JUL13

1897 - Salomon August Andrée, Nils Strindberg and Knut Frænkel lands their hydrogen balloon 'Eagle' in the Arctic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._A._Andr%C3%A9e%27s_Arctic_Balloon_Expedition_of_1897

1898 - Birth of Ronald Saint Clair McClintock, British WWI flying ace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_McClintock - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/mcclintock.php

1909 - 1st flight made by an Englishman in an English airplane takes place when Alliott Verdon Roe flies his Roe I triplane for the 1st time at Lea Marsches in Essex. He flies only 100 ft.

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

1910 - Death of Oskar Erbslöh, German aviation pioneer, in the crash of his Airship 'Erbslöh'

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erbsl%C3%B6h_(Luftschiff)

1910 - French Jacques Benjamin de Lesseps is the 1st pilot to fly over Toronto.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_de_Lesseps

1913 - Léon Letort carries out the 1st non-stop flight between Paris and Berlin when he flies his Morane-Saulnier monoplane fitted with an 80-hp Le Rhône engine the 590 miles between the two capitals.

http://earlyaviators.com/eletort.htm

1914 - Birth of Franz Xaver von Werra, German WWII fighter ace who was shot down over England and captured. He is generally regarded as the only Axis prisoner of war to succeed in escaping from a Canadian prisoner of war camp and returning to Germany.

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

1915 - Birth of David Lee "Tex" Hill, American WWII fighter ace and Korean War fighter pilot. One of the 1st pilots of 1st American Volunteer Group (better known by its later nickname of the Flying Tigers)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Lee_%22Tex%22_Hill - http://cieldegloire.com/014_hill_d_l.php

1917 - Death of Archibald William Buchanan Miller, Scottish WWI flying ace, Killed in action in his Nieuport 17.

http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/scotland/miller1.php

1919 - British rigid airship, R-34, lands back in Pulham, Norfolk, after 75 hours from New york. 1st Atlantic double-crossing (return flight).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R33_class_airship

1920 - 1st flight of the Goodyear D-1, US Navy patrol airship. Unfortunatly, it burned in its hangar at Wingfoot Lake, Ohio, that same day.

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

1921 – Major Sheldon Harley Wheeler is killed in the crash of his DH-4B, on take off from Luke Field, Ford Island, Oahu, Hawaiian Islands. He was commander of Luke Field at the time of his death.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=16380816

http://hawaii.gov/hawaiiaviation/hawaii-airfields-airports/oahu-pre-world-war-ii/wheeler-field/Maj.%20Sheldon%20H.%20Wheeler.jpg/view

1925 - Western Air Express is founded.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Airlines

1928 - An Imperial Airways Vickers Vulcan on a test flight from Croydon Airport with a pilot and five passengers crashed near Purley, Surrey 3 miles from the airport, with the loss of 4 passengers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1928_Imperial_Airways_Vickers_Vulcan_crash

1929 - Death of Ludwik Idzikowski, Polish WWI military aviator. Attempting a transatlantic flight with Kazimierz Kubala from Paris to New-York with an Amiot 143, and after engine troubles near the Azores, He made an emergency landing on a closer rocky island Graciosa but plane hit a low stone wall and overturned Killing Ludwik Idzikowski.

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

1934 - Birth of Aleksei Stanislavovich Yeliseyev, Soviet cosmonaut.

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

1944 - Birth of Viktor Martynovich Chirkin, Soviet air force pilot and Buran test pilot.

http://www.astronautix.com/astros/chirkin.htm

1944 - A Junkers Ju 88G-1 of 7. Staffel/NJG 2 was flown by mistake to RAF Woodbridge, giving the RAF its 1st chance to check out the VHF-band Lichtenstein SN-2 radar and Flensburg radar detector gear.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nachtjagdgeschwader_2#1944-45

1944 - 1st flight of the Curtiss YP-60E, US single-engine single-place, low-wing monoplane fighter protoype aircraft, evolution of the P-60

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

1945 - Death of Sadamitsu Kimura, Japanese WWII night flying ace, killed in action in his Kawasaki Ki-45

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

1949 - Death of Rodney Dryland, British WWII fighter ace and V-1 killer, Gloster test pilot, killed in the crash of the Gloster Meteor FR.5 maiden flight, Reconnaissance prototype version of the British Jet fighter.

http://thetartanterror.blogspot.co.uk/2007/12/rodney-dryland-dfc-1922-1949.html - http://www.cieldegloire.com/002_raf_dryland_r.php

1949 - 1st flight of The Found FBA-1, Canadian four-seat cabin high-wing monoplane prototype.

