JUL27

1882 - Birth of Geoffrey de Havilland, British aviation pioneer and aircraft engineer. His Mosquito being considered as the most versatile warplane ever built.

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

1888 - Birth of Charles Philip Harrison, British WWI flying ace (as observer).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Harrison_(aviator) - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/harrison1.php

1890 - Birth of Albert Earl 'Steve' Godfrey, Canadian WWI flying ace.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Earl_Godfrey - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/canada/godfrey1.php

1893 - Birth of Fritz Loerzer, German WWI flying ace

http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/loerzer2.php

1893 - Birth of Horace Clyde Balsley, 1st American shot down during WWI.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=57769450

1896 - Birth of Sir Robert Allingham George, Australian WWI bomber pilot, senior officer in the Royal Air Force and Governor of South Australia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_George_(RAF_officer)

1901 - 1st flight of the Wright Glider N°2 with larger wings over the Kill Devil Hills, 4 miles south of Kitty Hawk.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_Glider#1901_glider

1909 - French Hubert Latham ditches once more in the English Channel with his Antoinette VII in sight of the English coast only 1.6 km (1 mile) away.

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

1909 - Orville Wright makes the 1st official test flight of the U.S. Army's 1st airplane in Fort Meyer, Virginia. President William Howard Taft, his cabinet, and 10,000 spectators witness the flight

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Aviation/Historical_anniversaries/July_in_aviation/July_27

1915 - Birth of Josef "Pips" Priller, German WWII fighter ace, famous because of the publicity regarding his single strafing pass attack on Sword Beach on D-Day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Priller - http://www.cieldegloire.com/001_priller_j.php - http://www.luftwaffe.cz/priller.html

1917 - Birth of John "Cat's Eyes" Cunningham, British RAF WWII night fighter ace and test pilot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cunningham_(RAF_officer)

1923 - Edward Stinson lands his Junkers at Mitchell Field in New York after making the 1st non-stop flight from Chicago.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Aviation/Historical_anniversaries/July_in_aviation/July_27

1926 - Birth of Jacques Gomy, French Aerobatic pilot, test pilot, Glider pilot and instructor.

http://pdennez.free.fr/hommes/html/h101a.html - http://sportive.ffvv.org/coupe-jacques-gomy/

1928 - 1st flight of the Boeing 80, American three-engined biplane airliner.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_80

1928 - Birth of Joseph William Kittinger II, USAF pilot, most famous for his participation in Project Manhigh and Project Excelsior, holding the records for having the highest, fastest and longest skydive and as being the 1st man to make a solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in a gas balloon.

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

1929 - Western Canada Airways pilot W.L. Brintnell flew a Fokker F.VII/3M from Vancouver to Winnipeg in 10 hours, 30 min.

http://canadianaviationhistory.pbworks.com/w/page/13801119/On-this-day-in-Canadian-Aviation-History-July

1931 - 1st flight of The de Havilland DH.72, British large three-engined biplane bomber prototype.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_DH.72

1931 - The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) of the USA is formed

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Aviation/Historical_anniversaries/July_in_aviation/July_27

1934 - Swissair Curtiss T-32 Condor II broke up in mid-air and crashed at Tuttlingen, Germany killing all 12 passengers and crew, Including Nelly Diener, 1st european female flight attendant.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtiss_T-32_Condor_II#Accidents_and_incidents - http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelly_Diener

1937 - 1st flight of the Short S.21 Maia, British four engige seaplane, upper part of the Short Mayo composite.

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

1937 - 1st flight of The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor, German all-metal four-engine monoplane originally developed as a long-range airliner and used as a long-range reconnaissance and anti-shipping/maritime patrol bomber aircraft, as well as a transport aircraft for troops and VIPs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fw_200

1938 - Death of Hermann Stutz, German WWI flying ace

http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/stutz.php

1939 - 1st flight of The Douglas B-23 Dragon, American twin-engined bomber.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_B-23_Dragon

1941 - 1st flight of the Westland P.12 Lysander Delanne, British prototype turret fighter, with twin tailed Delanne tandem wing and 4-gun Nash & Thomson power-operated tail gun turret replacing the empennage, issued from the army co-operation and liaison aircraft Westland Lysander.

