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This is a list of firsts in
aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes airplane, fixed-wing and helicopter, rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as aerostat, lighter- ...
. For a comprehensive list of women's records, see Women in aviation.


First person to fly

The first flight (including gliding) by a person is unknown. Several have been suggested. * In 559 A.D., several prisoners of Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi, including Yuan Huangtou of Ye, were said to have been forced to launch themselves with a kite from a tower, as an experiment. Only Yuan Huangtou survived, only to be executed later. * In the 9th century, the Andalusian Abbas ibn Firnas attempted a short gliding flight with wings covered with feathers from the Tower of Cordoba but was injured while landing.
00f. F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet. F may also refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * F or f, the number 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems * ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function * F-distribution, a cont ...
/ref> * In the early 11th century,
Eilmer of Malmesbury Eilmer of Malmesbury (also known as Oliver due to a scribe's miscopying, or Elmer, or Æthelmær) was an 11th-century English Benedictine monk best known for his early attempt at a gliding flight using wings. Life Eilmer was a monk of Malm ...
, an English Benedictine monk, attempted a gliding flight using wings. He is recorded as travelling a modest distance before breaking his legs on landing.William of Malmesbury – ed. and trans. R. A. B. Mynors, R. M. Thomson, and M. Winterbottom (1998–99). ''Gesta regum Anglorum / The history of the English kings''. Oxford Medieval Texts. * Between 1630 and 1632, Hezarfen Ahmed Çelebi is said to have
glided Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word ''soaring'' is al ...
over the Bosphorus strait from the Galata Tower to the Üsküdar district in
Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...
. * In 1633 his brother Lagari Hasan Çelebi may have survived a flight on a 7-winged
rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entir ...
powered by gunpowder from Sarayburnu, the point below Topkapı Palace in
Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...
.Winter, Frank H. (1992). "Who First Flew in a Rocket?", Journal of the British Interplanetary Society 45 (July 1992), p. 275-80 None of these historical accounts are adequately supported by corroborating evidence nor have any been widely accepted. The first confirmed human flight was accomplished by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier in a tethered
Montgolfier balloon A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket (in some long-distance or high-altitude balloons, a capsule), which carries ...
in 1783.


Lighter than air ( aerostats)

*First animals to fly in a balloon: a sheep called ''Montauciel'', along with a duck and a rooster were sent on a balloon flight by the
Montgolfier brothers The Montgolfier brothers – Joseph-Michel Montgolfier (; 26 August 1740 – 26 June 1810) and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier (; 6 January 1745 – 2 August 1799) – were aviation pioneers, balloonists and paper manufacturers from the commune ...
on September 19, 1783 *First manned flight Étienne Montgolfier went aloft in a tethered Montgolfier hot air balloon on October 15, 1783. *First manned free flight in an untethered balloon Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and Marquis d'Arlandes flew in a Montgolfier hot air balloon from the
Château de la Muette The Château de la Muette () is a château located on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France, near the Porte de la Muette. Three châteaux have been located on the site since a hunting lodge was transformed into the first château fo ...
to the Butte-aux-Cailles, Paris, on November 21, 1783. *First manned gas balloon flight: Professor Jacques Charles and Nicolas-Louis Robert flew from
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
to
Nesles-la-Vallée Nesles-la-Vallée () is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France. See also *Communes of the Val-d'Oise department The following is a list of the 184 communes of the Val-d'Oise department of France. The comm ...
in a hydrogen-filled balloon on December 1, 1783. *First women to fly: The Marchioness and Countess of Montalembert, the Countess of Podenas and Miss de Lagarde ascended in a tethered balloon over Paris, on May 20, 1784. *First woman in free flight in an untethered balloon: Élisabeth Thible flew over
Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...
singing arias on June 4, 1784, in order to entertain Gustav III of Sweden. *First flight in a steerable balloon (or
airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...
): On July 15, 1784, the Robert brothers (Les Frères Robert) flew for 45 minutes from Saint-Cloud to Meudon with M. Collin-Hullin and Louis Philippe II, the Duke of Chartres, in an elongated balloon designed by Jacques Charles, following
Jean Baptiste Meusnier Jean Baptiste Marie Charles Meusnier de la Place (Tours, 19 June 1754 — le Pont de Cassel, near Mainz, 13 June 1793) was a French mathematician, engineer and Revolutionary general. He is best known for Meusnier's theorem on the curvature ...
's suggestions (1783–85), but the oars did not work. *First flight across the
English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...
: was made by
Jean-Pierre Blanchard Jean-Pierre rançoisBlanchard (4 July 1753 – 7 March 1809) was a French inventor, best known as a pioneer of gas balloon flight, who distinguished himself in the conquest of the air in a balloon, in particular the first crossing of the Engli ...
and
John Jeffries John Jeffries (5 February 1744 – 16 September 1819) was an American physician, scientist, and military surgeon with the British Army in Nova Scotia and New York during the American Revolution. He is best known for accompanying French invent ...
in a balloon on January 7, 1785. *First aviation disaster: Occurred in Tullamore, County Offaly, Ireland, when a hot air balloon caused a fire that burned down about 100 houses on May 10, 1785. *First known fatalities in an air crash: Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and Pierre Romain died when their Rozière balloon deflated and crashed near Wimereux in Pas-de-Calais, on June 15, 1785.Fulgence, Marion. "Part 2, Chapter 10: The Necrology of Aeronautics". ''Wonderful Balloon Ascents''. Cassel Petter & Galpin. *First jump from a balloon with a parachute:
Jean-Pierre Blanchard Jean-Pierre rançoisBlanchard (4 July 1753 – 7 March 1809) was a French inventor, best known as a pioneer of gas balloon flight, who distinguished himself in the conquest of the air in a balloon, in particular the first crossing of the Engli ...
used a parachute in 1793 to escape his hot air balloon when it ruptured. *First successful jump from a balloon with a parachute: Andre Jacques Garnerin in Paris in 1797.Davy 1937, p.46 *First balloon ascent on horseback. Pierre Testu-Brissy ascended from Belleville Park in Paris.Ballooning History, Who's Who.
