DEC17

1920 - Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited (AT&T), British airline formed during WWI, 1rst airline to operate a regular international flight (between London and Paris) ran its last service.

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

1921 - Death of Edmund Roger Tempest, British WWI fighter ace, killed in a flying accident Near Baghdad.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Tempest - http://theaerodrome.com/aces/england/tempest.php

1929 - Death of Arthur Gordon Jones-Williams, Welsh WWI flying ace and record setter, in the crash of his Fairey Long-range Monoplane at Djbel Lit, Zaghaouan, Tunisia while attempting a nonstop flight from England to South Africa.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_G._Jones-Williams - http://theaerodrome.com/aces/wales/jones-williams.php

1929 - Uruguayan Tydeo Larre Borges lands his Breguet 19 TR 'Oiseau Blanc' in Maracuja (missing Natal), Brazil, coming from Sevilla, Spain, 1st south atlantic crossing by a south american.

http://www.fau.mil.uy/larreborges.html - http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=9874

1930 - Italian Italo Balbo takes the lead of a formation of 12 Savoia-Marchetti S.55 flying boats from Orbetello, Italy to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for his 1st transtlantic flight.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italo_Balbo#Aviator

1931 - 1st flight of The Latécoère 300, French 4 tandem engine, monoplane with a parasol wing, flying boat.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lat%C3%A9co%C3%A8re_300 - http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=977

1932 - Birth of Gilbert Klopfstein, French Air force Pilot, Test pilot, creator of the 1st modern HUD and standardized system of HUD symbols so that pilots would only have to learn one system and could more easily transition between aircraft. He pioneered HUD technology in military fighter jets and helicopters, aiming to centralize critical flight data within the pilot's field of vision.

http://www.lexeek.com/jo-pdf/1986/7634/ - http://www.headupflight.net/gilbert/gilbert2.htm

1935 - Death of USAAC Major Alfred J. Waller, WWI pilot, killed in the crash of his Consolidated PB-2A at Langley Field, Virginia.

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

1935 - 1st flight of The Douglas DC-3 (DST), American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and WWII makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_DC-3

1938 - 1st flight of The Gregor FDB-1, Canadian biplane fighter prototype, manufactured by Canadian Car and Foundry, advanced and innovative design, incorporating all-metal construction with flush riveting, retractable undercarriage and a sleek shape,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Car_and_Foundry_FDB-1

1941 - Boyd David "Buzz" Wagner becomes the 1st USAAF WWII flying ace : while strafing a japanese airfield near Vigan, Philippines, with his Curtiss P-40, he shot down a Mitsubishi A6M Zero which had managed to take off during the attack.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boyd_Wagner#Life

1943 - Death of Joachim Kirschner, German WWII fighter ace, killed by a firing squad after having bailed out from his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 which was shot by a Republic P-47D Thunderbolt over Croatia.

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

1944 - Richard Ira "Dick" Bong, American most successful fighter ace, scores his 40th and last victory, shooting down a Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa 'Oscar' with his P-38.

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

1947 - 1st flight of The Boeing Model 450 B-47 Stratojet, US long-range, six-engined, jet-powered medium bomber built to fly at high subsonic speeds and at high altitudes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_B-47_Stratojet

1953 - A London to Capetown point to point record of 12 hours 21 minutes 3 seconds is established by Wing Commander G.G. Petty and Squadron Leaders J. McD. Craig and P. MacGarry in an English Electric Canberra.

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/history-of-aviation-timeline/interactive-aviation-timeline/british-military-aviation/1953.aspx

1954 - 1st forward flight with rotors tilted of the Transcendental 1-G, American single-seater convertible helicopter prototype with two contra-rotating rotors located at the end of its wings which be swivelled forward to become the traction airscrews of a typical aircraft.

http://www.aviastar.org/helicopters_eng/trans_1-g.php

1955 - The Yakovlev Yak-24 'Horse', Soviet twin engine, tandem rotor transport helicopter, set two new world payload records, lifting a 2,000 kg (4,409 lb) load to 5,082 m (16,673 ft) and 4,000 kg (8,818 lb) to 2,902 m (9,521 ft).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakovlev_Yak-24#Design_and_development

1956 - The Dassault MD500 Mirage I, French early small all-weather interceptor fighter prototype (which will lead to the Mirage III), attained M=1.3 in level flight without rocket power and M=1.6 with the rocket lit.

http://www.aviastar.org/air/france/dassault_md-550.php

1956 - 1st flight of The Grumman E-1 Tracer, American airborne early warning aircraft, derivative of the Grumman C-1 Trader.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grumman_E-1_Tracer

