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The Aviation Portal

A Boeing 747 in 1978 operated by Pan Am

Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. Aircraft includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as hot air balloons and airships.

Aviation began in the 18th century with the development of the hot air balloon, an apparatus capable of atmospheric displacement through buoyancy. Clément Ader built the "Ader Éole" in France and made an uncontrolled, powered hop in 1890. This is the first powered aircraft, although it did not achieve controlled flight. Some of the most significant advancements in aviation technology came with the controlled gliding flying of Otto Lilienthal in 1896; then a large step in significance came with the construction of the first powered airplane by the Wright brothers in the early 1900s. Since that time, aviation has been technologically revolutionized by the introduction of the jet which permitted a major form of transport throughout the world. (Full article...)

Selected article

United Airlines Flight 93 was a scheduled U.S. domestic passenger flight from Newark International Airport, in Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco International Airport. It was hijacked by four men as part of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Over 40 minutes into the flight the hijackers breached the cockpit, overpowered the pilots and took over control of the aircraft, diverting it toward Washington, D.C. Several passengers and crew members made telephone calls aboard the flight and learned about the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. As a result, the passengers decided to mount an assault against the hijackers and wrest control of the aircraft.

The plane crashed in a field just outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania, about 150 miles (240 km) northwest of Washington, D.C., killing all 44 people aboard, including the hijackers. Many witnessed the impact from the ground and news agencies began reporting on the event within an hour. The plane fragmented upon impact, leaving a crater, and some debris was blown miles from the crash site. The remains of everyone on board the aircraft were later identified. Subsequent analysis of the flight recorders revealed how the actions taken by the passengers prevented the aircraft from reaching either the White House or United States Capitol. A permanent memorial is planned for construction on the crash site. The chosen design has been the source of criticism and is scheduled to be dedicated in 2011. (Full article...)

Selected image

Credit: U.S. Air Force photo by TSgt Ben Bloker
Lt. Col. James Hecker (front) and Lt. Col. Evan Dertein line up their F/A-22 Raptor aircraft behind a KC-10 Extender to refuel while en route to Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Colonel Hecker commands the first operational Raptor squadron -- the 27th Fighter Squadron at Langley Air Force Base, Va. The unit went to Hill for operation Combat Hammer, the squadron's first deployment, Oct. 15. The deployment has a twofold goal: complete a deployment and to generate a combat-effective sortie rate away from home.

Did you know

...that British Airways unveiled a new corporate identity in 1997 which involved repainting its fleet with around 20 daring tailfin designs by world artists? ...that the fighter pilot Aleksandr Kazakov destroyed 32 German and Austro-Hungarian planes during WWI, while his formal tally of 17 is explained by the fact that only planes crashed in the Russian-held territory were officially counted? ... that the PZL SM-4 Łątka never flew, because its engine was not approved for use in flight?

More Did you know facts

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The following are images from various aviation-related articles on Wikipedia.

In the news

Wikinews Aviation portal
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Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Selected biography

Helmut Paul Emil Wick (5 August 1915 – 28 November 1940) was a German Luftwaffe ace and the fourth recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade, the Oak Leaves, was awarded by the Third Reich to recognise extreme bravery in battle or successful military leadership. It was Germany's highest military decoration at the time of its presentation to Helmut Wick.

Born in Mannheim, Wick joined the Luftwaffe in 1936 and was trained as a fighter pilot. He was assigned to Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" (JG 2—2nd Fighter Wing), and saw combat in the Battles of France and Britain. Promoted to Major in October 1940, he was given the position of Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of JG 2—the youngest in the Luftwaffe to hold this rank and position. He was shot down in the vicinity of the Isle of Wight on 28 November 1940 and posted as missing in action, presumed dead. By then he had been credited with destroying 56 enemy aircraft in aerial combat, making him the leading German fighter pilot at the time. Flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109, he claimed all of his victories against the Western Allies.

Selected Aircraft

Dash 8 300 landing at Bristol (UK)
Dash 8 300 landing at Bristol (UK)

The de Havilland Canada DHC-8, popularly the Dash 8, is a series of twin-turboprop airliners designed by de Havilland Canada in the early 1980s. They are now made by Bombardier Aerospace which purchased DHC from Boeing in 1992. Since 1996 the aircraft have been known as the Q Series, for "quiet", due to installation of the Active Noise and Vibration Suppression (ANVS) system designed to reduce cabin noise and vibration levels to near those of jet airliners.

Notable features of the Dash 8 design are the large T-tail intended to keep the tail free of propwash during takeoff, a very high aspect ratio wing, the elongated engine nacelles also holding the rearward-folding landing gear, and the pointed nose profile. First flight was in 1983, and the plane entered service in 1984 with NorOntair. Piedmont Airlines (formerly Henson Airlines) was the US launch customer for the Dash 8 in 1984.

