March 13: The first attempt at crossing the South Atlantic by flight is made by Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral in a Fairey III. They needed to use three of the aircraft to complete the trip from Lisbon to Rio de Janerio.
March 20: The CV-1 Langley, America’s first aircraft carrier, is commissioned into the U. S. Navy at Norfolk, Virginia under the command of Comdr. Kenneth Whiting.
March 26: One of the first small commercial transport aircraft built upon experience from passenger flying and the requirements of airline operators, makes its first flight from Edgware, near London. The 10-seat passenger D. H. 34, with a top speed of 128 mph and a cruising speed of 105 mph has a range of 365 miles.
April 7: The first Corps Observation Group, under the command of Col. William Mitchell, makes its first patrol, led by Maj. Ralph Royce, and thus becomes the first American squadron to go into action in Europe.
April 7: The first midair collision of commercial airliners takes place over Thieuloy-Saint-Antoine, Picardie, France between a Farman F.60 (F-GEAD) and a de Havilland DH-18 (G-EAWO). At a height of about 500ft in rainy weather, the two aircraft end up on a collision course with no time to evade each other. The Dash-18 loses its tail and a wing, while the Farman survives for a short while before also crashing. All seven people among the two aircraft die, including a young steward who initially survives the wreck, but succumbed to his injuries afterward.
April 25: Known as the Stout ST-1, the first all-metal airplane designed for the U.S. Navy makes its first flight piloted by Eddie Stinson.
April 25: The Stout ST-1, the first all-metal airplane built for the U.S. Navy, makes its first flight, piloted by aviation pioneer Eddie Stinson.
June 16: A hybrid aircraft – part airplane (three fixed wings) and part helicopter (twin rotor blades) designed by American inventor Emile Berliner – makes a short vertical flight.
June 18: The first soaring flight of one hour in slope lift (using hill currents) is made by Arthur Martens in a Vampyr sailplane designed by Wolfgang Klemmperer at the Wasserkuppe, Rhön, Germany.
June 19: The first soaring flight of one hour in slope lift (using hill currents) is made by Arthur Martens in a Vampyr sailplane designed by Wolfgang Klemmperer at the Wasserkuppe, Rhön, Germany.
June 19: The first soaring flight of one hour in slope lift (using hill currents) is made by Arthur Martens in a Vampyr sailplane designed by Wolfgang Klemmperer at the Wasserkuppe, Rhön, Germany.
July 11: An international convention for the regulation of air navigation begins.
July 14: Robin Olds is born in Honalulu, HI. He would rise to the rank of Brigardier General, a fighter pilot in three wars.
August 22: The Vickers Victoria (serial no. J6869) military transport makes its first flight, taking off from Brooklands, England with Stan Cockerell at the controls.
September 27: Dr. Albert Taylor and Leo Young, scientists at the US Naval Aircraft Radio Laboratory, make the 1st successful detections of objects by "radio observation". They use wireless waves to detect objects not visible due to weather or darkness. This insight leads to the advent of radar.
October 6: Lieutenants John Macready and O.G. Kelly set a new world flight endurance record, staying aloft in their Fokker T-2 monoplane for a total of 35 hours, 18 minutes and 30 seconds.
October 17: Lieutenant V.C. Griffin, in a Vought VE-7SF airplane, achieves the 1st take-off from the USS Langley, America’s 1st operational aircraft carrier.
