FEB25

1784 - 1st balloon flight made in Italy takes place from the grounds of a villa owned by Chevalier Paul Andreani near Milan and uses a modified Montgolfière hot air design built by the brothers Charles and Augustin Gerli

http://www.1902encyclopedia.com/A/AER/aeronautics-13.html

1893 - Birth of Hans Wolfgang von Gronau, German glider pilot and aviation pioneer.

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_von_Gronau

1895 - Birth of Rudolf von Eschwege, German WWI flying ace.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_von_Eschwege - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/eschwege.php

1895 - Birth of Will Hubbard, British WWI flying ace, who served in the RAAF in WWII.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Hubbard - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/hubbard1.php

1896 - Birth of Heinrich Gontermann, German WWI fighter ace.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Gontermann - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/gontermann.php

1897 - Birth of Samuel Marcus Kinkead, South African WWI fighter ace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Kinkead - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/safrica/kinkead.php

1899 - Birth of Charles Cannon Dance, British WWI Observer/flying ace.

http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/dance.php

1911 - Birth of Carl Bode, German engineer and helicopter test pilot

http://www.heli-archive.ch/en/people/pilots/bode-carl/

1911 - 1st flight of the Curtiss 'Triad', Early american seaplane, a Curtiss E pusher mounted on center float.

http://www.seaplanehomecoming.org/A1.html - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtiss_Model_E

1918 - Death of Johann Frint, Austro-Hungarian WWI flying ace, killed in a crash while testing an Albatross D.III

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Frint - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/austrhun/frint.php

1929 - 1st major air evacuation in the world comes to an end when Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) flies out the last of 586 civilians from Kabul to the safety to India. The airlift involves nationals of about 20 countries.

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

1930 - Ralph O'Neil lands his Sikorsky S-38 in Miami on the 1st mail service of America airline New York, Rio and Buenos Aires Line (NYRBA) between Buenos Aires and New York after a difficult 6-day flight from Argentina.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York,_Rio,_and_Buenos_Aires_Line

1932 - Responsibility for all civil aviation activities in the Soviet Union came under the control of the Chief Directorate of the Civil Air Fleet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroflot#Early_history_of_Soviet_civil_aviation

1933 - USS Ranger, the US Navy's 1st ship to be built solely as an aircraft carrier, is launched.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Ranger_(CV-4)

1934 - American airwoman Laura Ingalls starts a solo flight round South America in a Lockheed Air Express.

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/history-of-aviation-timeline/interactive-aviation-timeline/world-aviation/1934.aspx

1938 - 1st flight of The Aubert PA-20 Cigale, French 2 seat prototype high-wing cantilever monoplane of conventional configuration with fixed, tailwheel undercarriage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aubert_Cigale - http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=10074

1940 - 1st flight of the Arsenal VG-35, French light fighter aircraft prototype developped from the VG-33.

http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=4974 - http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenal_VG_33#Arsenal_VG_35

1940 - 1st RCAF unit, 110 Army Co-op Squadron, arrived in England.

http://canadianaviationhistory.pbworks.com/w/page/13801116/On-this-day-in-Canadian-Aviation-History-February

1941 - 1st flight of The Messerschmitt Me 321 Gigant, large German cargo glider.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Me_321

1944 - Death of Siegfried Schnell, German WWII flying ace, Killed in action in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G6 by a soviet fighter over Narva, Russia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siegfried_Schnell - http://www.luftwaffe.cz/schnell.html

1945 - 1st flight of The Bell XP-83, US prototype escort fighter designed by Bell Aircraft.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_XP-83

1954 - 1st flight of The Convair R3Y-1 Tradewind , American high-wing turboprop-powered with contra-rotating propellers flying boat, Transport and Cargo version of the Model 117 (XP5Y-1).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convair_R3Y_Tradewind

1959 - French André Turcat flying the Nord 1500 Griffon II (French ramjet-powered aircraft), broke the world speed record over 100 kilometers at an average 1,643 km/h (1,021 mph).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_Turcat

1960 - A US Navy Douglas R6D-1 (DC-6A) carrying members of the US Navy Band to Brazil, collided in mid-air over Guanabara Bay with a Real Transportes Aéreos Douglas DC-3, killing 61 over 64.

