Portal:Aviation

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The Aviation Portal

A Boeing 747

Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. Aircraft includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air balloons and airships.

Aviation began in the 18th century with the development of the hot air balloon, an apparatus capable of atmospheric displacement through buoyancy. Some of the most significant advancements in aviation technology came with the controlled gliding flying of Otto Lilienthal in 1896; then a large step in significance came with the construction of the first powered airplane by the Wright brothers in the early 1900s. Since that time, aviation has been technologically revolutionized by the introduction of the jet which permitted a major form of transport throughout the world. (Full article...)

Selected article

Kai Tak Airport in 2009
Kai Tak Airport in 2009
Kai Tak Airport (Chinese: 啟德機場) was the international airport of Hong Kong from 1925 until 1998. It was officially known as the Hong Kong International Airport (Chinese: 香港國際機場) from 1954 to July 6, 1998, when it was closed and replaced by the new Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok, 30 km to the west. It is often known as Hong Kong Kai Tak International Airport (Chinese: 香港啟德國際機場), or simply Kai Tak, to distinguish it from its successor which is often referred to as Chek Lap Kok Airport (Chinese: 赤鱲角機場).

With numerous skyscrapers and mountains located to the north and its only runway jutting out into Victoria Harbour, landings at the airport were dramatic to experience and technically demanding for pilots. The History Channel program Most Extreme Airports ranked it as the 6th most dangerous airport in the world.

The airport was home to Hong Kong's international carrier Cathay Pacific, as well as regional carrier Dragonair, freight airline Air Hong Kong and Hong Kong Airways. The airport was also home to the former RAF Kai Tak. (Full article...)

Selected image

The controlled impact demonstration
The controlled impact demonstration
On December 1, 1984, NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) conducted the Controlled Impact Demonstration, where they deliberately crashed a Boeing 720 aircraft with the intent of improving occupant crash survivability. Seen left-to-right, top-to-bottom, the plane makes a practice approach, hits the ground, slides for a short distance, strikes posts cemented in the ground, and becomes engulfed in flames.

Did you know

...that Swedish adventurer Saloman Andrée died in 1897 while trying to reach the geographic North Pole by hot-air balloon? ...that Garuda Indonesia flight 152 was the deadliest air disaster of 1997, claiming the lives of over 230 people? ... that teenage aviatrix Elinor Smith, the "Flying Flapper of Freeport", had her pilot's license suspended for 15 days for flying under New York City's four East River bridges in 1928?

More Did you know facts

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The following are images from various aviation-related articles on Wikipedia.

In the news

Wikinews Aviation portal
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Associated Wikimedia

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Selected biography

Amy Johnson (1 July 1903 – 5 January 1941) C.B.E. was a pioneering British aviatrix.

Born in Kingston upon Hull, Johnson graduated from University of Sheffield with a Bachelor of Arts in economics. She was introduced to flying as a hobby, gaining a pilot's A Licence No. 1979 on 6 July 1929 at the London Aeroplane Club. In that same year, she became the first British woman to gain a ground engineer's C License.

Johnson achieved worldwide recognition when, in 1930, she became the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia. She left Croydon on 5 May of that year and landed in Darwin, Australia on 24 May after flying 11,000 miles. Her aircraft for this flight, a De Havilland Gipsy Moth (registration G-AAAH) named Jason, can still be seen in the Science Museum in London. She received the Harmon Trophy as well as a CBE in homage to this achievement, and was also honoured with the No. 1 civil pilot's licence under Australia's 1921 Air Navigation Regulations.

In July 1931, Johnson and her co-pilot Jack Humphreys became the first pilots to fly from London to Moscow in one day, completing the 1,760-mile journey in approximately 21 hours. From there, they continued across Siberia and on to Tokyo, setting a record time for flying from England to Japan. The flight was completed in a De Havilland Puss Moth.