/ref> *First woman to jump from a balloon with a parachute:
Jeanne Geneviève Labrosse Jeanne may refer to: Places * Jeanne (crater), on Venus People * Jeanne (given name) * Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc, 1412–1431) * Joanna of Flanders (1295–1374) * Joan, Duchess of Brittany (1319–1384) * Ruth Stuber Jeanne (1910–2004), Ameri ...
jumped from an altitude of on October 12, 1799. *First woman to pilot her own balloon: Sophie Blanchard flew solo from the garden of the Cloister of the Jacobins in
Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and fr ...
on August 18, 1805. *First woman to be killed in an aviation accident: Sophie Blanchard was killed when her hydrogen balloon ignited on July 6, 1819. *First successful steerable powered balloon: The Giffard dirigible was developed and flown by Henri Giffard, from the
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
Hippodrome to Trappes on September 24, 1852. *First balloon mail service: passed vital information over Prussian lines during the 1870–71 Siege of Paris.Loving, Matthew (2011). ''Bullets and Balloons: French Airmail during the Siege of Paris''. Franconian Press. *First flight in an airship powered by an
internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal co ...
: was made by Alberto Santos Dumont in 1898. *First flight of a rigid airship: was made by the Zeppelin LZ 1 from Lake Constance (the ''Bodensee'') on July 2, 1900. *First woman to pilot a powered aircraft: Rose Isabel Spencer, in Stanley Spencer's Airship Number 1, at Crystal Palace, London on July 14, 1902.Motoring Illustrated, August 2, 1902, pp 215–216 *First trans-Atlantic rigid airship flight: was made by the ''R34'' from RAF East Fortune to Mineola, New York from July 2 to July 6, 1919.The Transatlantic Voyage of R.34
''Flight 10 July 1919, pp. 906–10
*First helium-filled rigid airship to fly: was the ''USS Shenandoah'' on August 20, 1923, although it did not make a powered flight until September 24, 1923. *First people to reach the stratosphere: were Auguste Piccard and Paul Kipfer, who ascended to the height of in a
hydrogen balloon Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, an ...
on May 27, 1931. *First crossing of the Atlantic by balloon: was made by
Ben Abruzzo Benjamin L. "Ben" Abruzzo (June 9, 1930 – February 11, 1985) was an American balloonist and businessman who helped make Albuquerque, New Mexico, into an international ballooning center. He was part of the balloon crews that made the first A ...
,
Maxie Anderson Maxie Anderson (September 10, 1934 – June 27, 1983) was an American hot air balloonist and Congressional Gold Medal recipient He was part of the balloon crews that made the first Atlantic ocean crossing by balloon in the Double Eagle II a ...
, and Larry Newman in the helium-filled '' Double Eagle II'', on August 17, 1978. *First non-stop balloon crossing of North America:
Maxie Maxie is a given name, a nickname and a surname which may refer to: People Given name * Max Baer (boxer) (1909–1959), American world champion heavyweight boxer, nicknamed "Madcap Maxie" * Max Maxie Anderson (1934–1983), American hot air balloo ...
and Kris Anderson in the helium-filled ''Kitty Hawk'', on May 12, 1980. *First trans-Pacific crossing by balloon:
Ben Abruzzo Benjamin L. "Ben" Abruzzo (June 9, 1930 – February 11, 1985) was an American balloonist and businessman who helped make Albuquerque, New Mexico, into an international ballooning center. He was part of the balloon crews that made the first A ...
, Larry Newman, Ron Clark and
Rocky Aoki ''Rocky'' is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise and stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burgess ...
, in gas-filled ''Double Eagle V'', in November 1981. * First balloon flight on another planet: was conducted by the
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
Vega 1 Balloon in the skies above Venus between June 11, 1985 and June 13, 1985. *First non-stop balloon circumnavigation of the Earth: was made by
Bertrand Piccard Bertrand Piccard FRSGS (born 1 March 1958) is a Swiss explorer, psychiatrist and environmentalist. Along with Brian Jones, he was the first to complete a non-stop balloon flight around the globe, in a balloon named Breitling Orbiter 3. He was ...
and Brian Jones who flew from
Château d'Oex A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. No ...
, Switzerland, to Egypt, on ''
Breitling Orbiter 3 ''Breitling Orbiter'' was the name of three different Rozière balloons made by the Bristol based balloon manufacturer Cameron Balloons to circumnavigate the globe, named after the Swiss watchmakers Breitling. The third was successful in March ...
'', between March 1 and March 21, 1999, in 19 days, 21 hours and 47 minutes. *First solo non-stop balloon flight around the Earth: Steve Fossett, in the ''Spirit of Freedom'', circumnavigated the globe between June 19 and July 3, 2002.


Heavier than air (aerodynes)


Pioneer era 1853–1916

*First manned glider flight: was made by an unnamed boy in an uncontrolled glider launched by George Cayley in 1853. *First confirmed manned powered flight: was made by
Clément Ader Clément Ader (2 April 1841 – 3 May 1925) was a French inventor and engineer who was born near Toulouse in Muret, Haute-Garonne, and died in Toulouse. He is remembered primarily for his pioneering work in aviation. In 1870 he was also one of ...
in an uncontrolled monoplane of his own design, in 1890. *First controlled manned glider flight: was made by Otto Lilienthal in a glider of his own design, in 1891. *First controlled, sustained flight in a powered airplane: was made by Orville Wright in the ''
Wright Flyer The ''Wright Flyer'' (also known as the ''Kitty Hawk'', ''Flyer'' I or the 1903 ''Flyer'') made the first sustained flight by a manned heavier-than-air powered and controlled aircraft—an airplane—on December 17, 1903. Invented and flown b ...
'' on December 17, 1903, during which they travelled .Note that each of these has been accomplished before, but each had lacked a key ingredient – control being the most difficult to achieve – the Wrights contribution was in having them all at once. *First circular flight by a powered airplane: was made by Wilbur Wright who flew in about a minute and a half on September 20, 1904. *First aircraft to fly using ailerons for lateral control: was Robert Esnault-Pelterie's October 1904 glider, although ailerons were only named that in 1908 by
Henry Farman Henri Farman (26 May 1874– 17 July 1958) was a British-French aviator and aircraft designer and manufacturer with his brother Maurice Farman. Before dedicating himself to aviation he gained fame as a sportsman, specifically in cycling and moto ...
.Gunston, 1992, p.62 *First flight of an aircraft with
pneumatic tires A tire (American English) or tyre (British English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide traction on the surface over which t ...
