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First Flight
The two brothers, Wilbur and Orville, take the first flight in the plane they designed, named "Kitty Hawk". -
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The History of Aviation
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Russian balloon attacks Japanese ships.
9–11 May – The Imperial Russian Navy armored cruiser Rossia carries a balloon on a raiding cruise against Japanese ships into the Sea of Japan in the first use by a warship of a balloon on the high seas in wartime. The balloon makes 13 successful ascents before it breaks its moooring lines and is damaged after landing on the sea -
Silver Dart
John McCurdy makes the first aeroplane flight in Canada in the Silver Dart. He flies 2,640 feet at Baddeck, Cape Breton. -
Fist British Flying Unit
The first flying unit of the British military, the Air Battalion Royal Engineers, is formed. -
U.S. Navy's first plane.
The U.S. Naval Aviation Service created and the U.S. Navy's first airplane, a Curtiss Model D, is ordered -
Cabin Pressure Testing
The United States Army carries out the first experiments in cabin pressurisation, using a de Havilland DH.4. -
C-7 Blimp
–The first flight of a helium-filled airship takes place, as the United States Navy's C-class blimp C-7 flies from Hampton Roads, Virginia, to Washington, D.C. -
First Hook- On test.
The first hook-on test of the U.S. Navy's parasite fighter program takes places, as the Curtiss XF9C-1 prototype successfully docks with the dirigible USS Los Angeles (ZR-3). -
First Military Helicopter
The Sikorsky R-4 was a two-place helicopter designed by Igor Sikorsky with a single, three-bladed main rotor and powered by a radial engine. The R-4 was the world's first large-scale mass-produced helicopter and the first helicopter to enter service with the United States Army Air Forces,[1] Navy, and Coast Guard, as well as for the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and Royal Navy. -
Air Transport Command
The United States Army Air Forces establish the Air Transport Command, a centralized, strategic air transport service directed by the United States Department of War. -
The Flying Tigers
The U.S. Army Air Forces activate the China Air Task Force. -
ME- 262
The Messerschmitt Me 262 prototype makes its first flight under jet power, test-piloted by Fritz Wendel. Previous flights had been driven by a propeller. -
Boeing 747-8
First flight of the Boeing 747-8 in the United States.