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The Aviation Portal

A Boeing 747 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 craft 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. 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...)

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Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive sport where pilots fly un-powered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes. Properly, the term gliding refers to descending flight of a heavier-than-air craft, whereas soaring is the correct term to use when the craft gains altitude or speed from rising air. After launching glider pilots search for rising air to gain height. If conditions are good enough, experienced pilots can fly many hundreds, or even thousands, of kilometers before returning to their home airfields. However if the weather deteriorates, they must often land elsewhere, but some can avoid this by using engines. While many glider pilots merely enjoy the sense of achievement, some competitive pilots fly in races round pre-defined courses. These competitions test the pilots' abilities to make best use of local weather conditions as well as their flying skills. Local and national competitions are organized in many countries and there are also biennial World Gliding Championships. Powered aircraft or winches are the most common methods of launching gliders. These and other methods (apart from self-launching motor-gliders) require assistance from other participants. Gliding clubs have thus been established to share airfields and equipment, train new pilots and maintain high safety standards. (Full article...)

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Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Bell 206 Jetranger helicopter

Did you know

...that Chris Phatswe committed suicide by crashing his Air Botswana plane into two other planes belonging to the airline, effectively crippling operations?

Aichi D1A

... that on 28 May 1931, a Bellanca CH-300 fitted with a Packard DR-980 diesel engine set a 55-year record for staying aloft for 84 hours and 32 minutes without being refueled?

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

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Wikinews Aviation portal
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Selected biography

Billy Mitchell (1879–1936) was an early aviation pioneer who rose to become a chief of the U.S. Army Air Service. Mitchell was born in Nice, France and raised on his family estate near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He attended George Washington University before enlisting in the Army at age 18 during the Spanish–American War. Due to his family connection he quickly received a commission Signal Corps where he had the opportunity to witness a flight demonstration by the Wright brothers in 1908. In 1916 he took private flight lessons and was transferred to the Aeronautical Division.

Mitchell deployed to France in 1917 when the United States entered World War I. While there he was promoted to brigadier general and placed in command American combat air units in France. After the war Mitchell was appointed the deputy director of the Air Service became a passionate advocate of air power. In 1921 he set up a demonstration to show the capability of airpower against naval vessels. During the course of the demonstrations aircraft successfully sank a captured German destroyer, the light crusier Frankfurt, and the battleship Ostfriesland.

Mitchell regularly sparred with his superiors over the role of airpower in the military. In 1925 he was reverted to his permanent rank of colonel and was transferred to San Antonio, Texas. Later that year, after a series of aviation accidents he accused Army and Navy leadership of incompetence and "almost treasonable administration of the national defense." In response he was court-martialed for insubordination, found guilty, and sentenced to a five-year suspension from active duty. Mitchell resigned on 1 February 1926 in lieu of serving the sentence. He continued to advocate airpower as a civilian until his death in 1936. In 1942 President Franklin Roosevelt posthumously promoted Mitchell to major general in recognition of his contributions to air power.

Selected Aircraft

The Beechcraft King Air is a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by the Beech Aircraft Corporation (now the Beechcraft Division of Hawker Beechcraft). The King Air has been in continuous production since 1964, the longest production run of any civilian turboprop aircraft. It has outlasted all of its previous competitors and as of 2006 is one of only two twin-turboprop business airplanes in production (the other is the Piaggio Avanti).

Historically, the King Air family comprises a number of models that fall into four families, the Model 90 series, Model 100 series, Model 200 series, and Model 300 series. The last two types were originally marketed as the Super King Air, but the "Super" moniker was dropped in 1996. As of 2006, the only small King Air in production is the conventional-tail C90GT.

  • Span: 50 ft 3 in (15.33 m)
  • Length: 35 ft 6in (10.82 m)
  • Height: 14 ft 3 in (4.35 m)
  • Engines: 2 × Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-21 turboprops , 550 shp (410 kW) each
  • Cruising Speed: 284 mph (247 knots ,457 km/h)
  • First Flight: May 1963
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Today in Aviation