: was Traian Vuia's March 18, 1906 flight with his '' Vuia 1'', travelling at a height of about for about . *First heavier-than-air unaided takeoff and flight of more than in Europe: was made by
Alberto Santos-Dumont Alberto Santos-Dumont ( Palmira, 20 July 1873 — Guarujá, 23 July 1932) was a Brazilian aeronaut, sportsman, inventor, and one of the few people to have contributed significantly to the early development of both lighter-than-air and heavie ...
, flew a distance of in his '' 14-bis'' to win the Archdeacon Prize on October 23, 1906. *First flight certified by Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI): was made by Alberto Santos Dumont, when he flew his '' 14-bis'', without liftoff aid, over a distance of in the presence of official observers from the newly founded FAI on November 12, 1906. *First airplane passenger: was
Léon Delagrange Ferdinand Marie Léon Delagrange (13 March 1872 – 4 January 1910) was a sculptor and pioneering French aviator, ranked as one of the top aviators in the world. Early years Léon Delagrange was born on 13 March 1872 in Orléans, France, t ...
, with pilot Henri Farman, on March 29, 1908. *First use of the modern aircraft flight control system: was in the ''
Blériot VIII The Blériot VIII was a French pioneer era aeroplane built by Louis Blériot, significant for its adoption of both a configuration and a control system that were to set a standard for decades to come. Design and development The previous year, B ...
'', which took to the air with Robert Esnault-Pelterie's control layout, using a joystick for pitch and roll control, and a foot-bar for lateral control, in April 1908. *First person to die in a crash of a powered airplane: was Thomas Etholen Selfridge, a passenger on an aircraft flown by Orville Wright which crashed on September 17, 1908. Wright was badly injured, and was hospitalised for seven weeks. *First return flight between two towns: was made by Louis Blériot, who flew from Toury to
Artenay Artenay () is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France. Artenay station has rail connections to Orléans, Étampes and Paris. Population See also * Communes of the Loiret department The following is the list of the 325 comm ...
, and back on October 30, 1908, for a total distance of .Gunston, 1992, p.58 *First official pilot's licence: was licence number 1, which was issued to Louis Blériot by the Aéro Club de France on January 7, 1909.Gunston, 1992, p.66 *First aircraft to fly with a rotary engine: was a Farman III biplane, in April 1909. *First ditching of an airplane: was made by
Hubert Latham Arthur Charles Hubert Latham (10 January 1883 – 25 June 1912) was a French aviation pioneer. He was the first person to attempt to cross the English Channel in an aeroplane. Due to engine failure during his first of two attempts to cross ...
, while attempting to complete the first powered flight across the
English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...
in an
Antoinette IV The Antoinette IV was an early French monoplane. Design and development The Antoinette IV was a high-wing aircraft with a fuselage of extremely narrow triangular cross-section and a cruciform tail. Power was provided by a V8 engine of Léon Le ...
monoplane, but experienced an engine failure on July 19, 1909. *First airplane flight across the
English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...
: was completed by Louis Blériot in a Blériot XI on July 25, 1909, to win a £1,000 ''Daily Mail'' prize. *First pig to fly on an airplane (or any animal): happened when John Moore-Brabazon, in the Short Biplane No. 2 (not a Voisin as sometimes reported) took a pig later named ''Icarus II'' aloft on November 4, 1909, as a joke to prove the adage that pigs could fly. *First flight in Latin America: Dimitri Sensaud de Lavaud, flies a São Paulo Airplane constructed with help of his assistant Lourenço Pellegatti, he flew a distance of in Osasco-Brazil, on January 7, 1910. *First flight in complete darkness:
Henry Farman Henri Farman (26 May 1874– 17 July 1958) was a British-French aviator and aircraft designer and manufacturer with his brother Maurice Farman. Before dedicating himself to aviation he gained fame as a sportsman, specifically in cycling and moto ...
, flies a Farman biplane without the benefit of moonlight, on March 1, 1910.Gunston, 1992, p.80 *First woman to earn a pilot license: was Raymonde de Laroche, on March 8, 1910. *First flight in Asia: was made by Giacomo D'Angelis, in a biplane built by D'Angelis entirely from his own designs, experimenting with a small horse-power engine, on March 29, 1910 in Chennai, India (formerly known as Madras). *First documented and witnessed seaplane flight under power from water's surface: was made by Henri Fabre, in the Fabre Hydravion ''Le Canard'' (the duck), on March 28, 1910. *First aircraft flight simulator: was built by aircraft manufacturer Antoinette to teach pupils to fly their monoplanes on May 7, 1910.Gunston, 1992, p.78 *First Chief of State to fly on an airplane: was Ferdinand I of Bulgaria, as a passenger in a Farman III biplane flown by Jules de Laminne during a visit in
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
on July 15, 1910. *First airborne radio communications: were made by Frederick Walker Baldwin and Douglas McCurdy with a morse radio message from a
Curtiss Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company (1909 – 1929) was an American aircraft manufacturer originally founded by Glenn Hammond Curtiss and Augustus Moore Herring in Hammondsport, New York. After significant commercial success in its first decad ...
biplane while in flight, which was received by a nearby ground station on August 27, 1910.Gunston, 1992, p.81 They were also responsible for the first radio message received by an aircraft in flight, on March 6, 1911. *First flight across the
Pennine Alps The Pennine Alps (german: Walliser Alpen, french: Alpes valaisannes, it, Alpi Pennine, la, Alpes Poeninae), also known as the Valais Alps, are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. They are located in Switzerland (Valais) and Ital ...
: was by
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
vian aviator Jorge Chávez in a Blériot XI on 23 September 1910, from Ried-Brig to Domodossola, during which he reached an altitude of .Gunston, 1992, p.82 *First mid-air collision between two airplanes: happened when an
Antoinette IV The Antoinette IV was an early French monoplane. Design and development The Antoinette IV was a high-wing aircraft with a fuselage of extremely narrow triangular cross-section and a cruciform tail. Power was provided by a V8 engine of Léon Le ...
, flown by René Thomas, rammed
Bertram Dickson Captain Bertram Dickson RHA (21 December 1873 – 28 September 1913) was a pioneer Scottish airman and the first British serviceman to qualify as a pilot. His exploits in the air, watched by Winston Churchill and Lord Kitchener, indirect ...
