OCT04

1918 - 1st flight of The Curtiss NC-1 (Navy Curtiss, nicknamed "Nancy boat" or "Nancy"), American 3 engine flying boat.

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

1922 - Death of Robert Charles Lyon Holme, British WWI flying ace, killed in a flying accident in Mesopotamia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Holme - http://theaerodrome.com/aces/england/holme.php

1924 - The Two-Seater Dual Control Light Aeroplane Competition ends at Lympne Aerodrome.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lympne_light_aircraft_trials#1924

1925 - 1st Annual Aerial Reliability Tour (Ford Reliability Tour) ends. The courseover 1900 miles with stops in 10 cities. 20 Entered, 17 Starters, 11 with a perfect score.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_National_Reliability_Air_Tour#1925_National_Air_Tour

1930 - 1st flight of the SPAD S-540, French parasol wing twin seat trainer prototype.

http://aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=131

1933 - French Jean Assolant and René Lefevre took off from Oran (Morocco) with the Bernard 81 GR 'Oiseau Canari II' in an attempt of a world distance record

http://aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=9544

1933 - Charles Kingsford Smith starts a flight in a Percival Gull IV , from Lympne Aerodrome to Darwin, Australia for a new solo flight record between England and Australia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percival_Gull#Racing_and_record-breaking

1938 - Birth of Vijaypat Singhania, Indian entrepreneur, balloonist and record setter.

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vijaypat_Singhania

1938 - 1st flight of The Dornier Do 217, German WWII twin engine bomber, powerful version of the Dornier Do 17.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dornier_Do_217

1942 - Birth of Karl Wendell Richter, USAF fighter pilot during the Vietnam War, youngest pilot in that conflict to shoot down a MiG in air-to-air combat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_W._Richter

1943 - During Operation Leader, aircraft from the American aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV-4) raid German shipping along the coast of Norway, sinking six steamers and damaging four others, including a transport on which about 200 German troops are killed.

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

1945 - 1st flight of the SNCASE SE-2100, French tailless, pusher configuration touring monoplane prototype with a single engine and cabin for two

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sud-Est_SE-2100 - http://aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=8023

1946 - The Boeing B-29B 'Pacusan Dreamboat' sets a world nonstop, unrefueled distance record of 9,500 miles on a flight from Honolulu to Cairo, Egypt.

http://www.boeing.com/history/chronology/chron07.html - http://b-29s-over-korea.com/B-29s-SetRecords/B-29s-SetRecords.html

1948 - Death of Arthur Whitten Brown, British navigator of the 1st successful non-stop transatlantic flight along with John Alcock.

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

1950 - Death of Emile Dubonnet, French industrialist, sportsman, racing driver and early aviator.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89mile_Dubonnet

1951 - 1st flight of the Brochet MB-80, French high wing twin seat sports aircraft with André Deschamps at controls.

http://aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=9762 - http://avions.brochet.free.fr/Histoire5.html

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brochet_MB-80

1953 - A de Havilland Comet IA of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) flies non-stop from Goose Bay in Labrador to London covering the 2,460 miles in 5 hours 56 minute

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/history-of-aviation-timeline/interactive-aviation-timeline/world-aviation/1953.aspx

1954 - 1st flight of the SIPA S-300R, French twin seat low wing turbojet trainer prototype, claimed to be the 1st of its kind anywhere

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIPA_S.300 - http://aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=1163

1957 - Launch of Sputnik 1, 1st artificial satellite to be put into Earth's orbit.

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

1957 - Birth of Gregory Thomas Linteris, American scientist and NASA astronaut.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_T._Linteris

1958 - Britain's national overseas airline BOAC becomes the 1st carrier to fly the Atlantic route by jet airliner with de Havilland DH 106 Comet 4.

