AUG08

1709 - 1st known ascent in a hot-air balloon was made in Portugal by Father Bartolomeu de Gusmão - indoors - as a demonstration before the Portuguese court

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartolomeu_de_Gusm%C3%A3o - http://www.manresa-sj.org/stamps/1_Gusmao.htm

1894 - Birth of John Charles Bradley Firth, British WWI flying ace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._B._Firth - http://theaerodrome.com/aces/england/firth.php

1895 - Birth of Jean Marie Dominique Navarre, French WWI flying ace and test pilot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Navarre - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/france/navarre.php - http://navarre-jean.com/

1901 - Santos Dumont dirigible No 5 lost hydrogen gas. It started to descend and was unable to clear the roof of the Trocadero Hotel. A large explosion was then heard. Santos-Dumont survived the explosion and was left hanging in a basket from the side of the hotel. With the help of the crowd he climbed to the roof without injury.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santos-Dumont_number_6

1901 – Wilbur Wright achieves a flight of 389 feet (118.5 m) at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in the Wright 1901 glider.

http://invention.psychology.msstate.edu/i/Wrights/1901.html

1908 - 1st european flight with the Wright Flyer using stick controls is made by Wilbur Wright at the Hunaudières horse racing track near the town of Le Mans, France

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_brothers#Public_showing

1909 - Birth of Leonid Illarionovich Ivanov, Soviet WWII flying ace who also served during the Finnish-Soviet Winter War.

http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/soviet_ivanov2.htm

1910 - Géo Chavez achieved fame after attaining an altitude of 1,647 meters (5,405 ft) with a Blériot XI Monoplane.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge_Ch%C3%A1vez

1910 – The US Army installs the 1st tricycle landing gear on the Army's Wright Flyer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:United_States/Anniversaries/August/August_8

1911 - Birth of Philippe de Scitivaux de Greische, French WWII fighter pilot.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippe_de_Scitivaux - http://cieldegloire.com/004_de_scitivaux_p.php

1917 - 1st flight of the Zeppelin LZ-100 (L 53), German WWI dirigible

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Zeppelins#Zeppelins_constructed_during_World_War_I

1918 - Major Archibald Stuart Maclaren and Brigadier General Aymas Eden Borton lands their Handley Page O/400 in Heliopolis, Egypt, 1st flight from Britain (Cranwell) to Egypt.

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/history-of-aviation-timeline/interactive-aviation-timeline/british-civil-aviation/1918.aspx

1918 - Death of Eric Guy Brookes, British WWI flying ace, killed in action in his Sopwith Camel.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Brookes - http://theaerodrome.com/aces/england/brookes.php

1918 - Death of Michael Edward Gonne, British WWI flying ace, killed in action in his Sopwith Camel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Gonne - http://theaerodrome.com/aces/england/gonne.php

1918 - Death of Kenneth Charles Mills, British WWI flying ace, killed in his S.E.5a while dogfighting 5 Fokker D.VIIs.

http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/mills2.php

1918 - WWI german flying ace Alfons Scheicher scores 4 victories on that single day.

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

1924 – U.S. Navy dirigible USS Shenandoah (ZR-1) docks with the airship tender USS Patoka (AO-9) while the latter is underway, showing that airships could operate from support ships far out to sea.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Shenandoah_(ZR-1)#Flight_across_North_America - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Patoka_(AO-9)

1927 - 1st flight of the Bristol 101, British two-seat biplane fighter prototype.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Type_101

1928 - The Couzinet 27 'Arc en ciel' II, French low-wing monoplane with a fixed tailwheel landing gear mailplane prototype, (a Couzinet 10 converted), crashed killing mechanic André Lanet. The pilot Maurice Drouhin passed away 2 days later from his injuries.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couzinet_70#Variants - http://aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=9492

http://www.airmemorialcreusois.fr/IMG/pdf/1_-_lannet_georges__bio_.pdf

1929 - LZ-127 'Graf_Zeppelin' leaves Lakehurst Naval Air Station, NJ for a "Round-the-World" flight.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LZ_127_Graf_Zeppelin#Round-the-world_flight

1930 - End of the International Touring Competition in Berlin, won by German Fritz Morzik with a BFW M.23c. It consisted of two parts: a circuit over Europe and technical trials. Since one of the aims of the Challenge was to generate a progress in aircraft designing, it was not only pilots' competition, but technical trials also included a construction evaluation, to build more advanced and reliable touring planes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenge_1930

1934 - 1st flight of The Tupolev ANT-22 (also known as the MK-1) Soviet large flying boat consisting of two hulls and powered by six engines in three nacelles in a push-pull configuration.

http://www.aviastar.org/air/russia/ant-22.php

1934 - James Ayling and Leonard Reid takes off for the 1st non-stop flight from Canada to England, in a de Havilland DH.84.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Aviation/Historical_anniversaries/August_in_aviation/August_8

1935 - 1st flight of the Morane-Saulnier MS 405, french fighter prototype which will lead to the MS 406.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morane-Saulnier_M.S.406 - http://aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=10105

1935 - 1st flight of the Carden-Baynes Auxiliary, British motor glider, 1st motor glider with a retractable engine and propeller (known as the Abbott-Baynes Scud III when engineless).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carden-Baynes_Auxiliary

1939 - Death of Saburo Kimura, Japanese soviet and sino-Japanese war flying ace, from wounds sustained in action.

http://arawasi-wildeagles.blogspot.fr/2012/05/nomonhan-1.html

1940 - Birth of Dennis Anthony Tito, Italian American engineer and multimillionaire, most widely known as the 1st space tourist to fund his own trip into space