's Farman III biplane on October 1, 1910. *First shipboard take-off and landing by an airplane: was made by Eugene Burton Ely, in a Curtiss Model D pusher, from a temporary platform aboard light cruiser USS ''Birmingham'' on November 14, 1910. Ely was also the first to land an airplane on a ship, touching down on a temporary platform aboard armored cruiser USS ''Pennsylvania'' on January 11, 1911. *The first non-stop flight from
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
to
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
: Pierre Prier flew a Blériot XI on April 12, 1911 from
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
to
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
in 3 hours and 56 minutes. *First woman to die in a crash of a powered airplane: was
Denise Moore Denise Moore (sometimes reported as Deniz Moore), was the pseudonym of Jane Wright (1876 – 21 July 1911), an aviation pioneer. She was the first known female aviator to die in a flight accident. Biography Jane Wright is believed to have been ...
, who fell from a Farman III, on July 21, 1911. * First known spin recovery: was made by
F. P. Raynham Frederick Phillips Raynham (1893–1954) was a British pilot from the early days of aviation, gaining his aviator's certificate in 1911. He test-flew Avro, Martinsyde, Sopwith and Hawker aircraft before and after World War I. He later formed ...
in an
Avro Type D The Avro Type D was an aircraft built in 1911 by the pioneer British aircraft designer A.V. Roe. Roe had previously built and flown several aircraft at Brooklands, most being tractor layout triplanes. The Type D was his first biplane. Design ...
biplane on September 21, 1911. *First flight across the Continental Divide of the Americas (the
Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...
): was made by
Cromwell Dixon Cromwell Dixon (July 9, 1892 – October 2, 1911) was a teenage dirigible pilot and aviator. He became the first person to fly an airplane across the Continental Divide in September 1911 when he flew fifteen miles over Mullan Pass. Life Early li ...
in a Curtiss pusher on September 30, 1911, reaching an altitude of . *First
ordnance Ordnance may refer to: Military and defense * Materiel in military logistics, including weapons, ammunition, vehicles, and maintenance tools and equipment. **The military branch responsible for supplying and developing these items, e.g., the Uni ...
dropped from an airplane: Lieutenant Giulio Gavotti dropped grenades from his Etrich Taube airplane on Ottoman troops in Libya on November 1, 1911. *First transcontinental flight across North America: Calbraith Perry Rodgers flew the
Vin Fiz The ''Vin Fiz Flyer'' was an early Wright Brothers Model EX pusher biplane that in 1911 became the first aircraft to fly coast-to-coast across the U.S., a journey that took almost three months. History The publisher William Randolph Hearst ha ...
Wright Model EX biplane through a seventy-plus-stop trek across the United States from
Sheepshead Bay Sheepshead, Sheephead, or Sheep's Head, may refer to: Fish * ''Archosargus probatocephalus'', a medium-sized saltwater fish of the Atlantic Ocean * Freshwater drum, ''Aplodinotus grunniens'', a medium-sized freshwater fish of North and Central Am ...
, New York to Long Beach, California from September 17 to December 10, 1911. *First parachute jump from an airplane: was made by
Grant Morton Grant Morton (1857?–1920), born William H. Morton, was one of the first people to successfully attempt skydiving, and is sometimes credited with the first skydive and jump from a powered aeroplane, in 1911. Supposedly, at age 54, Morton, a vetera ...
from a
Wright Model B The Wright Model B was an early pusher biplane designed by the Wright brothers in the United States in 1910. It was the first of their designs to be built in quantity. Unlike the Model A, it featured a true elevator carried at the tail ra ...
over Venice, California, in 1911. However credit is generally given to Albert Berry, who jumped from a Benoist biplane over Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, on March 1, 1912. *First night mission: was made by Lieutenant Giulio Gavotti during the campaign against the Ottoman Empire on March 4, 1912. *First woman to fly across the English Channel:was Harriet Quimby, who flew from Dover to Hardelot-Plage on April 16, 1912. *First airplane flight across the
Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the C ...
: was made by Denys Corbett Wilson took 100 minutes to fly a Blériot XI from Goodwick in Wales to Enniscorthy in Ireland, on April 22, 1912. *First take-off by an airplane from a moving ship: Commander Charles R. Samson took off from a platform aboard the battleship HMS ''Hibernia'' in a Short Improved S.27 No. 38, on May 9, 1912. *First flight of an all-metal aircraft: The Reissner Canard, designed by Professor
Hans Reissner Hans Jacob Reissner, also known as Jacob Johannes Reissner (18 January 1874, Berlin – 2 October 1967, Mt. Angel, Oregon), was a German aeronautical engineer whose avocation was mathematical physics. During World War I he was awarded the Iron ...
(with engineering help from Hugo Junkers), whose structure and skin were both all metal, was first flown on May 23, 1912 by Robert Gsell. *first national identification markings used on aircraft: was in France following instructions from the ''Inspection Permante de l'Aeronautique'' to paint roundels with an outer diameter of in red, with a white ring of and an inner blue dot of on July 26, 1912. Proportions and diameter would later be adjusted. Both Germany and the UK issued orders for national markings only when they mobilized in 1914, for the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. * First observed spin recovery: was made by Wilfred Parke in an
Avro Type G __NOTOC__ The Avro Type G was a two-seat biplane designed by A.V. Roe to participate in the 1912 British Military Aeroplane Competition. It is notable in having a fully enclosed crew compartment, and was also the first aircraft to have recover ...
on August 25, 1912. *First aircraft to be captured: was that of Captain Moizo of the Italian Servizio Aeronautico, on September 10, 1912 during the Italo-Turkish War, but sources disagree on whether he was shot down, or had mechanical problems. *First use of a flight data recorder: Invented by George M. Dyott and used in the 1913
Dyott monoplane The Dyott monoplane was a single-engined, single-seat mid-wing monoplane designed by George Miller Dyott for his own use as a sports and touring aircraft. It proved successful, making a six-month tour of the United States soon after its first ...
. It used three pointers to record movements of the control surfaces on a strip of paper run between two rollers. *First four-engine aircraft to fly: The Russian Russo-Baltic Wagon Works ''Большой Балтийский'' (''Bolshoi Baltiskiy'' – Great Baltic), developed by
Igor Sikorsky Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky (russian: И́горь Ива́нович Сико́рский, p=ˈiɡərʲ ɪˈvanəvitʃ sʲɪˈkorskʲɪj, a=Ru-Igor Sikorsky.ogg, tr. ''Ígor' Ivánovich Sikórskiy''; May 25, 1889 – October 26, 1972)Fortie ...
