OCT01

1917 - Birth of Frantisek 'Fero' Cyprich, Slovak WWII fighter ace who served on the Eastern front with the Axis Forces until The Slovak National Uprising (armed insurrection organized by the Slovak resistance movement during WWII).

http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/slovakia_cyprich.htm - http://en.valka.cz/viewtopic.php/title/Cyprich-Frantisek/p/186338

http://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franti%C5%A1ek_Cyprich

1917 - Birth of Guido Fibbia, Italian Spanish war pilot, WWII flying ace.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guido_Fibbia - http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/italy_fibbia.htm

1917 - Death of Robert Hugh Sloley, South African WWI flying ace, killed in action in his S.E.5a.

http://theaerodrome.com/aces/safrica/sloley.php

1917 - Death of Charles Meredith Bouverie Chapman, British WWI flying ace. He died of shrapnel injuries received after a German bombing raid on No 29 Sqn's aerodrome at Poperinghe

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

1917 – The Royal Navy tests an aircraft catapult for the 1st time, using a compressed-air catapult aboard the catapult trials ship Slinger to launch an unmanned Short 184 with its fuselage fabric removed and engine replaced by ballast. On the same day, the Royal Navy conducts the first launch of an aircraft from a battleship or battlecruiser, when Royal Naval Air Service Flight Commander F. J. Rutland takes off in a Sopwith Pup from a platform mounted on a 15-inch (381-mm) gun turret of the battlecruiser HMS Repulse.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Repulse_(1916)#Design_and_description

1919 - The Australian Aircraft and Engineering Company is established to manufacture and sell Avro aircraft under license.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Aircraft_%26_Engineering

1919 - Birth of Evelyn Genevieve "Sharpie" Sharp, American aviator, one of the 1st female airmail pilot and one of the original Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) pilot.

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

1924 - Pilot E.A. Alton set out on the 1st recorded aerial mail flight from Estevan, Saskatchewan to Winnipeg, but unfortunately was aborted by a crash.

http://canadianaviationhistory.pbworks.com/w/page/13801124/On%20this%20day%20in%20Canadian%20Aviation%20History%20October

1926 - Alan Cobham completes the commercial route survey for Imperial Airways, landing his DH50 on the Thames at Westminster, After a 28.000 miles flight in 78 days, 320 hours flying from Rochester to Melbourne and back to UK.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Airways#Route_Proving

1929 - 1st flight of the Bleriot Bl-111/2, French Single engine Low wing monoplane transport prototype

http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=1663

1930 - 1st flight of The Vickers Viastra, British all-metal 12-seat passenger high-wing monoplane, with variants powered by one, two and three engines

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

1931 - KLM begins a regular service between Amsterdam and Batavia by Fokker F.XII. At 13,744 km (8,540 miles) this is the longest regular air route in the world at the time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Aviation/Historical_anniversaries/October_in_aviation/October_1

1931 - 1st flight of the Dewoitine D.37, French high wing monoplane fighter, mainly used during the Spanish War.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dewoitine_D.37 - http://aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=2265

1934 - Death of Gustave Lemoine, French Aviator who setted an altitude record. He accidentaly crashed in Pozieres, France.

http://aerosteles.net/fiche.php?code=pozieres-lemoine&type=pd&valeur=30&lang=fr

1936 - Death of Maxwell Hutcheon Findlay, Scottish WWI fighter ace and air racer. Killed in the Johannesburg Air Race when his Airspeed Envoy hit a tree on takeoff in northern Rhodesia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxwell_Findlay - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/scotland/findlay3.php

1936 - Birth of Patrick Henry Brady, US Army helicopter pilot of the Vietnam War.

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

1936 - Charles W.A. Scott and Giles Guthrie lands their Percival Vega Gull in Rand, South Africa, winning the The Schlesinger African Air Race in 52 hours 56 minutes 48 seconds, coming from Portsmouth. They were the only ones to complete the course.

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

1938 - 1st flight of the Arsenal VG 30, fast French light fighter aircraft under development at the start of WWII.

http://www.aviastar.org/air/france/arsenal_vg-30.php - http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenal_VG_33#Arsenal_VG_30

1940 - The XF4U-1 (Chance Vought F4U Corsair prototype) becomes the 1st single-engine U.S. fighter to fly faster than 400 mph (640 km/h) by setting an average ground speed of 405 miles per hour (652 km/h) during a flight from Stratford to Hartford.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vought_F4U_Corsair

1941 – Inter-Island Airways is renamed Hawaiian Airlines.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_Airlines#Early_years_.281929.E2.80.931966.29

1941 - Death of Peter William Olbert 'Boy' Mould, British WWII fighter Ace, Killed over Malta in his Hurricane II during a dogfight with italian Macchi Mc-202.

http://cieldegloire.com/002_raf_mould_p_w_o.php

1942 - 1st flight of The Bell P-59 Airacomet, 1st American jet fighter aircraft with John Wescott Myers at controls, designed and built during WWII.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XP-59

1946 - The Belgian Air Force is re-established.