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

1959 - Launch of Luna 3, Soviet space probe sent to the neighborhood of the Moon, 1st to photograph the Moon's hidden surface.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_3

1960 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 375, a Lockheed L-188 Electra, crashes after a bird strike on takeoff from Boston's Logan International Airport, killing 62 of 72 on board.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Air_Lines_Flight_375

1960 - Launch of Courier 1B, American satellite, world's 1st active repeater satellite.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courier_1B

1961 - Death of Frederick J. Wiseman, American racing driver and aviation pioneer who made the 1st air mail flight sanctioned by the US post office.

http://earlyaviators.com/ewiseman.htm

1962 - Death of Eduardo Aldasoro Suárez (Brother of Juan Pablo Aldasoro), Early mexican aviation pioneer and aircraft designer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldasoro_brothers - http://earlyaviators.com/ealdaedu.htm

1965 - Launch of Luna 7, (Lunik 7) Soviet unmanned space mission which intended to achieve a soft landing on the Moon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_7

1968 - 1st flight of The Tupolev Tu-154, Soviet three-engine medium-range narrow-body jet airliner.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_Tu-154

1972 - Death of James Henry Forman, Canadian WWI flying ace, and WWII instructor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Henry_Forman - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/canada/forman.php

1982 - Death of Leroy Randle "Roy" Grumman, American aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and industrialist, co-founder of Grumman Aeronautical Engineering Co. later to become Grumman Aerospace Corporation, now part of Northrop Grumman.

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

1984 - 61 year old Elaine Yadwin lands a Piper Cherokee Warrior II safely in Florida after her husband, the plane's pilot, dies during the flight.

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1985-06-06/news/8501220715_1_hugs-and-kisses-awards-ceremony-tape

1988 - Death of William Melville "Mel" Alexander, Canadian WWI fighter ace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Melville_Alexander - http://theaerodrome.com/aces/canada/alexander.php

1992 – El Al Flight 1862 Boeing 747-258F crashes into two apartment buildings in Amsterdam, killing 43 including 39 on the ground.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Al_Flight_1862

1998 - 1st (free) flight of the AD & D Hummingbird, american Lifting vehicle.

http://www.aviastar.org/helicopters_eng/add_platform.php

2001 – Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 Tupolev TU-154M crashes into the Black Sea after being struck by an errant Ukrainian S-200 missile. 78 people are killed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siberia_Airlines_Flight_1812

2004 – The Burt Rutan Ansari X Prize entry SpaceShipOne performs the 2nd successful spaceflight (X2 - Flight 17P) piloted piloted by Brian Binnie to 112 km, thus winning the prize.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceShipOne_flight_17P

2004 - Death of Leroy Gordon 'Gordo' Cooper, Jr. , American aeronautical engineer, test pilot and NASA astronaut, one of the seven original astronauts in Project Mercury, 1st manned space effort by the USA, 1st American to sleep in orbit, flew the longest spaceflight of the Mercury project, and was the last American to be launched alone into Earth orbit and conduct an entire solo orbital mission.

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

2006 - Death of František Fajtl, WWII Czech fighter pilot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franti%C5%A1ek_Fajtl - http://cieldegloire.com/002t_fajtl_f.php

2006 - Death of Walter Frame Gibb, British WWII flying ace and test pilot who twice held the world altitude record.

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

2007 - Africa One Antonov An-26 crashed and burned shortly after takeoff from N'djili Airport in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The aircraft lost a propeller, then a wing struck an obstacle, shearing the wing off prior to crashing, Striking a market before coming to rest at a residence, killing 51 (31 on ground).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Africa_One_Antonov_An-26_crash

2009 - Death of Bronislaw Zurakowski, Polish engineer, aeroplane constructor, and glider test pilot. He designed the 1st Polish helicopter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronis%C5%82aw_%C5%BBurakowski

2009 - Death of Günther Rall, German WWII fighter ace, 3rd most successful fighter ace in history, and Luftwaffe high ranking officer post War.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%BCnther_Rall - http://www.luftwaffe.cz/rall.html

2011 - Death of Kenneth Harry 'Ken' Dahlberg, American WWII fighter ace and businessman who was involved in the Watergate scandal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_H._Dahlberg - http://www.cieldegloire.com/014_dahlberg_k_h.php

2012 - The Edoardo Amaldi ATV, or Automated Transfer Vehicle 003 (ATV-003), European unmanned cargo resupply spacecraft, is deorbited and burns up in the Earth's atmosphere as planned.

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