1871: Orville Wright is born in Dayton, Ohio. He is co-inventor, with his brother Wilbur, of the first airplane to achieve powered, sustained, and controlled flight and the first fully practical powered airplane. Orville piloted the famous first flight at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina after winning a coin flip against his brother.

1911: British naval officer Comdr. Charles R. Samson sets a new British endurance record of 4 hours, 58 minutes, 30 seconds. The Short S.38 biplane has special tanks allowing sufficient fuel for more than 4 hours flying.

1919: A Curtiss 18-T flown by Curtiss test pilot Roland Rholfs establishes a new world speed record of 163 mph carrying a load of 1,076 lbs.

1929: The first metal airship built for the U.S. Navy makes its first flight. The ZMC-2 is a 22,600 cu. ft. helium balloon supported by transverse metal frames and longitudinal stiffeners with a thin metal covering forming the outer skin.

1969: Embraer is founded by Brazil’s Ministry of Aeronautics.

1980: Saudia Flight 163, a Lockheed L-1011-200 TriStar, burns at Riyadh, killing all 301 on board. The plane had actually made a safe emergency landing after the crew received indications of a fire in the cargo compartment, but a delay by the crew in evacuating the plane, combined with the emergency service’s inability to open the doors for a long period of time, caused the passengers and crew to die of burns and smoke inhalation.

1981: Two United States Navy F-14 Tomcats shoot down two Sukhoi Su-22s of the Libyan Air Force over the Gulf of Sidra.