Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
In 1922, Brazilian airplane pilot Anésia Pinheiro Machado was granted Brevet No. 77 from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (the international regulatory organization for flying). This certification, which was specifically given to Machado by Aeroclube do Brasil, made her only the second licensed female pilot in Brazil. (The first woman in Brazil to earn such a... Continue Reading →
March 6, 1965 Commander James R. Williford and his crew took off from the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Hornet on a record-setting non-stop helicopter flight across the country. The Sikorsky SH-3A Sea King helicopter was named Dawdling Dromedary, and Williford, Lieutenant David A. Beil, and Aviation Machinist Mate 1st Class Paul J. Bert began... Continue Reading →
March 3, 1970 With the inauguration of a new terminal and other recently completed infrastructure, the airport in the town and municipality of San Bartolomé on Lanzarote – the northernmost and easternmost of the seven Canary Islands – was opened to a significantly higher-than-before number of civilian domestic and international flights. This increase in regular... Continue Reading →
In 1910, transportation pioneer Marie Marvingt was formally recognized by the French Academy of Sports for her wide range of accomplishments in sporting activities. The gold medal that was presented to Marvingt on this occasion would be the only one ever given by the academy for more than one sport. “Swimming, cycling, mountain climbing, ballooning, flying,... Continue Reading →
February 25, 1985 In Australia, a major milestone for Kendell Airlines took place when that record-setting regional airline in Australia, added the twin-engine turboprop aircraft Saab 340 to its fleet. These 34-seat civilian planes, which had made their public debut only two years earlier, were built by the Swedish aerospace and defense company Saab AB... Continue Reading →
February 18, 1911 The world’s first official mail delivery via airplane took place in the northern area of the present-day Republic of India. At the time, this region of India was under British rule as part of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. French pilot Henri Pequet, who happened to be in the city... Continue Reading →
February 3, 1991 In Albania, the Directory General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) was established in the country’s capital city of Tirana. DGCA, which is now known as the Albanian Civil Aviation Authority (AAC), was put into place to monitor and manage Albania’s dramatic growth in air traffic at a time when the country was starting... Continue Reading →
January 31, 1980 A new international airport officially began operations in the south-central area of El Salvador. This facility – originally called Cuscatlan International Airport – is located in the municipality of San Luis Salvador, which is about 26 miles (42 kilometers) from the country’s capital city of San Salvador. The first flight for the... Continue Reading →
January 7, 1911 Just over seven years after the Wright Brothers’ pioneering flight at Kitty Hawk, the first bulk delivery of newspapers via a plane took place in California. French barnstorming pilot Didier Masson agreed to transport several bundles of the Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles to San Bernardino. The bundles were strapped to the... Continue Reading →
January 6, 2011 The Philippines-based airline Cebu Pacific (CEB) achieved a major milestone by flying its 50 millionth passenger. CEB, which in 2010 had become the Philippines’ largest airline based on the number of passengers flown on both domestic and international routes, began operations in 1996. The airline’s 50 millionth passenger was Harold Toifl, who... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 