MARCH03
1847 - Birth of Alexander Graham Bell, British eminent scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator, credited with inventing the 1st practical telephone, He also made experiments to develop motor-powered heavier-than-air aircrafts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Graham_Bell
1857 - Birth of Everard Richard Calthrop, British railway engineer and inventor who patented some early designs for parachutes and ejector seat for aircraft using compressed air.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everard_Calthrop
1887 - Birth of Josef Mai, German WWI fighter ace and WWII instructor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Mai - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/mai.php
1887 - Birth of Lincoln J. Beachey, American pioneer aviator and barnstormer. He became famous and wealthy from flying exhibitions, staging aerial stunts, helping invent aerobatics, and setting aviation records.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_J._Beachey
1890 - Birth of Otto Esswein, German WWI flying ace
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Esswein - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/esswein.php
1891 - Birth of Fritz Rumey, German WWI fighter ace.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Rumey - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/rumey.php
1899 - Birth of Leslie Howard Tandy Capel, British WWI flying ace
http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/capel.php
1899 - Birth of Ronald Sykes, British WWI flying ace.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Sykes - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/sykes.php
1910 - 1st flight of The Hubbard Monoplane (Hubbard II), also nicknamed "Mike", early Canadian aircraft based on the Blériot XI designed and flown by John McCurdy and built by the Canadian Aerodrome Company.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubbard_Monoplane
1911 - Capt. Benjamin D. Foulois navigating a course with Phillip Parmelee at the controls of a Wright Type B on loan from Robert F. Collier, made the 1st official military reconnaissance flight, looking for Army troops between Laredo and Eagle Pass, Texas, with a ground exercise in progress.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Foulois - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Joseph_Collier
1911 - Spanish aviator Moruravais crashes in the crowd while trying to fly at Madrid's race course.
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/1911
1912 - Birth of Johannes "Hannes" Trautloft , German fighter ace of Spanish war and WWII, High ranking officer and deputy postwar.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannes_Trautloft - http://www.luftwaffe.cz/trautloft.html - http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/germany_trautloft.htm
1912 - 1st flight of the Avro Type E (Avro 500), British Military utility biplane aircraft, firm's 1st truly successful design and forerunner of the Avro 504.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_500
1915 - The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), U.S. federal agency is founded to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Advisory_Committee_for_Aeronautics
1915 - Birth of Ugo Drago, Italian WWII Pilot.
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugo_Drago
1919 - Airplane builder William E. Boeing and Eddie Hubbard of Hubbard Air Service make the 1st international airmail flight from Seattle, Washington to Victoria, British Columbia, Canada in a Boeing C-700 (Model 2) seaplane..
http://earlyaviators.com/ehubbard.htm - http://canadianaviationhistory.pbworks.com/w/page/13801121/On-this-day-in-Canadian-Aviation-History-March - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_Model_2
1920 - Francesco Brach Papa sets a world speed record of 276 km/h with 2 passenger with a Fiat B.R.
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_Brach_Papa
1925 - Death of Clément Ader, French inventor and engineer, remembered primarily for his pioneering work in aviation.
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cl%C3%A9ment_Ader
1926 - Air Service to Red Lake, Ontario began. JV Elliot and AH Farringtron of Elliot Air Service flew two Curtiss JN-4s with a passenger in each from Hudson to Red Lake, Ontario.
1930 - The inaugural flight over the Prairie Air Mail Route was carried out by Western Canada Airways Ltd.
1931 - 1st flight of The Fairey Gordon, British light 2 seat day bomber and utility aircraft.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Gordon
1937 - 1st flight of the Morane-Saulnier M.S.430, developped form the M.S.406 fighter as an advanced trainer.
http://www.aviastar.org/air/france/morane_ms-435.php - http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=863
1937 - 1st flight of The Luton L.A.3 Minor, British single-seat high-wing ultra-light aircraft, redesigned later as L.A.4
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luton_Minor
1940 - Death of Lewis Alonzo Yancey, American aviator and air navigator who toured America, Central America, and the Caribbean in a Pitcairn autogyro.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Yancey
1942 – 10 Japanese warplanes raid the town of Broome, Western Australia, killing more than 100 people.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Broome
1942 - KNILM Douglas DC-3-194 'Pelikaan' flown by russian WWI fighter ace Ivan Vasilyevich Smirnov transporting nine refugees, fleeing the Japanese invasion of Java and carrying a package containing diamonds is shot down by 3 Japanese Misubish A6m2 Zero. 4 over 12 were killed. After a belly landing at Carnot Bay, Smirnov reported that he dropped the package of diamonds in the surf. Diamonds have never been recovered.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1942_KNILM_Douglas_DC-3_shootdown
1942 - Death of Osamu Kudo, Japanese 2nd Sino-Japanese War and WWII flying ace, killed in action while participating in an air attack on Broome, Australia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osamu_Kud%C5%8D
1942 - Birth of Vladimir Vasiliyevich Kovalyonok, Soviet cosmonaut.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Kovalyonok
1945 - 1st flight of the Mikoyan-Gurevich I-250 (Mig 13), high-performance Soviet mixed power fighter aircraft prototype to counter German turbojet-powered aircraft.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_I-250 - http://www.aviastar.org/air/russia/mig-13.php
1945 - Death of Karl Thom, German WWI fighter ace who also served in WWII
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Thom - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/thom.php
1945 - Death of Richard Joseph Audet, Canadian WWII Fighter ace, Shot down by AA fire during a straffing mission.
