MAY15

1793 - Spanish inventor Diego Marín Aguilera flies a glider nearly 1/4 mile from the highest part of the castle of Coruña del Conde, in one of the 1st human attempts at flight.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego_Mar%C3%ADn_Aguilera#Attempted_flight

1866 - Birth of Reinhard Süring, German meteorologist and balloonist.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinhard_S%C3%BCring

1888 - Birth of Paul Louis Malavialle, French WWI flying ace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Malavialle - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/france/malavialle.php

1892 - Birth of Karl Scharon, German WWI flying ace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Scharon - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/scharon.php

1892 - Birth of Frederick Joseph Kydd, British WWI gunner flying ace.

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

1894 - Birth of Josef Carl Peter Jacobs, 4th German WWI fighter ace and post WWI, Aircraft manufaturer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Jacobs - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/jacobs.php

1896 - Birth of Carleton Main Clement, Canadian WWI fighter ace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carleton_Main_Clement - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/canada/clement.php

1898 - Birth of Horace Ernest Merritt, British WWI gunner flying ace.

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

1902 - Lyman Wiswell Gilmore, Jr, American aviation pioneer, is supposed to have flown his steam-powered airplane. The claims of the aircraft achieving flight are unconfirmed, and given the weight evident by the grounded aircraft photos, the possibility of flight is highly disputed.

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

1907 - French Edmond Seux test his aeroplane but is unable to lift it in the air. it is reported that the front wheels lifted off and the tiny rear wheels collapsed.

http://calm.sopixi.fr/files/l-aviation-dans-le-departement-du-rhone-avant-1914.pdf - http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=10216

1917 - Death of William George Sellar "Growler" Curphey, British WWI flying ace, from wounds received the day before in his pusher from an Albatros

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Curphey - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/curphey.php

1918 - Death of Frederick Vincent Hall, British WWI flying ace, killed in a Mid-air collision with another Sopwith Camel.

http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/hall2.php

1918 - Death of John Vincent Aspinall, British WWI flying ace, killed in action in his Bristol F.2b

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

1918 - Death of Walter Ewers, German WWI flying ace, killed in action in his Albatros D.V.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Ewers - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/ewers.php

1918 - Death of Charles George Douglas Napier, British WWI flying ace, killed in action in his Bristol F.2.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Napier_(aviator) - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/napier1.php

1918 - Death of Herbert Whiteley Sellars, British WWI flying ace, killed in action in his Bristol F.2b

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Sellars - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/sellars.php

1918 - 1st regular US airmail service beginss, between New York and Washington, DC. The 1st flight is made by Lt Geoffrey Boyle in a Curtiss JN-4H.

http://www.airmailpioneers.org/history/Sagahistory.htm

1918 - 1st flight of the Packard-Le Peré LUSAC-11 (Lepère United States Army Combat), early American Army two-seat fighter aircraft.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packard-Le_Per%C3%A9_LUSAC-11

1918 - By law, the Aviation School and the Cuban Air Squadron are created.

http://www.cubaaereo.com/pilot.asp?pg=history

1921 - Laura Bromwell loops in New York State 199 times in 1 hour, 20 minutes, setting a new women's record for consecutive loops

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F20916F7355B1B7A93C4A8178ED85F458285F9

1923 - 1st course of Provisional Pilot Officers began training at RCAF Camp Borden.

http://canadianaviationhistory.pbworks.com/w/page/13801122/On-this-day-in-Canadian-Aviation-History-May

1925 - Death of Albert Edmond Mezergues, French WWI flying ace, killed in action during the Rif war in Morocco.

http://theaerodrome.com/aces/france/mezergues.php - http://www.memorial-genweb.org/~memorial2/html/fr/complementter.php?id=2594927

1928 - Rev John Flynn founds the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia at Cloncurry, Queensland, using a de Havilland DH.50. The service takes medical services to remote parts of the Australian bush.

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

1928 – Mickey Mouse is premiered in his 1st cartoon, Plane Crazy.