July 14

  • 2013 – Pakistan Air Force jets bomb at least seven Islamist militant hideouts in Pakistan, killing at least 17 insurgents and injuring at least 13.[1]
  • 2009 – Airfast Indonesia, Garuda Indonesia, Mandala Airlines and Premiair are removed from the European Commission blacklist.
  • 2007 – An OH-58 Kiowa 95-0002 crashes into power lines in Mosul, killing the pilot and injuring the copilot.[2]
  • 2004 – (14-20) The 14th FAI World Rally Flying Championship in Herning, Denmark. Individual winners: 1. Jiří Filip & Michal Filip (Czech), 2. František Cihlář & Milos Fiala (Czech), 3. Krzysztof Wieczorek & Krzysztof Skrętowicz (Poland); team winners: 1. Czech Republic, 2. Poland, 3. France.
  • 1996 – NATO Boeing E-3B Sentry AWACS, LX-N90457, c/n 22852, ex-79-0457, overruns runway into sea on take-off from Preveza AFB, Preveza, Greece. Fuselage breaks in two, but no casualties among crew of 16. Aircraft had rolled out at Boeing Renton, Washington plant on 21 April 1984, first flown 5 June 1984. Delivered to NATO on 19 December 1984 after AEW suite fitted out by Dornier.
  • 1982 – First flight of the Harbin Y-12, Chinese high wing twin-engine turboprop utility aircraft.
  • 1960 – Lockheed U-2A, 56-6720, Article 387, the 27th airframe of the first USAF production batch, delivered in October 1957 and assigned to the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, Laughlin AFB, Texas, as a "ferret" aircraft, crashes this date in the early morning ~30 miles NE of Laughlin. Pilot Maj. Raleigh Myers experiences an oxygen fire in the cockpit after a pressure-reducing switch fails, ignited by the 24-volt power supply line to the switch. He bails out at 24,000 feet (7,300 m), escaping safely. The oxygen supply system is subsequently redesigned.
  • 1955 – Vought F7U-3 Cutlass, BuNo 129595, 'D 412', of VF-124, suffers ramp strike on landing aboard USS Hancock during carrier qualifications off of the California coast, disintegrating airframe spins off portside; pilot LCDR Jay Alkire, USNR, executive officer of VF-124, killed when airframe sinks, still strapped into ejection seat; also killed are two boatswain's mates, one photographers mate, in port catwalk by burning fuel. Dramatic footage shot from port catwalk exists showing burning fighter going over the side. Footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CT670dAzfo
  • 1954 – First prototype Handley Page Victor bomber, WB771, is lost when the tailplane detaches while making a low-level pass over the runway at Cranfield, causing the aircraft to crash with the loss of the crew. Attached to the fin using three bolts, the tailplane was subject to considerably more stress than had been anticipated and the three bolts failed due to metal fatigue.
  • 1949 – A Fairchild C-82A-15-FA Packet, 44-23014, c/n 10058, crashes into a parking lot in Area B of Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. While conducting routine drop testing in Area C of the base, the C-82 attempted an emergency landing in Area B. With its electrical system down and the right engine on fire, the plane landed ~three-quarters down the runway, running off the end of the runway across a grassy area, plowing through a steel fence, and ran over a number of cars in the main parking lot near Highway 4 before flipping onto its back. Firecrews were on the scene immediately. The only person killed was MSgt Lubitz, Flight Test Division, who jumped from the plane just before it hit the fence. The other four crew were only slightly injured and no one on the ground was hurt.
  • 1948 – First flight of The Supermarine Seagull ASR-1, British amphibious prototype, military flying boat and last to be built by the Supermarine company.
  • 1945 – Task Force 38 carrier aircraft fly 1,391 sorties against targets in northern Honshu and Hokkaido, Japan, without any Japanese air opposition. They destroy 25 Japanese aircraft, sink three destroyers, eight naval auxiliaries, and 20 merchant ships, and damage a destroyer, three escort craft, and 21 merchant ships.
  • 1944 – (14–15) Saipan-based U. S. Navy PB4Y-1 Liberators of Bomber Squadron 109 (VB-109) raid Iwo Jima, Chichi Jima, and Haha Jima.
  • 1940 – In retaliation for the British attacks at Mers-el-Kébir and Dakar, French bombers again attack Gibraltar, but most of their bombs fall into the sea.
  • 1937 – Mikhail Gromov, A. B. Yumashev and S. A. Danilin established a new non-stop flight distance record of 10,148 km (6,306 mi) from Moscow to San Jacinto, California, U. S., via the North Pole in a Tupolev ANT-25.
  • 1936 – The British Royal Air Force is re-organised on functional grounds and RAF Fighter Command, RAF Bomber Command, RAF Coastal Command, and RAF Training Command are established.
  • 1922 – Birth of Robin Olds, American fighter pilot and general officer in the U. S. Air Force. He was a "triple ace", with a combined total of 16 victories in WWII and the Vietnam War.
  • 1919 – To protest against the fact that pilots have to parade on foot at the World War I victory parade on the Champs-Elysées in Paris, French pilot Charles Godefroy flies his Nieuport fighter under the arches of the Arc de Triomphe.
  • 1918 – Serving as a fighter pilot in the United States Army Air Service’s 95th Aero Squadron, Second Lieutenant Quentin Roosevelt, the youngest son of former U. S. President Theodore Roosevelt, is shot down and killed at Chamery, France, by a German fighter while flying a Nieuport 28.
  • 1916 – First flight of The Bristol M.1 Monoplane Scout, British WWI monoplane fighter.
  • 1915 – Death of Lawrence Hargrave, British engineer, explorer, astronomer, inventor and aeronautical pioneer.
  • 1913 – First flight of the Cody Floatplane (also referred to as the Cody Hydro-biplane) was designed and built as an entrant in the 1913 Daily Mail Circuit of Britain race.
  • 1913 – Death of Léonce Bertin, French aircraft designer, killed with his son René in the crash of his Bertin Monoplane.
  • 1905 – Orville Wright has a serious crash with Wright Flyer III, upon which the Wright Brothers radically alter the aircraft. The front rudder is mainly the culprit for the Flyer’s insistent pitching.

References

  1. ^ Reuters, "19 Suspected Militants Killed in Airstrikes," The Washington Post, July 15, 2013, p. A7.
  2. ^ Michael Gilbert (2007-07-06). "Fort Lewis soldier dies in copter crash". The News Tribune. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-07-07.
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