1958 - 1st flight of The Wassmer WA-30 Bijave, French two-seat advanced training glider, cantilever shoulder-wing monoplane with a welded steel tube fuselage covered with fabric and reinforced plastic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wassmer_WA-30_Bijave - http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=3761

1960 - A USAF Convair C-131D Samaritan crashed shortly after take-off from Munich-Riem Airport (due to fuel contamination) into a crowded two-section Munich streetcar next to the (vacant) Oktoberfest site in the downtown Ludwigsvorstadt borough. All 20 passengers and crew on board as well as 32 people on the ground were killed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_Munich_Convair_340_crash

1963 - 1st flight of The Moynet 360-4 Jupiter, French small executive transport prototype aircraft in an unusual twin-push-pull, single-fuselage configuration.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moynet_Jupiter - http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=9646

1963 - 1st flight of The Lockheed C-141A Starlifter, American military strategic airlifter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_C-141_Starlifter

1968 - USAF Convair C-131D Samaritan crashed shortly after take-off from Munich-Riem Airport due to fuel contamination. All 20 passengers and crew on board as well as 32 people on the ground were killed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_Munich_Convair_340_crash

1973 - Pan Am Flight 110 Boeing 707-321B scheduled to fly from Leonardo Da Vinci International Airport in Rome to Beirut International Airport in Lebanon, is bombed by 5 five Palestinian terrorists, who had had taken six hostages while passengers boarded. The aircraft caught fire, killing 30 people.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am_Flight_110

1974 - 1st flight of McDonnell Douglas DC-9-50, largest version of the American twin-engine, single-aisle jet airliner

http://www.civilaviation.eu/McDonnell_Douglas/DC-9.htm - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_DC-9#Series_50

1977 - United Airlines Flight 2860 McDonnell Douglas DC-8-54AF (scheduled cargo flight) crashed into a mountain in the Wasatch Range near Kaysville, Utah, killing all 3.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_Flight_2860

1981 - 1st flight of The NAC Fieldmaster, British turboprop powered single-engined low-winged monoplane with a fixed nosewheel undercarriage agricultural and firefighter aircraft, 1st western-built agricultural aircraft to be designed for turboprop power.

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

1981 - 1st flight of The NOTAR prototype (modified Hughes OH-6 Cayuse), anti-torque system equipped (controllable pressurised air release instead of a tail rotorwhich offers quieter and safer operation).

http://www.aviastar.org/helicopters_eng/mcdonnel-500.php

1986 - Death of Leonard Henry 'Tich' Rochford, British WWI flying ace.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Henry_Rochford - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/rochford.php

1986 - Death of Alfred Williams "Nick" Carter, Canadian WWI fighter ace.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Williams_Carter - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/canada/carter2.php

1997 - Aerosvit Flight 241 Yakovlev Yak-42 crashed into the side of Mount Pieria at 3,300 feet (1,006 m) after a missed approach into Thessaloniki in Greece, killing all 70.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerosvit_Flight_241

1998 - 1st flight of the Dassault Falcon 900C, Evolution of the French-built corporate jet aircraft.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon_900#Variantes - http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=10014

2001 - Death of Masajiro "Mike" Kawato, Japanese WWII fighter ace.

http://zekekawato.homestead.com/ - http://www.cieldegloire.com/010_kawato_m.php

2001 - STS-108, space Shuttle Endeavour mission to the ISS, is back on earth

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-108

2003 - SpaceShipOne becomes the 1st privately built and manned aircraft to fly faster than the speed of sound on its 1st powered flight

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceShipOne_flight_11P

2004 - 1st flight of The Antonov An-148, Russian twin engine regional jet aircraft.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_An-148

2004 - My Way Airlines S.r.l., operating as MyAir.com, Italian low-cost airline, is founded.

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

2009 - 1st (official) flight of The Eurocopter EC175 (Avicopter Z-15), European 7-ton class medium utility helicopter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurocopter_EC175

2011 - Launch of Pléiades-HR 1A via a Russian Soyuz STA rocket out of the Guiana Space Centre, Kourou, French Guiana, very-high-resolution optical Earth-imaging satellite, Designed as a dual civil/military system to meet the space imagery requirements of European defence as well as civil and commercial needs.

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

2012 - GRAIL A 'Ebb' and GRAIL B 'Flow' (Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL)), Nasa lunar science mission Spacecrafts to determine moo,'s interior structure, end their mission and impact the Lunar surface.

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