JUL12

1921 - Death of Harry George Hawker, Australian aviation pioneer and co-founder of Hawker Aircraft, when his Nieuport Goshawk crashed while he was climbing out from Hendon Aerodrome while practicing for an airshow.

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

1928 - The Vickers 125 Vireo, British experimental low wing all-metal monoplane built to explore both all-metal service aircraft and the use of catapult launched ship board fighters, begins deck trials on the HMS Furious.

http://www.aviastar.org/air/england/vickers_vireo.php

1928 - Death of Emilio Carranza Rodríguez, Mexican aviator and raid pilot nicknamed the "Lindbergh of Mexico", killed in a thuderstrom over the Pinelands of southern New Jersey while returning from a historic goodwill flight from Mexico City

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emilio_Carranza - http://www.earlyaviators.com/ecarranz.htm

1929 - 1st flight of The Dornier Do X, German flying boat, semi-cantilever monoplane powered by twelve engines mounted in six tower nacelles on the wing.

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

1929 - Aircraft Development Corporation is incorporated into Detroit Aircraft to take over and continue development and construction of "metal-clad" airships for commercial, military and naval uses

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_Aircraft_Corporation#Subsidiaries

1932 - A Junkers J13 crashed near Zlín airport on take off, Czech Republic, killing Tomáš Bata, Czech entrepreneur, founder of Bata Shoes company. He also founded along with his brother Jan Antonin Bat'à (founder of Zlin Aviation), the Tomáš Bata aviation, apparently the world's 1st one to regularly use aircraft for expedient transport of not only high-echelon staff, but in case of need also e.g. skilled workers to places where their skills were needed soon - so the primary aim was the timely deployment of manpower to the spot where it was needed, not creating luxurious "royal barges" for a few chosen.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom%C3%A1%C5%A1_Ba%C5%A5a#Subsequent_history_of_the_company

1937 - Mikhail Gromov, A. B. Yumashev and S. A. Danilin takes off with a Tupolev ANT-25 for a new non-stop flight distance record to San Jacinto, California, U.S., via the North Pole.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Gromov_(aviator)

1937 - Death of Bozidar 'Bosko' Petrovich, Yugoslavian flying ace of the spanish civil war,

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

1939 - Death of Hanada Mamoru, Japanese russo-japanese war fighter ace, from wounds sustained in action while flying his Nakajima KI-27

http://www.cieldegloire.com/010_hanada_m.php

1944 - 1st allied jet fighter, the Gloster Meteor Mk 1, enters service with RAF 616 Squadron.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._616_Squadron_RAF - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloster_Meteor#Second_World_War

1945 - Death of Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen, German WWI Fighter Ace, and high ranking officer in WWII, Cousin of Lothar and Manfred von Richtofen.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfram_von_Richthofen - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/richthofen3.php

1945 – US Army Air Forces A-26C-35-DT Invader, on a training flight had mid-air collision with Eastern Airlines Flight 45 DC-3-201C from Washington, D.C. to Columbia, S.C. The A-26's vertical tail fin struck the port wing of the airliner, displacing the DC-3's engine which cut into fuselage; A-26 tail sheared off, two crew parachuted but only one survived. DC-3 pilot belly landed in a cornfield, one passenger, an infant, of 24 total on board killed

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Airlines_Flight_45

1952 - 1st flight of the Bee Aviation 'Honey Bee', Single seat light Aircraft.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beecraft_Honey_Bee - http://www.aviastar.org/air/usa/beecraft_honeybee.php

1957 - Birth of Rick Douglas Husband , USAF test pilot and NASA astronaut.

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

1957 - 1st president to employ a helicopter while in office is Dwight D. Eisenhower with a USAF Bell UH-13J.

http://blog.nasm.si.edu/2010/07/12/ike-and-the-first-presidential-helicopters/

1957 - 1st flight of the McDonnell Voodoo RF-101C, photo reconnaissance version.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_F-101_Voodoo#RF-101C

1960 - 1st flight of the SFERMA PD-146 'Marquis' (Turbo-Travel Air), French modification of a Beechcraft Travel Air, re-engined with Turbomeca Astazou IIJ turbines

http://www.kamov.net/american-aircraft/beech-sferma-pd-146-marquis/ - http://aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=966

1963 - French Raymond Davy set a speed record of 334 km/h with the Leduc RL-21 for it's category.

http://aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=9884 - http://aircollection.pagesperso-orange.fr/rl21.htm

1966 - 1st flight of The Northrop M2-F2, US heavyweight lifting body based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_M2-F2

1976 - 1st flight of the Aérospatiale SA-361 'Dauphin', French 9 seat transport helicopter, re-engined version of the Sa-360.

http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=2510 - http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurocopter_AS365_Dauphin#Les_versions

1979 - Death of Georgy Mikhailovich Beriev, founder of Soviet Union's Beriev Design Bureau which concentrated on amphibious aircraft.

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

1980 - 1st flight of The McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender, military adaptation of the three-engined DC-10 airliner for the USAF. It incorporates military-specific equipment for its primary roles of transport and aerial refueling.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KC-10_Extender

1983 - Death of Erich Warsitz, German WWII test pilot, chief test pilot at Peenemünde West. He is remembered as the 1st person to fly an aircraft under liquid-fueled rocket power also the 1st to fly an aircraft under turbojet power

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

1985 - 1st flight of The Antonov An-71 (NATO reporting name: 'Madcap'), Soviet carrier-capable prototype AWACS aircraft, based on An-72, with a completely redesigned rear fuselage supporting the rotodome of the RADAR atop the broad chord forward swept fin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_An-71

1988 - Launch of Phobos 2, Soviet unmanned space mission to study Mars.

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

1988 - 1st flight of The Scaled Composites Triumph, US twin-engine, business jet prototype designed and built by Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites for Beechcraft, known officially as the Model 143. The Williams FJ44 turbofan engine shared the maiden flight.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaled_Composites_Triumph - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williams_FJ44

1989 - Launch of Olympus-1, ESA communications satellite, known as "LargeSat" or "L-Sat"

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

2000 - Launch of Zvezda, also known as the Zvezda Service Module, component of the International Space Station (ISS), 3rd module launched to the station, it provides all of the station's life support systems.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zvezda_(ISS_module)

2000 - 1st flight of the Groen Hawk H4, US four-seat autogyro.

http://www.aviastar.org/helicopters_eng/groen_hawk.php

2001 - Launch of STS-104, Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-104