http://www.nestofdragons.net/weird-airplanes/tandemwings/maurice-delanne-(duo-mono)/lysander-delanne/ - http://www.unrealaircraft.com/hybrid/lysander.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westland_Lysander#Variants

1942 - Death of Furio Niclot Doglio, Italian test pilot, Record breaker and WWII fighter pilot, shot down over Malta in his Macchi C202 by Canadian fighter ace George Beurling, who scored 4 on that single day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furio_Niclot_Doglio - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Beurling#Malta - http://www.cieldegloire.com/003_beurling_g_f.php

1943 - 787 British bombers attack Hamburg, with a loss of 17 aircraft. Atmospheric conditions create a self-propagating tornadic firestorm with winds of 150 mph (240 km/hr) and flames reaching 1,000 feet (305 m) in altitude, resulting in one of the most destructive air raids in history.

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

1943 - 1st person to fly through the eye of a hurricane: Joseph 'Joe' B. Duckworth flew his AT-6 Texan trainer directly into the storm, becoming the 1st hurricane hunter. On his return, he made a 2nd flight, this time carrying the base weather officer as a passenger.

http://www.af.mil/information/heritage/spotlight.asp?id=123224413 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1943_Surprise_Hurricane#Hurricane_hunting

1944 - Gloster Meteors of No. 616 Squadron RAF fly their 1st V1 interception mission

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._616_Squadron_RAF#First_on_Meteors

1946 - Birth of Toktar Ongarbayuly Aubakirov, Kazakh Air Force pilot and cosmonaut.

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

1946 - 1st flight of The Supermarine Attacker, British single-seat naval jet fighter, 1st jet fighter of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm (FAA).

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

1947 - 1st flight of The Tupolev Tu-12 (Tu-77), experimental Soviet jet-powered medium bomber developed from the successful piston-engined Tupolev Tu-2 bomber.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_Tu-12

1947 - 1st flight of The Bristol Type 171 Sycamore, 1st British-designed helicopter to fly and serve with the Royal Air Force.

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

1949 - 1st flight of The de Havilland DH 106 Comet, world's 1st commercial jet airliner to reach production.

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

1951 - 1st flight of the Indraéro Aéro 101, french light training biplane.

http://aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=9869

1951 - 1st flight of the Salmson D-211 'Super Phrygane', French 4 seat conventional, high-wing braced monoplane tourer aircraft, issued from the Salmson D-21 'Phrygane'.

http://aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=3660

1953 - 1st flight of the Hollevile RH.1 'Bambi', French twin seat low wing monoplane light sporting aircraft prototype.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holleville_RH.1_Bambi - http://aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=10187

1955 - El Al Flight 402 Lockheed L-049 Constellation is shot down by two Bulgarian MiG-15 over Bulgarian airspace, killing all aboard, 7 crew and 51 passengers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Al_Flight_402

1955 - 1st flight of The Aubert PA-204L 'Super Cigale' French 4 seat high-wing cantilever monoplane evolution of the PA-204

http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=4488 - http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aubert_Cigale#Aubert_PA-204L_Super_Cigale

1956 - Birth of Sultan bin Salman, Royal Saudi Air Force pilot and Astronaut, 1st of royal blood, and 1st Arab and Muslim to be in outer space.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultan_bin_Salman_bin_Abdul-Aziz_Al_Saud

1958 - Malcolm David Ross, With Lieutenant Commander M. L. Lewis (USN), in the Strato-Lab High III gondola, set a new unofficial record for stratospheric flight of 82,000 feet (25,000 m) making also the 1st television broadcast from a balloon in the stratosphere.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_Ross_%28balloonist%29#Balloon_Flights

1958 - Death of Lieutenant General Claire Lee Chennault, American military aviator, fierce advocate of "pursuit" or fight-interceptor aircrafts, who commanded the "Flying Tigers" during WWII.