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

1961 - 1st flight of The Malmö MFI-10 Vipan, four-seat light utility monoplane designed and built in Sweden by Malmö Flygindustri.

http://www.aviastar.org/manufacturers/1458.html - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malm%C3%B6_MFI-10_Vipan

1961 - Paul F. Bikle, Director of NASA's Flight Research Centre at Edwards Air Force Base in California pilots a Schweizer I23E glider (sailplane) to a height of 14,102 metres (46,267 feet)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Bikle#Soaring

1962 - Avensa Fairchild F-27 crashed into San Juan mountain on Venezuela's Margarita Island in the Caribbean Sea, few minutes after departure from Portamar, killing all 23

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1962_Avensa_Fairchild_F-27_accident

1963 - 1st flight of The Transall C-160, military high win twin engine transport aircraft developed by a consortium of French and German aircraft manufacturers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transall_C-160

1964 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 304 Douglas DC-8 crashes in Louisiana's Lake Pontchartrain, killing all 51 passengers and 7 crew.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Air_Lines_Flight_304

1964 - Death of Maurice Alain Farman, French Grand Prix motor racing champion, aviator, aircraft manufacturer and designer.

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

1965 - 1st flight of The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 (initially known as the Douglas DC-9), twin-engine, single-aisle jet airliner, designed for frequent, short flights.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_DC-9

1966 - 1st flight of The Alon A-4, prototype American light aircraft conventional, singled-engined low-winged monoplane of all-metal construction with a fixed (non retractable) tricycle landing gear undercarriage.

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

1970 - TWA becomes the 1st airline to fly a "Jumbo Jet" within the US, when it inaugurates a Boeing 747 service between Los Angeles and New York.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Aviation/Historical_anniversaries/February_in_aviation/February_25

1971 - Death of Thea Rasche, Germany's 1st woman pilot.

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

1972 - Luna 20, Soviet lunar sample return missions, parachuted down safely on an island in the Karkingir River, 40 kilometers north of the town of Jezkazgan in Kazakhstan.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_20

1976 - 1st flight of the 2nd assembled Fuji/Rockwell Commander 700, joint Japanese-American development ,low-wing cantilever monoplane with a conventional tail unit and a retractable tricycle landing gear.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuji/Rockwell_Commander_700

1977 - Soyuz 24, Soviet mission to the Salyut 5 space station, 3rd and final mission to the station, last purely military crew for the Soviets and final mission to a military Salyut, is back on earth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_24

1978 - Death of Daniel "Chappie" James Jr., American WWII, Korean and Vietnam War fighter pilot and 1st black American to reach the rank of four-star general.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_%22Chappie%22_James_Jr.

1979 - Launch of Soyuz 32, Soviet manned space flight to the Salyut 6 space station.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_32

1979 - Death of Henrich Focke, German aviation pioneer, co-founder of the Focke-Wulf company.

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

1988 - Launch of Prithvi I, Indian 1st tactical surface-to-surface short-range ballistic missile (SRBM).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prithvi_(missile)

2000 - 1st flight of The Xian MA60, Chinese turboprop-powered airliner.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xian_MA60

2002 - 1st flight of The Comp Air 3, American small civil utility aircraft marketed in kit form, conventional, high-wing monoplane built largely of composite materials and which can be configured with either tailwheel or tricycle undercarriage

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comp_Air_3

2004 - 1st flight of the AAI SparrowHawk, American two seat pusher ultralight autogyro for amateur construction.

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

2009 - Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 Boeing 737-8F2 crashed during landing to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Netherlands, as the autothrottle decreased the engine power to idle during approach due to a aulty radio altimeter, killing 9 over 135

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_Airlines_Flight_1951

2013 - Launch of SARAL (Satellite with ARgos and ALtiKa), cooperative altimetry technology mission of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and CNES (Space Agency of France).

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