; took to the air on May 10, 1913 after having two additional engines installed in pusher configuration, in tandem behind the pair of installed engines; when the original pair were found to leave it underpowered.Gunston, 1992, p.109 *First bombing attack against a surface ship: Didier Masson and Captain Joaquín Bauche Alcalde dropped dynamite bombs on Federalist gunboats at Guaymas, Mexico, on May 10, 1913 while flying for Mexican Revolutionist
Venustiano Carranza José Venustiano Carranza de la Garza (; 29 December 1859 – 21 May 1920) was a Mexican wealthy land owner and politician who was Governor of Coahuila when the constitutionally elected president Francisco I. Madero was overthrown in a February ...
*First propaganda leaflet flight: Didier Masson distributed propaganda leaflets from the air for the Mexican Revolutionist Venustiano Carranza, post May 10, 1913. *First flight across the
Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
: was by Swiss aviator Oskar Bider in a Blériot XI on 13 July 1910, from Bern to Domodossola and
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...
during which he reached an altitude of . *First
loop Loop or LOOP may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Loop (mobile), a Bulgarian virtual network operator and co-founder of Loop Live * Loop, clothing, a company founded by Carlos Vasquez in the 1990s and worn by Digable Planets * Loop Mobile, an ...
: Pyotr Nesterov looped a
Nieuport IV The Nieuport IV was a French-built sporting, training and reconnaissance monoplane of the early 1910s. Design and development Societe Anonyme des Etablissements Nieuport was formed in 1909 by Édouard Nieuport. The Nieuport IV was a deve ...
, on September 9, 1913. *First flight across the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...
: Roland Garros flew a Morane-Saulnier G from the South of France to
Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...
, on September 23, 1913. *First aircraft to exceed in level flight: Maurice Prévost flew a Deperdussin Monocoque in the 1913 Gordon Bennett Trophy race averaging over during a lap on September 28, 1913. *First dogfight: Dean Ivan Lamb flying a Curtiss pusher and Phil Rader in a Christofferson biplane traded pistol shots while airborne, during the Siege of Naco, Mexico in November or December 1913. *First scheduled commercial airplane flight: Tony Jannus flew a
Benoist XIV __NOTOC__ The Benoist XIV, also called ''The Lark of Duluth'', was a small biplane flying boat built in the United States in 1913 in the hope of using it to carry paying passengers. The two examples built were used to provide the first heavier-th ...
biplane flying-boat of the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line from St. Petersburg to Tampa in 23 minutes on January 1, 1914 with a paying passenger. This service ran until May 5, 1914. *First piloted flight indoors: Lincoln Beachey flew inside the Palace of Machinery intended for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
, California on either February 16 or 17, 1914. *First flight across the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian ...
: On July 30, 1914,
Tryggve Gran Jens Tryggve Herman Gran (20 January 1888 – 8 January 1980) was a Norwegian aviator, polar explorer and author. He was the skiing expert on the 1910–13 Scott Antarctic Expedition and was the first person to fly across the North Sea from ...
flew the from Cruden Bay in Scotland to Jæren in Norway in 4 hours and 10 minutes. *First aircraft downed by ground fire: On August 20, 1914 during the Battle of Cer, an Austro-Hungarian
Lohner B.I The Lohner B.I was a military reconnaissance aircraft produced in Austria-Hungary during World War I.Taylor 1989, 610 As Lohner strove to perfect the design, a variety of increasingly powerful engines were fitted, reflected in a range of milita ...
of Fliegerkompagnie 13 was damaged by
Royal Serbian Army The Army of the Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Војска Краљевине Србије, Vojska Kraljevine Srbije), known in English as the Royal Serbian Army, was the army of the Kingdom of Serbia that existed between 1882 and 1918, succeed ...
small arms fire near Lešnica. The pilot escaped and the Serbs failed to repair his aircraft. *First aircraft intentionally downed by another aircraft: Pyotr Nesterov rammed an Austrian Albatros B.II of FLIK 11 with his Morane-Saulnier G on September 7, 1914 following previous attempts using a grappling hook. Both aircraft were destroyed and all were killed. *First aircraft to shoot down another aircraft: A French Voisin III, piloted by Sergeant Joseph Frantz, and Corporal Louis Quénault as passenger, engaged a German Aviatik B.II near Rheims on October 5, 1914. After expending his machine-gun ammunition, Quénault shot the German pilot (Wilhelm Schlichting) with his rifle, causing the Aviatik to crash. *First female military pilot: Eugenie Mikhailovna Shakhovskaya was a reconnaissance pilot in the Imperial Russian Air Service, having been ordered to active service on November 19, 1914. *First aircraft operated from a submarine: was a Friedrichshafen FF.29 floatplane flown by Friedrich von Arnauld de la Perière from the U-boat SM U-12 (Germany) on January 6, 1915, when the aircraft was unlashed from the U-boat, which submerged out from under it. *First aerial victory for a fighter aircraft armed with a fixed forward-firing machine gun: Roland Garros, while with Escadrille 23 of the ''History of the Armée de l'Air (1909-1942), Aéronautique Militaire'' worked with Raymond Saulnier (aircraft manufacturer), Raymond Saulnier on a synchronized machine gun, however when that failed, they attached steel wedges to the propeller blades, and he proceeded to down three German aircraft in March 1915 before his engine failed behind enemy lines. *First aerial victory for a fighter aircraft armed with a forward-firing synchronized machine gun: ''Leutnant'' Kurt Wintgens of ''Feldflieger Abteilung'' 6b of the German Army (German Empire), German Army's ''Luftstreitkräfte, Fliegertruppe'' air arm, flying a Fokker E.I, Fokker M.5K/MG ''Eindecker'', downed a French Morane-Saulnier L near Lunéville, France, on July 1, 1915. *First female combat fighter pilot: Marie Marvingt flew combat missions for France in 1915. *First sinking of a ship with an aerial torpedo: Charles Edmonds in a Short 184 torpedoed and sank an abandoned Turkish supply ship in the Sea of Marmara on August 12, 1915. *First downing of a military aircraft with artillery fire: Serbian Army private Radoje Ljutovac hit an Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops, Austro-Hungarian aircraft on September 30, 1915 during a bombing raid on Kragujevac. *First combat search and rescue by airplane: Richard Bell Davies landed his Nieuport 10 to rescue another pilot who had been shot down in Bulgaria on November 19, 1915. *First medical evacuation (medevac) by air: Louis Paulhan evacuated the seriously ill Milan Stefanik from the Serbian front in 1915.''L'homme-vent'', special issue of ''L'Ami de Pézenas'', 2010, ISSN 1240-0084. *First Black military pilot: Ahmet Ali Çelikten a.k.a. Arap Ahmet Ali was the first black military pilot, served in Ottoman Aviation Squadrons from 1914 or 1915.Dünyanın ilk siyahi pilotu: ARAP AHMET −4 "Pilotlarla Dolu Bir Aile"
''Posta (newspaper), Posta'', March 20, 2011.
