1926: The first flight of the Ford A-AT trimotor, an all-metal monoplane which competes with the three-engine Fokker and becomes a pioneer American airliner. It is known affectionately as the “Tin Goose.”
1928: The first rocket-powered manned airplane flight is made by Frederich Stamer from the Wasserkuppe peak in the Rhön Mountains of Germany. His tail-first glider flies about one mile.
1931: The Handley Page HP-42 four-engine biplane enters service with the British airline Imperial Airways and sets new standards of passenger service and comfort. It carries 40 passengers.
1971: British pilot Shelia Scott makes the first flight by a light plane from equator to equator via the North Pole. Flying in a Piper Aztec D, she covers 34,000 miles (54,718 km).