1916: The 1st pilotless radio-controlled aerial bomb is tested in the United States. It is actually a small biplane that can fly radio-guided for 50 miles with 308 pounds of bombs aboard.

1918: The US Army Air Service and French Army assemble over 1200 war planes for the Battle of Saint-Mihiel, in what is at the time the largest aircraft force ever assembled for a single operation. The Allies would win the battle.

1961: A predecessor of the first Harrier fighter jet, the experimental Hawker Siddeley P.1127 makes the first transition between horizontal and vertical flight.

1992: Space Shuttle Endeavor launches on the 50th Space Shuttle mission, STS-47. On this flight, the first African American woman, Mae Carol Jemison, and the first Japanese citizen, Mamoru Mohri, enter space. Also, Mark Lee and Jan Davis are the first couple to marry in space.

1994: A man named Frank Eugene Corder flies a Cessna 150 into the south lawn of the White House, killing himself. He was supposedly drunk and had no intention of harming the President, but merely sought attention. President Bill Clinton was not home at the time.

2006: First flight of the Boeing 747 Large Cargo Freighter.

2008: British charter airline XL Airways UK, a subsidiary of the XL Leisure Group, ceases operations with immediate effect, due to a deteriorating financial position. 90,000 Britons holidaying abroad are left stranded. It had been the 3rd largest package holiday group in the UK. XL Airways France and Germany are sold and continue operations.