*First flight of a Parasite aircraft, parasite or composite airplane: A Felixstowe Porte Baby carried aloft and then launched a Bristol Scout while in flight on May 17, 1916. *First air-to-air rocket attack to down an aircraft: Eight aces including Charles Nungesser, Nungesser downed six observation balloons on May 22, 1916 while flying Nieuport 16s armed with Le Prieur rockets, blinding the German Army for a French counter-attack on Fort Douaumont. *First air-to-ground rocket attack: A roving Nieuport 16 equipped with Le Prieur rockets found a large ammunition dump, on June 29, 1916 and blew it up. *First submarine sunk by aircraft: HMS B10 was sunk by Lohner L aircraft of the ''Austro-Hungarian Navy, Kaiserliche und Königliche Seeflugwesen'' (Austrian Naval Air Service) while tied up at Venice on August 9, 1916. *First submarine sunk while underway by aircraft: French submarine Foucault was bombed by two Austro-Hungarian Lohner L seaplanes while off Cattaro on September 15, 1916, which resulted in Foucault being forced to surface and her crew to abandon ship. *First authenticated membership in the "Mile-high club": by pilot/engineer Lawrence Sperry and socialite Dorothy Rice Sims in her Curtiss Model F flying boat, which was equipped with an autopilot near New York City, New York on November 21, 1916, however Sperry bumped the autopilot, and a botched landing resulted in both of them being discovered unclothed.


Practical flight 1917–1938

*First unmanned (drone) aircraft to respond to control from the ground (RPV):The British unmanned aerial vehicles of World War I, Aerial Target on 21 March 1917 *First landing by an airplane on a moving ship: Squadron Commander Edwin Harris Dunning, Edwin Dunning landed a Sopwith Pup on on August 2, 1917. *First flight by an all-metal aircraft with a stressed skin monocoque primary structure: by the Dornier-Zeppelin D.I, Zeppelin-Lindau (Dornier) D.I cantilever biplane on June 4, 1918. It would also be the first such aircraft to enter production. *First flight by an airplane across the Andes: Luis Candelaria flew from Zapala, Argentina, to Cunco, Chile, Cunco, Chile, in a Morane-Saulnier Type L Parasol-wing, parasol monoplane on April 13, 1918, reaching an altitude of . *First attack by aircraft launched from an aircraft carrier: Sopwith Camels flown from for the Tondern raid on July 19, 1918 destroyed List of Zeppelins, Zeppelins L 54 and L 60. *First flight across the Andes above highest peaks: Teniente Dagoberto Godoy crossed from Chile to Argentina in a Bristol M.1C, on December 12, 1918, reaching an altitude of , without oxygen. *First Atlantic Ocean, transatlantic flight: Albert Cushing Read with a crew of five in a US Navy Curtiss NC flying boat, the Curtiss NC-4, NC-4, flew from New York City to Plymouth, England via Newfoundland, the Azores, and Portugal from May 8–31, 1919, stopping 23 times. *First non–stop transatlantic flight: Alcock and Brown, John Alcock and Arthur Brown flew a Vickers Vimy from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, Newfoundland, to Clifden, Ireland, on June 14–15, 1919. *First transatlantic stowaways: William Ballantyne and his tabby cat, Wopsie, aboard the R33-class airship, R34 rigid airship, airship for a flight from the UK to Mineola, New York from July 2 to 6, 1919. Wopsy and two homing pigeons were the first animals to fly the Atlantic, with Wopsie being the first quadruped known to have flown across a major body of water. *First England to Australia flight: brothers Keith Macpherson Smith, Keith and Ross Macpherson Smith, with mechanics Sergeant Wallace H. Shiers and James M. Bennett, flew from Hounslow Heath Aerodrome to Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin in a Vickers Vimy on December 10, 1919, winning a prize of £A10,000. *First Rome to Tokyo flight: Arturo Ferrarin (and engineer Gino Cappannini) in an Ansaldo SVA biplane in winning the Rome-Tokyo Raid on May 31, 1920 *First flight across the Andes by a woman: Adrienne Bolland flew a Caudron G.3 from Mendoza, Argentina, to Santiago on April 1, 1921. *First flight by an aircraft with a pressurized cabin for high altitude flight: by a modified Engineering Division USD-9A A.S.40118 on June 8, 1921 by Art Smith (pilot), Art Smith. *First African–American or Native American or Black person to obtain an international pilot's license: Bessie Coleman on June 15, 1921 on a Nieuport 82. *First capital ship sunk by aircraft: Under orders from Brigadier General Billy Mitchell, William L. Mitchell, one Handley Page Type O, Handley-Page O/400 and six Martin NBS-1 bombers led by Capt. Walter R. Lawson bombed the captured ex-German World War I battleship, during a series of airpower tests, sinking it on July 21, 1921."Winged Defense," William Mitchell, Originally published by G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York and London, 1925. () Reissued by Dover Publications, Inc., New York, 2006. *Aerial application, First crop duster: John A. Macready, John Macready successfully flew a Curtiss Jenny that had been specially modified in a joint U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Signal Corps (United States Army), U.S. Army Signal Corps project from McCook Field in Dayton, Ohio to spray crops with lead arsenate to control a caterpillar infestation on August 3, 1921. *First aerial refuelling: Done by Wesley “Wes” May, Frank Hawks and Earl Daugherty with a Lincoln Standard biplane and a Curtiss Jenny *First flight to sustain a speed over : Joseph Sadi-Lecointe flew a Nieuport-Delage Sesquiplan racer over a distance of at an average speed in excess of on September 30, 1922. *First aerial crossing of the South Atlantic (with aircraft replacement): Artur de Sacadura Cabral and Gago Coutinho flew from Lisbon, Portugal, to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in a total of three Fairey III.D floatplanes between March 30 and June 17, 1922. The first to use astronomical navigation (and to rely solely on it during the crossing), with an artificial horizon for aeronautical use. *First Autogyro, autogyro/autogiro flight: Alejandro Gomez Spencer made the first successful Autogyro flight in the Cierva C.4 on January 9, 1923 (O.C.), previous designs having failed to achieve flight. *First aerial refueling with a fuel line: A Airco DH.4, DH-4B biplane of the United States Army Air Service successfully