The Dash 8 design had better cruise performance than the earlier Dash 7, was less expensive to operate, and more notably, much less expensive to maintain. The Dash 8 had the lowest costs per passenger mile of any feederliner of the era. The only disadvantage compared to the earlier Dash 7 was somewhat higher noise levels, but only in comparison as the Dash 7 was notable in the industry for extremely low noise due to its four very large and slow-turning propellers.

  • Length: 107 ft 9 in (32.84 m)
  • Wingspan: 93 ft 3 in (32.84 m)
  • Height: 27 ft 5 in (8.34 m)
  • Powerplant: 2× Pratt & Whitney Canada PW150A turboprops, 5,071 shp (3,781 kW) each
  • Cruise speed: 360 knots (414 mph, 667 km/h)
  • Maiden Flight: June 20, 1983

Today in Aviation

March 30

  • 2011 – Ten sailors are injured when an engine of a McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18C Hornet of VMFAT-101 based at MCAS Miramar, California, suffers a catastrophic failure while preparing for launch at 1450 hrs. during routine training exercises from the USS John C. Stennis, ~100 miles off the California coast. U.S. Navy Cmdr. Pauline Storum said that five of the injured are taken by helicopter to the shore, four to the Naval Medical Center, San Diego, and one to Scripps Institute at La Jolla, California. None of the injuries were considered life threatening but the fighter sustained damages over $1 million. The ensuing fire was quickly extinguished and the carrier itself was not damaged.
  • 2011 – After a sandstorm prevents strikes the previous day, coalition aircraft begin attacks against Libyan government forces around Ra's Lanuf and on the road to Uqayla.[1]
  • 2008 – Ten days after filing for bankruptcy protection, Aloha Airlines announces that the next day will be their final day of operations.
  • 2007 – Sudan Airways hijacking Flight 111, an Airbus A300 flying from Tripoli, Libya to Khartoum, Sudan, is hijacked by a man demanding to go to South Africa. He enters the cockpit an hour and a half into the flight while holding a knife and is convinced to allow the plane to land in Khartoum anyway for fuel. After several hours of negotiations, he surrenders, and all 284 on the aircraft leave safely.
  • 2006 – Marcos Pontes becomes the first Brazilian astronaut in space.
  • 2004 – Two AH-1W SuperCobras 163947 and 164595 of HMLA-775 collide near Al Taqaddum, Iraq; pilots rescued. Both helicopters destroyed.
  • 2003 – UH-1N Huey 160620 of HMLA-169 crashes; three die.[2]
  • 2000 – An Avialinii ARR Antonov An-26 (UR-79170) chartered by the Sri Lankan Air Force carrying soldiers injured during fighting with Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels crashes in Sir Lanka. Reports indicate the aircraft may have reported engine troubles shortly before the crash. All 40 on the aircraft are killed.
  • 1992 – An Aviaco Douglas DC-9-32 (EC-BYH) crashes on landing at Granada Airport in Spain. With an 11-knot tailwind, the aircraft lands hard, bouncing back into the air and landing almost 1,200ft further down the runway. All of the tires burst and the fuselage breaks into two pieces. There are no fatalities among the 99 aboard.
  • 1992 – An Aeroflot Antonov An-26 (CCCP-26154) crashes in Swarupnagar, India due to fuel exhaustion. Making their way to their destination of Calcutta, the pilots advise ATC of their minimum fuel situation, which controllers do not offer proper guidance nor assistance for. The aircraft strays away from its flight path, becomes lost and is forced to land nearly 30 miles from their destination. There is only 7 crew on the aircraft, and all are able to survive, though the aircraft is written off.
  • 1982 – Landing: Space shuttle Columbia STS-3 at 16:04:46 UTC. Mission highlights: Shuttle R&D flight, first and only landing at White Sands, New Mexico.
  • 1967 – Delta Airlines Flight 9877, a training flight for pilots on a Douglas DC-8-51 N802E, crashes in New Orleans, Louisiana after simulating a dual engine failure landing. The aircraft strikes power lines half a mile from the airport and crashes into a residential area. In addition to the 6 on the aircraft, 13 are killed on the ground. The fatalities include 8 girls who burned to death after their motel became engulfed with flames from jet fuel after they huddled in the shower and turned the water on to try to protect themselves.
  • 1964 – Former Astronaut John Glenn bows out of the Ohio senate race after a concussion received while hitting his head in the bathtub leaves him unable to campaign.
