Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
May 23, 1848 Aviation pioneer Otto Lilienthal was born in the town of Anklam in what was then the Kingdom of Prussia (now part of the Federal Republic of Germany). Lilienthal would be called everything from the “Glider King” to “The Father of Flight” for his efforts to make human aviation much more of a reality... Continue Reading →
Mara Huling Langevin made history as the first Asian American female -- as well as the first female of any minority -- to become a U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) aviator. “I never thought about being the first of anything,” she said in a 2021 interview with the USCG’s news service MyCG. “All I wanted to... Continue Reading →
May 8, 1913 Two U.S. Navy aviators undertook a record-setting plane flight that began in Washington, D.C. These men were 28-year-old Lieutenant John Henry Towers, chief of the fledgling Naval Aviation Corps that was based at a camp near the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland; and 24-year-old Ensign Godfrey de Courcelles Chevalier, a student... Continue Reading →
May 4, 1964 Geraldine "Jerrie" Mock, less than three weeks after becoming the first woman to fly solo around the world, was awarded the Federal Aviation Agency's Decoration for Exceptional Service by President Lyndon B. Johnson. This presentation took place in the Rose Garden at the White House. The 38-year-old Mock, in circumnavigating the globe... Continue Reading →
May 2, 1952 The world’s first regular jetliner service made officially made its debut when a De Havilland DH 106 Comet operated by British Overseas Airways Corporation departed London, England, for Johannesburg, South Africa. “This trip officially established a radically new mode of travel that in this decade will become commonplace,” predicted Aubrey O. Cookman, Jr.,... Continue Reading →
April 27, 1952 The airborne ambulance service known today as Rega -- and also called Swiss Air-Rescue -- was established during the ninth annual meeting of the Swiss Rescue Association (SRA). The SRA delegates in attendance at that meeting, which took place in the municipality of Twann in west-central Switzerland, formally approved creating the Swiss... Continue Reading →
Aviation pioneer Helen Hodge was one of the first American women to earn a pilot’s license. She was born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1892, and received her secondary school education at Brownell Hall (now Brownell-Talbot School) in that city. By 1909, Hodge and her family had moved to Oakland, California. Over time, both Hodge and... Continue Reading →
March 23, 2012 The newly renovated version of Jalgaon Airport in India was formally inaugurated. This domestic airport is located southeast of the city of Jalgaon in the state of Maharashtra in India’s western peninsular region. (Maharashtra is the second-most populous state of India and the country’s third-largest state by area.) Jalgaon Airport was opened... Continue Reading →
March 14, 2018 In the Republic of the Philippines, an inaugural ceremony was held for a newly renovated and expanded passenger terminal building at Tuguegarao Airport. This airport serves the city of Tuguegarao, the capital of the province of Cagayan at the northern tip of Luzon (the country’s largest and most populous island). Tuguegarao Airport,... Continue Reading →
March 8, 1946 A major milestone in aviation history took place when the Bell 47 became the world’s first helicopter certified for commercial use. This first-of-a-kind certificate was issued for the Bell 47 by the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA), forerunner to the present-day Federal Aviation Administration. The Bell 47 was a single-rotor, single-engine light helicopter manufactured... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 