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

1930 - 1st flight of The Besson MB.36, French 3 engine monoplane flying-boat prototype.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Besson_MB.36 - http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=1618

1930 - Ellen Church becomes the world's 1st flight attendant, working for Boeing Air Transport

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

1933 - 1st flight of the A.N.F. Les Mureaux 112 R2, French 2 seat high wing single engine scouting Aircraft prototype.

http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=9831 - http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANF_Les_Mureaux_115#ANF_Les_Mureaux_112

1936 - 1st flight of the A.N.F. Les Mureaux 200, French Single engine High wing monoplane 3 seat Reconnaissance prototype, evolution of the 115

http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=4028 - http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANF_Les_Mureaux_115#ANF_Les_Mureaux_200

1938 - The Gasuden Koken, Japanese long-range research aircraft, landed back at Kisarazu, Chiba, setting a new World Closed-Circuit distance record, having flown a distance of 11,651.011 km (7,239 mi).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasuden_Koken#Operational_history

1938 - 1st flight of the 1st production Spitfire.

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

1939 - 1st public appearance at the Heathrow Garden Party of the Royal Aeronautical Society of the The Reid and Sigrist R.S. 1, British twin-engined, three-seat advanced trainer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reid_and_Sigrist_R.S.1

1940 - 1st flight of the SNCAC NC.600, French twin engine fighter.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNCAC_NC.600 - http://www.aviastar.org/air/france/sncac-600.php

1940 - 1st large-scale Bomber Command attack on German industrial targets, 99 aircraft bomb 16 targets in the Ruhr area. This raid effectively marks the start of the Strategic Air Offensive against Germany.

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/history-of-aviation-timeline/interactive-aviation-timeline/british-military-aviation/1940.aspx

1941 - Ground test starts for the Mikoyan/Gurevich DIS (MiG-5) , twin engine Long-range escort fighter.

http://www.aviastar.org/air/russia/mig_dis.php

1941 - 1st flight of The Gloster E.28/39, (also referred to as the "Gloster Whittle", "Gloster Pioneer", or "Gloster G.40"), 1st British jet-engined aircraft to fly

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloster_E.28/39

1942 - 1st Flight of the Bereznyak-Isayev BI-1, Soviet rocket-powered aircraft.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bereznyak-Isayev_BI-1

1942 - Birth of Anthony Wayne "Tony" England, former NASA Astronaut.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_W._England

1943 - 1st Flight of The Nakajima C6N Saiun 'Myrt', Japanese carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakajima_C6N

1946 - 1st flight of The de Havilland DH 108 "Swallow", British experimental aircraft, with Geoffrey de Havilland jr. at controls.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_DH_108

1948 - Beginning of the Arab-Israeli War, The Egyptian Air force bombs Tel-aviv.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_Arab-Israeli_War

1949 - Birth of Frank Lee Culbertson Jr.,former NASA astronaut, test pilot and a retired captain in the US Navy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_L._Culbertson,_Jr.

1956 - 1st flight of the Dassault 'Super Mystère' B2, production version of the B1 French jet fighter-bomber, 1st Western European supersonic aircraft to enter mass production.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dassault_Super_Myst%C3%A8re_B2 - http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=1056

1957 - 1st flight of The Miles M.100 Student, british lightweight trainer.

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

1957 - Operation Grapple, British nuclear weapons test, begins : a Vickers Valiant bomber piloted by Kenneth Hubbard, dropped the 1st british hydrogen bomb off the shore of Malden Island.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Grapple#Operation_Grapple - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vickers_Valiant

1957 - North Cariboo Air (or North Cariboo Flying Service), Canadian airline, begin operations.

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

1958 – The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 3.it carried a large array of instruments for geophysical research. Its tape recorder failed, making it unable to measure the Van Allen radiation belts

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

1959 - Royal Air Force's last flying boat sorties are flown by two Short Sunderlands of No.205 Squadron, RAF Seletar.