  • 1963 – An Itavia Douglas DC-3 (I-TAVI) crashes into a mountain in Sora, Italy while trying to navigate through poor weather. Low ceilings force the aircraft to descend to maintain visual contact, which then becomes lost. All 11 occupants on the aircraft are killed.
  • 1961 – A Boeing B-52G-125-BW Stratofortress, 59-2576, c/n 464339, of the 341st Bombardment Squadron, 4038th Strategic Wing, Dow Air Force Base, Maine, explodes in flight at 2115 hrs. with the wreckage falling near Denton, North Carolina. Debris was scattered over a ten-mile (16 km) area, setting fires in woods and fields. Of eight crew, only six have ejection seats, only five eject and only two survive. Dead are Capt. William D. McMullen, 36, commander/pilot, Bad Axe, Michigan; Capt. William W. Farmer, 29, co-pilot, Wilson, North Carolina; Capt. Robert M. Morgenroth, 31, radar navigator, Christiana, Pennsylvania; Capt. George W. Beale, 34, competition observer, Bowling Green, Virginia; Sgt. James H. Fults, 29, instructor gunner, Tracy City, Tennessee; and A1C Robert N. Gaskey, 28, Providence, Rhode Island. The survivors are Major Wilbur F. Minnich, 40, Des Plaines, Illinois; and 1st Lt. Glen C. Farnham, 25, electronics warfare officer, Loveland, Texas. The survivors bailed out at 50,000 feet (15,000 m) and landed six to seven miles (11 km) away from the crash site. Maj. Minnich, the navigator, suffered a dislocated arm when he bailed out. Lt. Farnham complained of back pains but was apparently unhurt. There were no nuclear weapons on board the bomber. Minutes before the explosion the plane had attempted to make contact with a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker jet tanker to be refuelled in flight. Col. Oscar V. Jones, commander of the 4241st Strategic Air Command Wing at Seymour Johnson AFB, Goldsboro, North Carolina, stated that the bomber was in "the observation position 100 to 200 feet behind and below the tanker just before the explosion, but never made contact." Col. Jones arrived at the site before dawn today [31 March] to take charge of operations.
  • 1955 – 405 Squadron took delivery two of the RCAF’s P2 V Neptunes.
  • 1954 – A Fairchild C-119F-FA Flying Boxcar, 51-2679, c/n 10668, careens into a US Army mess hall and explodes after crash-landing in a parade field at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, United States, killing five aboard the plane and two inside the building.
  • 1951 – Flight-Lieutenant Omer Levesque shot down a North Korean MiG-15 fighter aircraft in combat while attached to the United States Air Force, he became the first Canadian pilot to score a jet-to-jet victory in the Korean War.
  • 1944 – (30–31) Carrier aircraft of U. S. Navy Task Force 58 strike the Palau Islands. For the first time in the Pacific, carrier-based aircraft lay naval mines during the strikes.
  • 1944 – (30–31) The U. S. Army Air Forces‘ Fifth Air Force launches its first large daylight strike, attacking Japanese airfields in the Hollandia area on New Guinea, using 80 B-24 Liberators and 59 P-38 Lightnings the first day and similar strnegth the second day. They catch most of the Japanese planes in the area parked on the ground and claim 199 of them destroyed
  • 1944 – (March 30–31) RAF Bomber Command raid on Nuremberg on 30-31 March 1944 resulted in the highest number of aircrew losses for any single air mission in World War 2. Out of 779 bombers sent to attack 105 did not return. 534 airmen took their last steps from British airbases on that night with a further 157 being captured or taken prisoner.
  • 1939 – Hans Dieterle sets a new airspeed record in a Heinkel He 100 of 746 km/h (464 mph).
  • 1937 – The CAC Wirraway, the Australian version of the North American NA-16, makes its maiden flight.
  • 1934 – While on landing approach to Davenport, Iowa, Lt. Thurmond Wood, flying U.S. Mail in a Curtiss A-12 Shrike, enters a severe thunderstorm. Attempting to reverse course, he loses control and spins in, with fatal result.
  • 1930 – Western Canada Airways inaugurated the Prairie Air Mail Route.
  • 1928 – Mario di Bernardi sets a new airspeed record – The first over 300 mph (483 km/h). He flies a Macchi M.52bis.
  • 1928 – A resident of Zehden, Germany, Samuel Schwartz, asks German airline Deutsche Luft Hansa (DLH) for rent for the airspace above his house, citing law that says his rights extend to the “space above and the ground beneath” his property.

References

  1. ^ Staff (29 March 2011). "Libya Live Blog – 30 March". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
  2. ^ "Brothers Killed in Action in USMC Helicopters or while assigned to USMC Helicopter Squadrons in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM". Retrieved 2010-07-16.
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