org/helicopters_eng/bell_212.php - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_204/205#Experimental_models

1967 - 1st flight of the production aircraft, Breguet 941S, French four-engine STOL transport aircraf for the French Air Force. These were fitted with more powerful engines and a modified rear cargo door to allow for air-dropping of stores.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breguet_941 - http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=1725

1971 – Launch of Salyut 1, the 1st space station.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salyut_1

1974 - Death of Stephen William Price, British WWI flying ace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Price_(aviator) - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/price2.php

1975 - Launch of Aryabhatta, India's 1st satellite, named after the great Indian astronomer of the same name. It was launched by the Soviet Union.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aryabhata_(satellite)

1979 - Death of Wilhelm Bittrich, German WWI Fighter pilot, SS-Obergruppenführer and Waffen-SS General during WWII.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Bittrich

1979 - 1st Flight of The Learjet 55 "Longhorn",business jet manufactured by Gates Learjet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learjet_55

1980 - Death of William H. "Bill" McAvoy, American test pilot for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_H._McAvoy - http://www.locategrave.org/l/556227/William-H-McAvoy-CA

1984 - Launch of Salyut 7, Soviet space station in low Earth orbit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salyut_7

1985 - STS-51-D,  Space Shuttle Discovery mission, is back on earth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-51-D

1988 – Death of Kwon Ki-ok, 1st Korean female pilot as well as being the 1st female pilot in China.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwon_Ki-ok

1990 - Death of Robert MacIntyre "Bobby" Gordon, British WWI flying ace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_MacIntyre_Gordon - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/scotland/gordon3.php

1993 - A state-owned Mitsubishi MU-2 turboprop crashed into a farm silo about nine miles south of Dubuque, Iowa after it reported engine problems, killing all 8 on board including South Dakota Governor George S. Mickelson.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_MU-2#Incidents_and_accidents

2000 - Air Philippines Boeing 737 Flight 541 crashed into the side of a mountain in low clouds as it was preparing to land in Davao (RPMD).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Philippines_Flight_541

2000 – A Rwandan Air Force Antonov An-8 chartered from Central African Airlines, crashed near Pepa, Democratic Republic of the Congo after engine failure caused by a suspected bird strike on initial climb, killing all 24.

http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20000419-1

2001 - Launch of STS-100, Space Shuttle mission Endeavour to the ISS to install the Canadarm2 robotic arm.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-100 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_Servicing_System

2002 - STS-110, Space shuttle Atlantis mission to the ISS, is back on earth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-110

2004 - Launch of Soyuz TMA-4, Soyuz mission to the International Space Station (ISS) launched by a Soyuz FG launch vehicle.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_TMA-4

2006 – Death of Scott Crossfield, American test pilot, (1st man to fly at Mach 2 with a Douglas D-558-II Skyrocket) while flying a Cessna 210A.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Scott_Crossfield

2006 - Runway at Hamburg-Finkenwerder (EDHI) is extended in order to receive the Airbus A-380.

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flugplatz_Hamburg-Finkenwerder

2008 - Soyuz TMA-11, Russian spaceflight mission to transport personnel to and from the ISS, is back on earth

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_TMA-11

2009 - Arkaim, regional Russian airline, is formed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkaim_(airline)

2010 - 1st Flight of Boeing’s F-15K41, in St. Louis by Boeing test pilot Steve Schmidt .The jet is the 1st of 21 F-15K Slam Eagles Boeing is building under the Next Fighter II contract for the Republic of Korea Air Force.

http://blog.seattlepi.com/aerospace/2010/04/22/boeing-f-15k41-fighter-notches-first-flight/

2011 - Pawan Hans Mil Mi-172 helicopter crashed into a gorge 15 metres height from the heliport of Tawang Town, India, and caught fire, killing 17 over 23.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Tawang_Town_Mil_Mi-17_crash

2011 - Plane carrying Michelle Obama aborts landing because of controller error.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/plane-with-michelle-obama-had-to-abort-landing-due-to-mistake/2011/04/19/AFsRLC7D_story.html?hpid=z1

2012 - 1st person to circle the world in an ultralight without a copilot, Slovenian pilot Matevž Lenarcic completed a 62,000-mile (99,839-km) round-the-world flight in a Pipistrel Sinus SW914 ultralight aircraft,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matev%C5%BE_Lenar%C4%8Di%C4%8D - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pipistrel_Virus#Operational_History

http://www.pipistrel.si/extras/extreme-flights/matevz-lenarcic-flew-around-the-world-and-set-a-world-record