http://cieldegloire.com/003_audet_r_j.php
1946 - Birth of James Craig 'Jim' Adamson, NASA astronaut and test pilot.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_C._Adamson
1949 - Birth of Bonnie Jeanne Dunbar, NASA astronaut.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonnie_J._Dunbar
1949 - Birth of James Shelton 'Jim' Voss, USAF test pilot and NASA Astronaut.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_S._Voss
1953 - Canadian Pacific Airlines De Havilland DH-106 Comet 1 CF-CUN stalled on takeoff at Karachi, Pakistan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Pacific_Airlines#Accidents_and_incidents
1953 - 1st flight of The Bell HSL (Model 61), American anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter built by Bell Helicopter company, the only tandem rotor design designed by Bell.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_HSL
1959 - Launch of Pioneer 4, American spin-stabilized spacecraft for a lunar flyby trajectory and into a heliocentric orbit making it the 1st U.S. probe to escape from the Earth's gravity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_4
1960 - The longest nonstop flight ever made by a Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft is completed when a Vickers Valiant B.Mk.1 (serial no.XD858) piloted by Sqdn. Ldr. J. H. Garstin flies around the British Isles for a total distance of 8,500 miles aided by two inflight refuelings
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Aviation/Historical_anniversaries/March_in_aviation/March_3
1964 - 1st flight of the Sud Aviation 'Caravelle 10B3', French short/medium-range jet airliner, lengthened and reengined version of the 'Caravelle' VIR.
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sud-Aviation_SE_210_Caravelle - http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=1994
1966 - Kosmos 11, soviet spacecraft re-enters earth.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosmos_111
1967 - 1st flight of the Beriev Be-30 (NATO reporting name "Cuff") , Russian regional airliner and utility transport aircraft developed specifically for Aeroflot local service routes using short, grass airstrips.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beriev_Be-30
1969 - NASA launches Apollo 9 to test the lunar module. 1st flight of the Command/Service Module (CSM) with the Lunar Module (LM)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_9
1969 - The United States Navy (USN) Fighter Weapons School (more popularly known as TOPGUN) is established at NAS Miramar.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Navy_Strike_Fighter_Tactics_Instructor_program
1971 - Launch of ShiJian-1 (SJ-1), chinese satellite, equipped with a magnetometer and cosmic-ray/x-ray detectors.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_program_of_China
1972 – Mohawk Airlines Flight 405 Fairchild Hiller FH-227 crashes as a result of a control malfunction and insufficient training in emergency procedures.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohawk_Airlines_Flight_405
1972 - Launch of Pioneer 10, American space probe, 1st spacecraft to achieve escape velocity from the Solar System which also completed the 1st mission to the planet Jupiter
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_10
1973 - Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Flight LZ307 Ilyushin Il-18 crashed on its final approach to Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport, killing all 25, probably due to icing conditions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balkan_Bulgarian_Airlines_Flight_307
1973 - Death of Louis Prosper Gros, French WWI flying ace who served also in WWII.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Prosper_Gros - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/france/gros.php
1974 - Death of Mikhail Klavdievich Tikhonravov, Soviet pioneer of spacecraft design and rocketry.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Tikhonravov
1974 - Turkish Airlines Flight 981, a DC-10, crashes into forest near Ermenonville, France, after the rear cargo hatch blew-off, causing decompression and severing cables that left the pilots with almost no control, killing 346 people.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_Airlines_Flight_981
1978 - Death of Robert William 'Bob' Prescott, American WWII flying ace , founder and president of Flying Tiger Line, pioneer of the air cargo industry.
http://www.cnac.org/prescott04.pdf - http://www.cieldegloire.com/014_prescott_r_w.php
1981 - Death of Benjamin Scovill "Ben" Kelsey, American aeronautical engineer and test pilot. He co-authored the technical specifications which led to the development of the P-39 Airacobra and the P-38 Lightning, initiated the development of drop tanks, driving force behind a program of advanced airfoil research which resulted in the P-51 and important committee member of the group that approved and funded the X-15.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_S._Kelsey
1985 - 1st flight of the PZL I-22 Iryda, twin-engine, two-seat Polish military jet trainer aircraft.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PZL_I-22_Iryda
1986 - 1st flight of the Cessna Model 208B Super Cargomaster, Evolution of the 208 family, American single turboprop engine, fixed-gear short-haul regional cargo aircraft mostkly used fy Fedex.
http://www.aviastar.org/air/usa/cessna_208.php - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_208_Caravan
1991 – United Airlines Flight 585 Boeing 737-291 crashes on approach into Colorado Springs, Colorado, killing 25
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_Flight_585
2002 - Death of Charles Henry "Mac" MacDonald, American WWII fighter ace
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_H._MacDonald - http://cieldegloire.com/014_mc_donald_c_h.php
2003 - Death of Jerauld Richard "Jerry" Gentry, USAF test pilot and Vietnam War veteran, chief USAF pilot of the Lifting Body Research Program.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerauld_R._Gentry
2005 – Steve Fossett becomes the 1st person to fly an airplane non-stop around the world solo without refueling with The Scaled Composites Model 311 Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer (registered N277SF) .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_Atlantic_GlobalFlyer
2010 - Death of Mariâ Ivanovna Dolina, WWII Soviet bomber pilot, Deputy and acting squadron commander of the 125th “Marina M. Raskova” Borisov Guards dive bomber Regiment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariya_Dolina
2012 - Continental Airlines ceased operations and is merged with United Airlines.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Airlines - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines
2014 - Death of William Reid 'Bill' Pogue, USAF test pilot and NASA Astronaut.