refuelled another DH.4B, piloted by Lowell Smith, in mid-air on June 27, 1923. *First flight from Portugal to China: Using two different aircraft, Sarmento de Beires and Brito Pais flew in 115 hours 45 minutes of flying time from Vila Nova de Milfontes, Alentejo to Shenzhen, near Hong Kong, between April 7 and June 20, 1924, *First aerial circumnavigation: Pilots Lowell Smith, Lowell H. Smith, Erik H. Nelson and John Harding Jr., in a pair of Douglas World Cruisers of the United States Army Air Service completed an aerial east–west circumnavigation of the world starting and ending in Seattle Washington, between April 6 and September 28, 1924.Unless specified, most circumnavigation flights were not done along the greatest distance, at the equator, but merely crossed all lines of longitude – often at high latitudes, and as far north as possible. *First Amsterdam to Tokyo flight: Pedro Zanni, Pedro Leandro Zanni and mechanic Felipe Beltrame, flew , with a change of aircraft in Hanoi, from July 26 to October 11, 1924, with a flight time of 119 hours 50 minutes. *First nighttime aerial photograph by Lieutenant George William Goddard, George W. Goddard of the United States Army Air Service on the night of November 20, 1925 using a flash bomb and Aerial reconnaissance, aerial reconnaisance camera while flying over the Kodak, Eastman Kodak building in Rochester, New York, Rochester, N Y. *First aerial crossing of the South Atlantic#Later transatlantic flights, First aerial crossing of the South Atlantic (single aircraft): Ramón Franco, Julio Ruiz de Alda Miqueleiz, Juan Manuel Duran and Pablo Rada, made between Spain and South America in the ''Plus Ultra (aircraft), Plus Ultra'', in January 1926. *First flight of a flying wing airplane: was made by the Chyeranovskii BICh-3 in 1926. *First successful flight of a glider tow plane: was made with a Raab-Katzenstein RK.6 Kranich, Raab-Katzenstein RK.6 ''Kranich'' flown by Kurt Katzenstein, towing a Raab-Katzenstein RK 7 Schmetterling, Raab-Katzenstein RK 7 ''Schmetterling'' glider flown by Antonius Raab on April 13, 1927. *First solo non-stop New York City, New York to
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
(city to city) transatlantic flight: Charles Lindbergh, flying the ''Spirit of St. Louis'', made the 33-hour journey from New York to Paris on May 20–21, 1927, winning the Orteig Prize. *First outside loop: Jimmy Doolittle, in a Curtiss P-1 Hawk, Curtiss P-1B Hawk on May 25, 1927. *First flight from U.S. mainland to Hawaii: U.S. Army lieutenants Albert Francis Hegenberger and Lester J. Maitland flew from California to Hawaii in the ''Bird of Paradise (aircraft), Bird of Paradise'', a Fokker F.VII, C-2 transport, on June 28–29, 1927. *First female airline pilot: Marga von Etzdorf was hired by Lufthansa in 1927. *First east–west non–stop transatlantic crossing: the Bremen, a Junkers W 33 flown by Hermann Köhl with James Fitzmaurice as copilot, flew from Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel, Ireland to Greenly Island, Canada, Greenly Island in Quebec from April 12–13, 1928 *First long distance mass formation flight: Italo Balbo led 60 Savoia-Marchetti S.55 flying boats from May 25 to June 2, 1928 from Tuscany over the Balearic Islands, along Spanish and French coasts, and finally returning to Italy. *First Pacific Ocean, transpacific flight (US to Australia): Charles Kingsford Smith and crew, in the ''Southern Cross (aircraft), Southern Cross'', flew from Oakland, California, Oakland, California, to Brisbane, Australia via Hawaii and Fiji, between May 31 and June 9, 1928. *First rocket-powered aircraft to fly: was the Lippisch Ente flown by Fritz Stamer on June 11, 1928, using solid fuel rockets. *First woman to fly across the Atlantic (as passenger): Amelia Earhart was flown by Wilmer Stultz and Louis Gordon, in a Fokker F.VII, from Trepassey, Newfoundland, to Burry Port, Wales, on June 17, 1928. *First aircraft to fly powered with a diesel engine: was a Stinson SM-1 Detroiter, Stinson SM-1DX Detroiter powered with a Packard DR-980 flown by Walter E. Lees on September 19, 1928. *First deployment of a whole-aircraft parachute recovery system: was made by Roscoe Turner flying a Thunderbird W-14 biplane on April 14, 1929. *First ship-launched flight to deliver transatlantic mail: Jobst von Studnitz flew a Heinkel HE 12 with 11,000 pieces of mail from the while still at sea, to New York City several hours before the ship docked, on July 26, 1929. *First aircraft to be flown Instrument flight rules, only on instruments (blind flying): was by Jimmy Doolittle in a Consolidated NY-2 on September 24, 1929. *First flight over the South Pole: in the "Floyd Bennett", a Ford Trimotor, Ford 4-AT-B trimotor flown by Bernt Balchen with Harold June as co-pilot and Richard E. Byrd navigating, arriving shortly after midnight on November 29, 1929. *First aircraft to fly with a de-icing system: was a National Air Transport Boeing Model 40 modified by William C. Geer with an expanding rubber boot mounted on a strut, which was flown by Wesley L. Smith in late March 1930 for the first of three test flights than continued into April. *First trans-oceanic mass formation flight: Italo Balbo led twelve Savoia-Marchetti S.55 flying boats from Orbetello Airfield, Italy to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil between December 17, 1930 and January 15, 1931 which was documented in the first Italian aviation film Atlantic Flight (1931 film). *First flight by an aircraft with variable-sweep wings: was by the Tailless aircraft, tailless Westland-Hill Pterodactyl, Westland-Hill Pterodactyl IV with Flight-Lieutenant Louis G. Paget at the controls in April or May 1931. The wing sweep could be adjusted by 4.75 degrees in flight to provide trim adjustment. *First nonstop flight across the Pacific: Clyde Pangborn and Hugh Herndon flew 41 hours, 13 minutes in a heavily modified Bellanca CH-400 Skyrocket named ''Miss Veedol'' from Samushiro, Japan, to Wenatchee, Washington, on October 4–5, 1931. *First female pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean: Amelia Earhart, in a Lockheed Vega 5B, flew from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, to Culmore, Ireland, on May 20, 1932. *First successful helicopter with a single main lifting rotor: Alexei Cheremukhin and Boris Yuriev's TsAGI-1EA, which flew to a record