1838: Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin is born in Baden, Germany. The first large-scale builder and pioneer of rigid dirigible balloons, Zeppelin made his first balloon ascent while serving as a volunteer and observer for the Union Army in America’s Civil War.

1908: Thérése Peltier becomes the first woman to ascend in an airplane when Delagrange, her instructor, takes her up. She flies about 656 feet at a height of 13 feet.

1947: First flight of the Boeing 377.

1948: First flight of the Ilyushin Il-28 (NATO: Beagle)

1952: New York Airways begins inter-airport helicopter services to link Idlewild, La Guardia, and Newark airports.

1953: New York Airways, America’s first scheduled passenger helicopter carrier, begins service.

1953: Sabena begins the first international helicopter services, linking Brussels (Belgium) with destinations in the Netherlands and France.

1983: General Dynamics rolls out the 1,000th F-16 Fighting Falcon.

1991: US Navy F/A-18 Hornet is forced to shoot down an E-2 Hawkeye after its crew abandons it following an engine fire.

2007: Boeing 787 Rollout (7/8/2007) in Everett, Washington's Boeing Everett Factory.