1867: Englishmen J.W. Butler and E. Edwards make the first delta-wing airplane designs. They take out patents for delta-wing monoplanes and biplanes to be propelled by jets of steam, compressed air, or gas.
1920: The Vickers R. 80 airship, designed in an innovative streamlined shape by company designer Barnes Wallis, makes its first flight.
1937: The official search for missing flyers Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan is abandoned.
1957: A USAF Northrop F-89J Scorpion launches a live AIR-2 Genie ("Ding Dong") unguided nuclear air-to-air missile. It is the only detonation of a Genie.
1963: Joe Walker flies a North American X-15 to a record altitude of 106,010 metres (347,800 feet) on X-15 Flight 90. Exceeding an altitude of 100 km (62.1 statute miles, 54 nautical miles), this flight qualifies as a human spaceflight under international convention.
1978: Frank Haile Jr and William Wisner fly two Beechcraft Bonanzas around the world in formation.
1985: Sharon Christa McAuliffe is chosen by NASA to be the first private citizen passenger in the history of space flight.
1989: A United Airlines DC-10 crashes on landing following an uncontained failure in the number 2 engine. 111 people were killed.