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

1950 - Birth of George Driver "Pinky" Nelson, NASA astronaut.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Nelson_(astronaut)

1950 – A USAF Boeing B-50D-110-BO Superfortress of the 97th Bomb Wing out of Biggs AFB, Texas, carrying a nuclear weapon bomb casing (but no fuel capsule), stalls at 7,000 feet (2,100 m) and crashes between Lebanon and Mason, Ohio, killing 4 officers and 12 airmen.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accidents_and_incidents_involving_military_aircraft_(1950%E2%80%931954)

1956 - A USAF Douglas C-118A Liftmaster encountered windshear after takeoff, lost altitude and crashed in forest near Fort Dix, killing 46 over 66.

http://www.aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19560713-0

1967 - 1st flight of the Filper Beta 400A, 4 seat helicopter using the 'Gyroflex Rotor', which employed special balance weights fitted to the roots of the rotor blades instead of conventional flapping or lead-lag hinges, or other hub stability devices.

http://www.aviastar.org/helicopters_eng/filper_beta-400.php

1969 - Launch of Luna 15 (Ye-8-5 series) , Soviet unmanned space mission to the moon also called Lunik 15.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_15

1971 - Death of Charles A. Revol-Tissot, french WWI flying ace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Revol-Tissot - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/france/revol-tissot.php

1972 - 1st flight of the The Dassault Mirage G8-02, French single-seat version of the twin-engined (G4-02 2nd prototype rebuilt) variable-geometry prototype fighter,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dassault_Mirage_G#Mirage_G8 - http://aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=9947

1977 - Death of Count Carl Gustaf Ericsson von Rosen, Swedish pioneer aviator, killed during a sudden Somali guerrilla attack near Gode. He flew relief missions in a number of conflicts as well as combat missions for Finland and Biafran rebels.

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

1982 - Death of Horia Agarici, Romanian WWII flying ace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horia_Agarici - http://cieldegloire.com/012_agarici_h.php

1982 - Death of Barbara Ann Allen Rainey, 1st female pilot in the USAF, 1st female to be designated a Naval aviator, and 1st Navy woman to qualify as a jet pilot. She died in the crash of her T-34C Mentor while practicing touch-and-go landings with her trainee.

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

1983 - Death of Antonio Amantea, last surviving Italian WWI flying ace.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Amantea - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/italy/amantea.php

1985 – Lead and Opposing Solo Skyhawks of the aerobatic navy demonstration team 'Blue Angels' collided during a show at Niagara Falls, killing opposing solo Lt. Cmdr. Mike Gershon. Lt. Andy Caputi ejected and parachuted to safety.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Angels#Accidents

1986 - 1st flight of the PZL-130T Turbo Orlik, Polish turboprop, single engine, two seat trainer, export version with a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-25A turboprop.

http://www.aviastar.org/air/poland/pzl-130.php

1988 - Death of Edward Rochfort Grange, Canadian WWI flying ace credited with five aerial victories. His postwar career included success as a businessman, and a return to aviation as a civilian inspector and auditor for the Royal Canadian Air Force during WWII

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Grange - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/canada/grange.php

1989 - British Judy Leden crossed the English Channel when her hang glider was released from a hot air balloon 12,000 feet above the white cliffs of Dover, landing on the beach at Calais

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l98icho4S4U

http://www.apnewsarchive.com/1989/Briton-Claims-Record-As-First-Woman-To-Cross-English-Channel-By-Hang-Glider/id-b03e3842b1414d96ad6ed52253fee47f

1992 - 1st flight of the 3I Sky Arrow, Italian 2 tandem seat, pusher configuration, high wing and carbon fibre light aircraft.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3I_Sky_Arrow

1995 - Launch of STS-70, Space Shuttle Discovery mission.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-70

1996 - Garuda Indonesia Flight 865 McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 crashed on takeoff at Fukuoka, Japan after the failure of the number 3 (right) engine after nose rotation. Crew was unable to stop the aircraft within the boundaries of the runway, there were 3 fatalities over 275.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garuda_Indonesia_Flight_865

2008 - Beginning of the 18th FAI World Precision Flying Championship in Ried im Innkreis in Austria with 62 competitors from 13 countries.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/18th_FAI_World_Precision_Flying_Championship

2011 - Judy Wexler flies the Gamera I, Human powered helicopter, in a controlled hover for 11.4 seconds.

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

2011 - Noar Linhas Aéreas Flight 4896 Let L-410UVP-E20 crashed in Boa Viagem, Recife, Brazil after the pilot reported problems with one of the 2 engines, killing all 16 on board.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noar_Linhas_A%C3%A9reas_Flight_4896