Selected Aircraft

[[File:|right|250px|The two YC-130 prototypes; the blunt nose was replaced with radar on later production models.]] The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop cargo aircraft and the main tactical airlifter for many military forces worldwide. Over 40 models and variants of the Hercules serve with more than 50 nations. On December 2006 the C-130 was the third aircraft (after the English Electric Canberra in May 2001 and the B-52 Stratofortress in January 2005) to mark 50 years of continuous use with its original primary customer (in this case the United States Air Force).

Capable of short takeoffs and landings from unprepared runways, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation and cargo transport aircraft. The versatile airframe has found uses in a variety of other roles, including as a gunship, and for airborne assault, search and rescue, scientific research support, weather reconnaissance, aerial refuelling and aerial firefighting. The Hercules family has the longest continuous production run of any military aircraft in history. During more than 50 years of service the family has participated in military, civilian and humanitarian aid operations.

More selected aircraft Read more...

Today in Aviation

April 30

  • 2011 – The Syrian government deploys helicopters to Daraa in response to antiregime protests there as violence increases in the Syrian Civil War.[2]
  • 2009 – An Indian Air Force Sukhoi Su-30MKI crashes in the Pokhran region of Rajasthan after it took off from Pune during its routine sortie, killing one of its two pilots. This was the first crash of the Su-30MKI since its induction in the IAF.
  • 2002 – A McDonnell-Douglas F-15C Eagle of the 46th Test Wing, based at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, crashes in the Gulf of Mexico ~60 miles (97 km) S of Panama City, Florida, killing the test pilot. An Accident Investigation Board determines that the crash was caused by the structural failure of the honeycomb material supporting the leading edge of the port vertical stabilizer during a high-speed test dive. A section of the leading edge, approximately 6 X 3 feet (0.91 m), broke away.
  • 1983 – Shortly after take-off from NAS Jacksonville, Florida, around noon, for a flight to Leeward Point Field at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba, the port engine of a Navy Convair C-131F Samaritan, BuNo 141010, c/n 293, caught fire. The pilot radioed that he was returning to the base. As the aircraft was over the St. Johns River, ~1/4 mile from the runway and at ~200 feet altitude, the port wing separated from the aircraft. When the fuselage hit the water, the plane exploded, killing 14 of 15 on board. The sole survivor grabbed onto the first floating object she could reach: her own suitcase.
  • 1982 – Iran begins a major ground offensive to recapture Khorramshar from Iraq. In fighting that lasts until May 24, Iraqi aircraft fly up to 100 sorties per day, but usually attack Iranian forces in groups that are too small and arrive too late to be effective.[4]
  • 1969 – The first woman airline pilot in the West, Turi Widerose of Norway, makes her first scheduled flight as a first officer for Scandinavian Airlines.
  • 1962 – Lou Schalk pilots the 1st official flight of the A-12 Article 131
  • 1945 – Just before midnight, first production Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer, BuNo 59359, was being prepared on the ramp at Lindbergh Field, San Diego, California, for a flight to NAS Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota, a mechanic attempts to remove the port battery solenoid, located 14 inches below the cockpit floor, but does so without disconnecting the battery. Ratchet wrench accidentally punctures hydraulic line three inches above the battery and fluid ignites, setting entire aircraft alight, mechanic suffered severe burns. Only number four (starboard outer) engine deemed salvageable. Cause was unqualified mechanic attempting task that only a qualified electrician should undertake.
  • 1945 – (April 30-May 7) To divert Japanese attention from Operation Dracula and suppress Japanese airpower in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, aircraft from the British aircraft carriers HMS Empress and HMS Shah fly 400 sorties over eight days against Japanese airfields and shipping in the islands, losing one aircraft.
  • 1945 – Michael Smith, American astronaut, was born (d. 1986). Smith was the pilot of the Space Shuttle Challenger when it was destroyed during the STS-51-L mission. All seven crew members died.
