Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
June 27, 1923 The first-ever transfer of fuel from one aircraft to another during flight took place between two Airco DH-4B planes of the U.S. Army Air Service in the skies above the San Diego area. The plane piloted by Captain Lowell H. Smith (with Lieutenant John P. Richter on board) received that mid-air refueling via... Continue Reading →
June 11, 1910 Cerchez & Co., the first aircraft company in Romania, was formally inaugurated. (At this time, the present-day republic of Romania was still a kingdom.) Cerchez & Co. was located in the town of Chitilia, which is near Romania’s capital and largest city of Bucharest. This company was owned and operated by lawyer... Continue Reading →
June 5, 1927 Under the command of Brazilian aviator João Ribeiro de Barros, the Savoia-Marchetti S.55 hydroplane known as Jahú first touched down on the South American mainland as part of its long-distance flight across much of the South Atlantic. This aircraft landed at the city of Natal in northeastern Brazil 38 days after departing... Continue Reading →
May 16, 1929 The first-ever “Best Picture” Oscar went to a movie about planes. Wings, which was also the only silent movie to win that award, told the story of two men who are in love with the same woman and end up becoming fighter pilots in World War I. The actors who played these men... 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 →
March 21, 1999 The first nonstop flight around the world by balloon came to an end in western Egypt. The pilots and sole passengers for this record-setting journey were 41-year-old psychiatrist Bertrand Piccard and 51-year-old English balloonist and former Royal Air Force pilot Brian Jones. They landed the helium-and-hot-air balloon, which was named in honor... Continue Reading →
August 29, 1931 New Haven Municipal Airport in south-central Connecticut was formally opened to great fanfare. This public airport is three miles (4.8 kilometers) southeast east of the downtown section of the city of New Haven. Groundbreaking ceremonies for this airport had taken place on November 11, 1929. The Hartford Courant featured a front-page article... Continue Reading →
August 16, 1974 In the Republic of South Africa, Lanseria International Airport in the province of Gauteng was officially opened. This airport is located to the northwest of Johannesburg, the largest city in South Africa. Those taking part in the inauguration of Lanseria International Airport included Hannes Rall, the county’s minister of transport at that... 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 →
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 →
Transportation History 