Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
October 10, 2012 A major milestone for Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer’s short- to medium-range E-Jets took place when the 900th of those twin-engined jet airliners to be designed and produced was delivered to Kenya Airways. This particular type of E-Jet is formally known as the E-190. Along with acknowledging the numerical significance of the 900th... Continue Reading →
July 11, 2005 On the north end of the island of Montserrat – a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean Sea – an airport in the village of Gerald’s first went into service. The formal opening of this airport took place nearly five months after it had been dedicated by Anne, Princess Royal, daughter of... Continue Reading →
March 26, 1931 Swissair, which would become Switzerland’s national airline, was officially established. This airline was formed from a merger between two other Swiss airlines -- Ad Astra Aero (dating back to 1919) and Balair (founded in 1925). One of Swissair’s founders was renowned aviation pioneer Walter Mittelholzer (1894-1937), whose key airborne accomplishments included making the... Continue Reading →
For nearly four decades now, Michael P. Huerta has served in a wide range of high-ranking transportation roles. In a 2011 speech at the National Hispanic Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees Annual Training Conference, Huerta addressed not only those professional achievements but also the prejudicial treatment he sometimes encountered early on in life as a... Continue Reading →
July 28, 2006 In the Republic of Ecuador, the inaugural flight at a terminal for an international airport took place. This airport is located three miles (five kilometers) north of the central part of Guayaquil, which is second only to the Ecuadorian capital of Quito as the country’s largest city. (Guayaquil also has the distinction... Continue Reading →
June 16, 1941 In the Washington, D.C., area, Washington National Airport (now formally known as Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport) first went into service. “Washington Airport Opened to Air Lines Without Ceremonies,” stated a headline in that day’s edition of the Baltimore Sun. This federally owned and operated airport was preceded by two privately owned... Continue Reading →
On June 6, 1980, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Brenda E. Robinson earned her Wings of Gold at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi in Texas. This made her the first black woman to become a U.S. naval aviator. The following year, Robinson made history again when she became the first black woman certified for C-1A carrier... Continue Reading →
June 14, 1995 An airport was officially opened on Greece’s Ikaria Island, which is located in the Aegean Sea. More specifically, Ikaria Island National Airport Ikaros is near the village of Faros on the eastern end of the island. The airport’s manager is Athanasios Kritikos. Two Greek airlines now use Ikaria Island National Airport Ikaros... Continue Reading →
March 25, 1992 A new airport in the Republic of Malta, a country consisting of an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea, first became fully operational. This airport is in the town of Luqa, which is only 3.1 miles (five kilometers) southwest of Malta’s capital of Valletta. The specific island on which the airport is located... Continue Reading →
January 20, 1959 The first flight of the British short-to-medium-range turborprop airliner Vickers Vanguard took place in the skies above southeastern England. This plane was designed and built by the British aircraft manufacturer Vickers-Armstrongs. The chief test pilot for the Vanguard’s maiden flight was E.R. “Jock” Bryce. A 1955 article in the Melbourne-based Age newspaper characterized... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 