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/history-of-aviation-timeline/interactive-aviation-timeline/world-aviation/1946.aspx

1946 - A United States Navy (USN) Lockheed P2V Neptune crewed by Commander T. Davis and E.P. Rankin, set a non-stop world distance record of 18,081 kilometres (11,235 miles) having flown from Perth in Australia to Columbus in Ohio in 55 hours and 17 minutes .

http://p2vneptune.com/turtle.shtml - http://www.maritimepatrolassociation.org/documents/heritage/Truculent_Turtle_1946.pdf

1947 - 1st flight of The Anderson Greenwood AG-14, American two-seat utility aircraft, all-metal, shoulder-wing monoplane of pod-and-boom configuration, equipped with a pusher propeller, side-by-side seating and fixed tricycle undercarriage.

http://www.aviastar.org/air/usa/anderson_ag-14.php

1947 - Los Angeles Airways opens the world's 1st regular airmail service by helicopter, using Sikorsky S-51 machines

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

1947 - 1st flight of The North American F-86 Sabre (sometimes called the Sabrejet), American transonic jet fighter aircraft. Test pilot George Welch unofficially broke the sound barrier in a dive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XP-86_Sabre - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Welch_(pilot)#Mach_1_claim

1947 - 1st flight of the Beechcraft Model 34 "Twin-Quad", American high wing 4 engined prototype airliner.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beechcraft_Model_34

1947 – Los Angeles Airways begins the 1st scheduled carriage of airmail by helicopter

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

1948 - In the skies over Fargo, North Dakota, George F. Gorman, a pilot with the North Dakota National Guard, was flying a P-51 Mustang when he told the tower that he was going to pursue an object to determine its identity. After a 'dogfight' he broke the chase, unable to keep on contact with it. It was one of three "classic" UFO incidents in the late forties that "proved to [Air Force] intelligence specialists that UFO's were real."

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

1949 - The sole SNCASE SE-1010, French 4 engined High-altitude photo-survey aircraft prototype, entered a flat-spin during test flying and crashed killing all 6 on board. Project cancelled.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNCASE_SE-1010 - http://aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=1040 - http://www.aerosteles.net/fiche.php?code=carces-se1010

1950 - Birth of Boris Vladimirovich Morukov, Russian physician and Astronaut.

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

1950 - 1st flight of the Ilyushin Il-14 'Crate', Soviet twin-engine commercial and military personnel and cargo transport aircraft.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilyushin_Il-14

1950 - The Danish Air Arm becomes the Royal Danish Air Force.

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

1956 - Avro Vulcan B1 XA897 departs Aden at 0250hrs on the final leg of its return journey from Australia to the UK, captained by Squadron Leader Howard and with Sir Harry Broadhurst flying as co-pilot. Unfortunately, the aircraft encountered extremely poor weather conditions while attempting to land at Heathrow airport and crashed on approach. The pilot and co-pilot successfully ejected, but the four crewmembers in the rear of the aircraft were killed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Vulcan#Accidents_and_incidents

1958 – NASA is created to replace NACA.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA#NACA_becomes_NASA

1959 - 1st UK pilot to eject above the speed of sound : English Electric test pilot Johnny W.C. Squier, flying prototype two-seat English Electric Lightning suffers structural failure, ejects at Mach 1.7. Initially reported missing until he and his dinghy drifted ashore 28 hours later.

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

1963 - A ski-equipped Lockheed C130 Hercules, under the command of Rear Admiral James R. Reedy, makes a 1st transpolar non-stop flight from Capetown in South Africa to McMurdo Sound in Antarctica.

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/history-of-aviation-timeline/interactive-aviation-timeline/world-aviation/1963.aspx

1964 - Derby Airways changes its name to British Midland Airways

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Midland_Airways#British_Midland_Airways

1964 - Birth of Eric Allan Boe, USAF fighter pilot, test pilot and NASA astronaut.

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

1966 - West Coast Airlines Flight 956 Douglas DC-9-14 crashes with eighteen fatal injuries and no survivors 5.5 miles (8.9 km) south of Wemme, Oregon. This accident marks the first loss of a DC-9.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Coast_Airlines_Flight_956

1969 – Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde breaks the sound barrier for the 1st time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concorde#Testing

1972 - An Aeroflot Ilyushin IL-18V Crashed into the Black Sea shortly after takeoff from Sochi Airport, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) off the shore, killing all 109.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroflot_accidents_and_incidents_in_the_1970s - http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19721001-0

1972 - Death of Alessandro Buzio, Italian WWI flying ace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alessandro_Buzio - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/italy/buzio.php

1973 - Death of Thomas Cathcart Traill, British WWI flying ace and WWII high ranking officer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Traill - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/traill2.php

1975 - 1st flight of The Bell Model 409/YAH-63, American experimental attack helicopter for the Advanced Attack Helicopter (AAH) competition.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_YAH-63

1976 - Death of George Stacey Hodson, British WWI flying ace and RAF WWII high ranking officer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Stacey_Hodson - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/hodson.php

1985 - Operation Wooden leg : 8 Israeli F-15 Eagles refuelled in mid-flight over the Mediterranean Sea by a Boeing 707, bombs the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) headquarters in Hammam al-Shatt, Tunisia, 12 miles from the capital of Tunis.

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

1986 - Death of Archie William League, American pilot, and licensed engine and aircraft mechanic, generally considered as the 1st air traffic controller.

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

1990 - Death of Curtis Emerson "Old Iron Pants", "Bombs Away" LeMay, USAF general credited with designing and implementing an effective, but also controversial, systematic strategic bombing campaign in the Pacific theater of WWII.

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

1994 - Shuttle by United, "airline within an airline" subsidiary of United Airlines, begins operations.

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

1995 – US Navy disbands Fighter Squadron 84 (VF-84), nicknamed the "Jolly Rogers".

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

2004 - Death of Frank Kendall "Pete" Everest Jr., USAF WWII fighter, aeroengineer and test pilot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Kendall_Everest,_Jr.

2005 - Launch of Soyuz TMA-7, transport mission for portions of the International Space Station (ISS).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_TMA-7

2010 - Launch of Chang'e 2, Chinese un-manned lunar probe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang%27e_2

2010 - JSC "Star1 Airlines", Lithuanian low cost airline, ceases operations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star1_Airlines

2010 - Death of Audouin Charles Dollfus, French astronomer and aeronaut.

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