  • 1943 – In preparation for the upcoming American invasion of Attu, the U. S. Army Air Forces‘ Eleventh Air Force has flown 1,175 combat sorties against Japanese bases in the Aleutian Islands during April, including a two-week period in which 60 aircraft per day attack Kiska.
  • 1942 – Since April 1, the Luftwaffe's Fliegerkorps II and Fliegerkorps X have flown 9,599 sorties against Malta, dropping over 6,700 tons (6,078,200 kg) of bombs on or around the island, and the British have lost 30 aircraft on the ground. Royal Air Force fighters on Malta have flown 350 sorties, destroying about half of the aircraft the Axis has lost over the island during April. Since 15 April, Malta has undergone 115 air raids, with a daily average of 170 German bombers attacking.
  • 1939 – Vladimir Kokkinaki and Mikhail Godienko attempt a non-stop flight from the Soviet Union to New York but are forced down on Miscou Island in bad weather the next day.
  • 1937 – Nationalist Spanish battleship España sunk by air attack by Republican forces.
  • 1935 – The Douglas DC-1 breaks its own transcontinental record, flying from Burbank, Calif., to New York in 11 hours 5 min.
  • 1933 – The first air service internal to Scotland, Renfrew – Campbeltown, begins, operated by Midland and Scottish Air Ferries Ltd.
  • 1932 – An international code of air traffic communication is formally established, following the decision to do so at a 1927 conference in Washington,DC. The new code is based on a series of three-letter code starting with the letter “Q”.
  • 1928 – British pilot Lady Mary Bailey lands to complete a flight from England to Cape Town, South Africa. She took off on March 9th.
  • 1926 – Bessie Coleman, at the age of thirty-four, was in Jacksonville, Florida. She had recently purchased a Curtiss JN-4 (Jenny) in Dallas, Texas and had it flown to Jacksonville in preparation for an airshow. Her friends and family did not consider the aircraft safe and implored her not to fly it. Her mechanic and publicity agent, William Wills, was flying the plane with Coleman in the other seat. Coleman did not put on her seatbelt because she was planning a parachute jump for the next day and wanted to look over the cockpit sill to examine the terrain. About ten minutes into the flight, the plane did not pull out of a dive; instead it spun. Coleman was thrown from the plane at 500 ft (150 m)) and died instantly when she hit the ground. William Wills was unable to gain control of the plane and it plummeted to the ground. Wills died upon impact and the plane burst into flames. Although the wreckage of the plane was badly burned, it was later discovered that a wrench used to service the engine had slid into the gearbox and jammed it.
  • 1924 – One of the four Douglas World Cruiser aircraft, the "Seattle", 23-1229, c/n 145, attempting an around-the-globe flight in stages, crashes into a mountain in Alaska on this date. The crew, Major Frederick L. Martin and Staff Sergeant Alva L. Harvey, survive and make their way through the wilderness to safety. The wreckage of the "Seattle" is later recovered and is now on display in the Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum.
  • 1919 – Laying down rules for aircraft registration and pilot licensing, the Air Navigation Directions are published in London.
  • 1909 – Casey Baldwin and JAD McCurdy formed the first Canadian aviation company, the Canadian Aerodrome Company, at Baddeck NS with the assistance of Alexander Graham Bell.
  • 1904 – The St. Louis exposition opens. Octave Chanute exhibits a replica of his biplane glider of 1896, which he launches by using an electric winch.

References

  1. ^ Barzak, Ibrahim, "Israeli Aorstrike in Gaza Kills 1 Palestinian," Associated Press, April 30, 2013, 12:00 noon EDT.
  2. ^ "Fresh violence hits Syrian town". Al Jazeera. 30 April 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
  3. ^ " الأخبار – عربي – مقتل نجل للقذافي بغارة للناتو". (in Arabic).Al Jazeera. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  4. ^ Cordesman, Anthony H., and Abraham R. Wagner, The Lessons of Modern War, Volume II: The Iran-Iraq War, Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1990, ISBN 0-8133-1330-9, p. 139.
  5. ^ Scheina, Robert L., Latin America: A Naval History 1810-1987, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1987, ISBN 0-87021-295-8, p. 258.
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