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

1941 - 15 Ilyushin DB-3T torpedo bombers of the Baltic Fleet dropped the 1st Soviet bombs on Berlin at night.

http://rusnavy.com/history/ma1.htm?print=Y - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilyushin_DB-3#Operational_history

1942 - U.S. Marines capture the partially completed Japanese airstrip on Guadalcanal, which will become Henderson Field, focal point of the 6-month Guadalcanal campaign.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guadalcanal_Campaign#Landings

1944 - 1st flight of the VL Humu, Finnish fighter aircraft, designed by the State Aircraft Factory (Valtion lentokonetehdas) , based on the American Brewster F2A design

http://www.aviastar.org/air/finland/vl_humu.php

1944 - 1st flight of The Junkers Ju 287, German flying testbed built to develop the technology required for a multi-engine jet bomber. Powered by four Junkers Jumo 004 engines, it featured a revolutionary forward-swept wing and was built largely from scavenged components from other aircraft.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junkers_Ju_287

1946 - 1st flight of The Convair B-36 "Peacemaker", US strategic bomber and the largest mass-produced piston engine aircraft ever made. It had the longest wingspan of any combat aircraft ever built (230 ft or 70 m), although there have been larger military transports.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convair_B-36

1947 - 1st flight of the Morane-Saulnier M.S.475 Vanneau V, evolution of the MS.470, French two-seat basic trainer for the French Air Force.

http://www.aviastar.org/air/france/morane_ms-470.php - http://aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=913

1948 - Birth of Viktor Georgiyevich Pugachyov, Russian test pilot who was the 1st to show the so called Pugachev's Cobra maneuver of Su-27 to the general public.

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

1948 - Birth of Svetlana Yevgenyevna Savitskaya, Soviet female aviator and cosmonaut.

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

1948 - Death of Frederick Walker Baldwin, also known as Casey Baldwin, Canadian engineer, hydrofoil and aviation pioneer, 1st Canadian to pilot an heavier-than-air flying machine.

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

1955 - Shortly before launch from JTB-29A mothership (B-50 Superfortress, variant of the B-29), the Bell X-1A suffered low-order explosion, later traced to detonation of Ulmer leather gaskets, 1st of many early X-planes that would be lost to explosions. Pilot Joseph Walker exited into B-29 bomb bay.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_X-1#X-1A - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_X-1A_flights

1957 - Mikoyan-Gurevich Ye-50/3, Soviet swept-wing, experimental high-altitude interceptor, crashed after engine exploded, Test pilot N. A. Korovin is killed as the escape system failed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-21_variants#Development_and_Preproduction_-_Generation_Zero_.281954.E2.80.931956.29

1965 - Death of Paul Thayer Iaccaci, American WWI fighter ace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Iaccaci - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/usa/iaccaci2.php

1966 - The 1st Bell X-22, American V/STOL X-plane prototype with four tilting ducted fans, crashed Due to failure of a prop control.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_X-22#Operational_history

1967 - 1st flight of The Boeing 737-200 with a lenghtened fuselage, american medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_737#Production_and_testing

1970 - Death of Pierre Théodore Weiss, French military aviator, raid pilot and French air force High ranking officer.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Weiss_(aviateur)

1975 - Japan Air Lines establishes Japan Asia Airways as a subsidiary.

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

1977 - Salyut 5 (OPS-3), 3rd and last Almaz reconnaissance space station to be launched for the Soviet military, is deorbited and breaks up as it reenter the Earth's atmosphere.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salyut_5

1982 - 1st flight of The Cessna 208 Caravan, American single turboprop engine, fixed-gear short-haul regional airliner and utility aircraft

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_208_Caravan

1986 - 1st flight of The British Aerospace EAP, British technology demonstrator aircraft developed as a private venture, which eventually formed the basis for the Eurofighter Typhoon.

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

1989 – Launch of STS-28 Mission. Space Shuttle Columbia takes off on a secret five-day military mission.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-28

1989 - 1st flight of The Sikorsky HH-60J Jayhawk, US multi-mission, twin-engine, medium-range helicopter operated by the United States Coast Guard for search and rescue, law enforcement, military readiness and marine environmental protection missions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikorsky_HH-60_Jayhawk

1989 - Launch of Hipparcos (an acronym for "High precision parallax collecting satellite"), scientific mission of the European Space Agency (ESA), devoted to precision astrometry.

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

1991 - Death of James Benson Irwin, American test pilot, astronaut and engineer. He served as Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 15, the fourth human lunar landing; he was the eighth person to walk on the Moon.

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

1992 - STS-46, NASA space shuttle mission Atlantis, is back on earth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-46

1995 - Death of Herbert Ihlefeld, German fighter ace of Spanish war and WWII.

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

2001 - Launch of The Genesis, NASA spacecraft, sample for a return mission which collected a sample of solar wind and returned it to Earth for analysis. It was the 1st to return material from beyond the orbit of the Moon.

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

2002 - Rico Linhas Aéreas Flight 4823 Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia crashed in heavy rain on approach to Rio Branco 1.5 km from the airport after entering a rainstorm, killing 23 over 34.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rico_Linhas_A%C3%A9reas_Flight_4823

2007 - Launch of STS-118, space shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by the orbiter Endeavour, 1st flight of an Mission Specialist Educator.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-118 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educator_Astronaut_Project

2007 - Virgin America, Inc., United States-based airline, begins operations.

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

2009 - A private Piper PA-32R-300 Cherokee Lance right wing crashed into Eurocopter AS350 of Liberty Helicopter Sightseeing Tours, severing the right wing of the airplane and multiple rotor blades from the helicopter over the Hudson River near Frank Sinatra Park in Hoboken, New Jersey, Killing all 6.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Hudson_River_mid-air_collision