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/history-of-aviation-timeline/interactive-aviation-timeline/british-military-aviation/1959.aspx

1960 - Launch of Korabl-Sputnik 1 (also known as Sputnik 4 in the West) was the 1st test flight of the Soviet Vostok programme, and the 1st Vostok spacecraft. I

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korabl-Sputnik_1

1963 - Launch of Mercury-Atlas 9, final manned space mission of the U.S. Mercury program, The spacecraft, named Faith 7, completed 22 Earth orbits before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, piloted by astronaut Leroy Gordon Cooper (alias 'Gordo'). It was Cooper's 1st Space Flight.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury-Atlas_9

1966 - Launch of Nimbus 2, second-generation U.S. robotic spacecraft used for meteorological research and development.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimbus_program#Operation_history_of_the_Nimbus_satellites

1972 - 1st flight of the Robin DR-400/125 'Petit Prince', french 4 seat low wing light tourer aircraft.

http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=2908

1975 - The SS Mayaguez (American container ship seized by the Khmer rouges) is saturated by tear gas munitions from USAF A-7D aircrafts. 5 CH-53 Knifes and 3 HH-53 Jolly Greens conducted the 1st attack to regain control of the ship and its crew.

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

1975 - Death of Jean Charles Romatet, French WWI flying ace and WWII high ranking officer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_C._Romatet - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/france/romatet.php

1975 - Birth of Dorothy Marie "Dottie" Metcalf-Lindenburger, Nasa Astronaut.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Metcalf-Lindenburger

1977 - Death of Henry Gordon "Harry" Clappison, Canadian WWI flying ace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Gordon_Clappison - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/canada/clappison.php

1979 - 1st flight of the Dassault Mirage 50, French supersonic fighter aircraft .

http://www.dassault-aviation.com/fr/passion/avions/dassault-militaires/mirage-50.html

1981 - Prototype of an improved variant PZL-106B 'Kruk' (Polish agricultural aircraft) was flown with redesigned wings using shorter struts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PZL-106_Kruk

1982 - A SOCATA TB10 Tobago makes its 1st flight after having its Avco Lycoming engine converted to run on liquid petroleum gas (LPG).

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/history-of-aviation-timeline/interactive-aviation-timeline/world-aviation/1982.aspx

1982 - A new world distance record for an operational reconnaissance mission is created by a British Aerospace (BAe) Nimrod of No.201 Squadron, which covered a distance of 13,357 kilometres (8,300 miles) over the South Atlantic in 19 hours 5 minutes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawker_Siddeley_Nimrod#Falklands_War

1983 - Death of Fujitaro Ito, Japanese WWII fighter ace.

http://www.warbirdcolors.com/get_aces.asp?J

1984 - 1st flight of The AMX International AMX 'Ghibli', Italian-Brazilian joint venture ground-attack aircraft for battlefield interdiction, close air support and reconnaissance missions, issued from the design study of the Aermacchi MB-340.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aermacchi_MB-340

1987 – The Soviet Union launches the Polyus prototype orbital weapons platform. It fails to reach orbit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyus_(spacecraft)

1987 - 1st flight of the Bombardier Dash 8 serie 300, Canadian twin-engined, medium range, turboprop airliner in a stretched version.

http://www.aviastar.org/air/canada/dehavilland_dash-8.php

1997 - Launch of STS-84, NASA spaceflight mission by Space Shuttle Atlantis to the Mir space station.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-84

1998 - Death of Patrick Palles Lorne Elphinstone 'Lorne' Welch, British engineer, WWII Bomber pilot and Colditz prisoner of war.

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

2000 - Helios Airways, low-cost Cypriot airline, begin operations.

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

2002 - Hola Airlines, Spanish airline, Begins operations.

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

2008 – Aloha Air Cargo commenced operations as an independent airline after Aloha Airlines ceased operations.

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

2012 - Launch of JCSAT-13 (Japanese communications Satellite) and Vinasat-2 (Vietnamese communications Satellite) with an Ariane 5 Launcher

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariane_5#Ariane_5_flights

2013 - Death of Ronald Jack Layton, American military pilot, test pilot and record setter.

http://roadrunnersinternationale.com/layton.html - http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/rexburgstandardjournal/obituary.aspx?pid=164812651#fbLoggedOut