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

1960 - Capt J.R. Crane, advance pilot and narrator for the US Aerobatic demonstration team 'Thunderbirds', was killed during a solo proficiency flight in a North American F-100C Super Sabre at Nellis.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accidents_and_incidents_involving_military_aircraft_(1960%E2%80%931974)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USAF_Thunderbirds#Other_fatalities

1961 - Birth of Daniel Christopher Burbank, American Coast guard pilot and NASA astronaut.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_C._Burbank

1961 - During Arctic ASW reconnaissance, Bill Misener and crew of 415 Squadron flew Argus 20722 for 30 hours and 20 minutes.

http://canadianaviationhistory.pbworks.com/w/page/13801119/On%20this%20day%20in%20Canadian%20Aviation%20History%20July

1962 - Death of James H. "Dutch" Kindelberger, American pioneer of aviation. He was also a leader of North American Aviation for a number of years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_H._Kindelberger

1963 - United Arab Airlines Flight 869 de Havilland Comet 4C on approach to Bombay - Santa Cruz Airport at night, crashed into the sea with the loss of all 63 on board, probably due to loss of control while turning in severe turbulence and heavy rain

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Arab_Airlines_Flight_869_(1963)

1967 - 1st flight of the Boeing 727- 200, US mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airline, Stretched version of the 727-100.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_727#727.E2.80.93200

1972 - Birth of Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor (born Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Al Masrie bin Sheikh Mustapha ) , Malaysian orthopaedic surgeon and 1st Malaysian to go into space.

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

1972 - Birth of Aydyn Akanovich Aimbetov, Kazakh fighter pilot and Cosmonaut.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aydyn_Aimbetov - http://www.astronautix.com/astros/aimbetov.htm

1972 - Death of Laurent Baptisti Ruamps, French WWI flying ace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurent_B._Ruamps - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/france/ruamps.php

1972 - 1st flight of The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, US twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-15_Eagle

1973 - Death of Edward Vernon Rickenbacker, American WWI fighter ace, race car driver and automotive designer, a government consultant in military matters and a pioneer in air transportation, particularly as the longtime head of Eastern Air Lines.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Rickenbacker - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/usa/rickenbacker.php

1979 - 1st flight of the Pottier P-50 'Bouvreuil', French single-seat, single-engine racing homebuilt aircraft .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pottier_P.50 - http://aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=9578

1981 - Death of Norman Craig Millman, Canadian WWI flying ace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Craig_Millman - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/canada/millman.php

1983 - 1st flight of The Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia, Brazilian twin-turboprop commuter airliner.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embraer_EMB_120_Brasilia

1989 - Korean Air Flight 803 McDonnell Douglas DC-10 crashed while attempting to land in heavy fog and reduced visibility in Tripoli, Libya, killing 75 over 199 and 4 on ground

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Air_Flight_803

1992 - Launch of Soyuz TM-15, 15th expedition to Mir Station.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_TM-15

1996 - General Dynamics F-111F attack aircrafts are withdrawn from USAF service; on its retirement, the aircraft finally receives an official popular name: "Aardvark."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Dynamics_F-111#Operational_history

1999 - STS-93, Space Shuttle Columbia mission , is back on earth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-93

2001 - 1st flight of Sukhoi Su-38L, Russian agricultural aircraft, 1st aircraft of this type to be designed and built by the Sukhoi Design Bureau civil aircraft section as a development of the Sukhoi Su-29 aerobatic aircraft.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhoi_Su-38

2002 - Ukrainian Air Force Sukhoi Su-27 of the Ukrainian Falcons crashes during an air show at Lviv, Ukraine killing 85 and injuring more than 100 others

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

2005 - After the launch Discovery (STS-114 NASA) grounds the Space Shuttle, pending an investigation of the continuing problem with the shedding of foam insulation from the external fuel tank. During ascent, the external tank of the Space Shuttle Discovery sheds a piece of foam slightly smaller than the piece that caused the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster; this foam does not strike the spacecraft.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-114#Launch_sequence_anomalies

2007 – News helicopters (Eurocopter AS-350) from Phoenix, Arizona television stations KNXV and KTVK collide over Steele Indian School Park in central Phoenix while covering a police chase.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Phoenix_news_helicopter_collision

2010 - The Indian Advanced Air Defence (AAD)/Ashwin Ballistic Missile Interceptor is successfully test-fired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Wheeler Island off the Orissa's east coast.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Ballistic_Missile_Defense_Program#Advanced_Air_Defence_.28AAD.29.2FAshwin_Ballistic_Missile_Interceptor

2010 - Lufthansa Cargo Flight 8460 McDonnell Douglas MD-11 crashed upon landing at King Khalid International Airport, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Killing all 2 crew on board.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lufthansa_Cargo_Flight_8460