altitude of on August 14, 1932. *First flight over Mount Everest: Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton, Lord Clydesdale in a Westland PV-3 and David McIntyre, in a Westland Wallace, Westland PV-6 flew over Everest on April 3, 1933 during their Houston–Mount Everest flight expedition. *First proven act of sabotage to a commercial aircraft in flight: 1933 United Airlines Boeing 247 mid-air explosion, The crash of a United Airlines Boeing 247 near Chesterton, Indiana, United States on October 10, 1933, killing all seven people aboard, was found to have been caused by a nitroglycerin-based bomb detonated during flight; eyewitnesses on the ground had seen the explosion. The perpetrator or perpetrators were never identified. *First scheduled commercial trans-Pacific passenger service: A Pan American World Airways, Pan-American Martin M-130 began a proving flight on November 22, 1935 that led to passengers being carried on a regularly scheduled service from
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
to Manila that began on October 21, 1936. *First flight by a delta wing aircraft: was made by the Moskalyev SAM-9 Strela, flown by A.N.Rybko in early 1937. *First trans–polar flight: A Tupolev ANT-25RD flown by Valery Chkalov, Valery Pavlovich Chkalov with copilot Georgy Filippovich Baydukov and navigator Alexander Vasilyevich Belyakov from Shchyolkovo, Schelkovo air base on the outskirts of Moscow, to Pearson Field in Vancouver, Washington, crossing the Arctic for the first time from June 18–20, 1937 over a distance of in 63 hours and 25 minutes. *First transatlantic commercial proving flights and quadruple crossing: An Imperial Airways Short Empire flying boat and a Pan American World Airways, Pan-American Sikorsky S-42 flying boat both crossed the Atlantic on July 5, 1937, and then made the return flight. Both aircraft were operating at the extreme limits of their respective ranges, and so commercial service didn't start until a few years later. *First flight of a commercial aircraft with a pressurized cabin that would enter service: was made on December 31, 1938 by the Boeing 307 Stratoliner.Gunston, 1992, p.361


Jet age, 1939–present

*First flight by a liquid-fueled rocket-powered aircraft: was made by a Heinkel He 176 flown by Erich Warsitz on June 20, 1939. *First scheduled commercial transatlantic passenger service: Pan American World Airways, Pan American Boeing 314 Clipper ''Yankee Clipper'' flying boats made the first scheduled commercial flight between New York City and Marseille, France on June 28, 1939. *First flight by a turbojet-powered aircraft: was made with a Heinkel He 178, flown by Erich Warsitz on August 27, 1939. * First Ramjet powered flight: was made by Petr Yermolayevich Loginov in a Polikarpov I-15bisDM modified with 2 DM-2 ramjets on January 25, 1940, with prior flights being made in December without the ramjets being powered. *First operational use of a military assault glider: was by the Luftwaffe, which used DFS 230 gliders to take the Fort Eben-Emael, and to capture critical bridges over the Albert Canal on May 10, 1940. *First flight of an aircraft powered by a motorjet, motorjet/thermojet: was with a Caproni Campini N.1 flown by Mario de Bernardi on August 27, 1940Enzo Angelucci; Paolo Matricardi. ''Campini Caproni C.C.2 in Guida agli Aeroplani di tutto il Mondo''. Mondadori Editore. Milano, 1979. Vol. 5, pp. 218–219. *First flight with an afterburner: was made by a Caproni Campini N.1, Caproni Campini C.C.2 motorjet on 11 April 1941. *First capital ships sunk by aircraft while underway: were , followed by , by Japanese Mitsubishi G4Ms of the Kanoya, Genzan and Mihoro Air Groups on December 10, 1941. *First use of an Airborne Early Warning radar system: Vickers Wellington Mk.Ic R1629 was modified with a rotating radar array to increase detection range, and to direct fighters to intercept Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor bombers being used in the anti-shipping role, with the first operational trials occurring in April 1942. Advances in radar technology quickly made it obsolete, but similar conversions were also made in 1944 to Wellington Mk.XIV bombers to direct the interceptions of Heinkel He 111s that were launching V-1 flying bombs (cruise missiles) under the name "Air Controlled Interception". Bristol Beaufighter, Beaufighters were directed toward the Heinkels while de Havilland Mosquito, Mosquitos were directed to the V-1s, if a launch occurred. *First purpose-built jet bomber to fly: was the Arado Ar 234 which made its first flight on July 30, 1943. *First rocket-powered aircraft used in combat: Wolfgang Späte, ''Major'' Späte of the Erprobungskommando#Erprobungskommando 16, EK 16 service test unit flew a Messerschmitt Me 163B ''Komet'' Interceptor aircraft#Point defense interceptors, interceptor against Allies of World War II, Allied aircraft on May 13, 1944. *First jet fighter used in combat: A Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter flown by ''Leutnant'' Alfred Schreiber (officer), Alfred Schreiber of Erprobungskommando#Erprobungskommando 262, Ekdo 262 service test unit attacked an RAF No. 540 Squadron RAF, 540 Squadron de Havilland Mosquito, but failed to shoot it down on July 26, 1944. * First jet on jet aerial victory: was scored by Flying Officer Dean of the Royal Air Force in a Gloster Meteor, Gloster Meteor Mk.I EE216 against a V-1 flying bomb on August 4, 1944. *First fully automatic Instrument approach, blind landing was made with Boeing 247D DZ203 by Flight Lieutenant Frank Griffiths of the Royal Air Force on 16 January 1945, while subsequent tests confirmed it in inclement weather. Previous landing systems required the pilot to see for the final approach. *First aircraft to use a nuclear weapon: was United States Army Air Force, USAAF Boeing B-29 Superfortress "Enola Gay" flown by Paul Tibbets and under the command of William Sterling Parsons which dropped Little Boy on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, where it detonated at an approximate altitude of and with a force of on August 6, 1945. *First turboprop powered aircraft to fly: was a modified Gloster Meteor F.I powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent turbine engines driving propellers, on September 20, 1945. *First scheduled commercial transatlantic passenger service using landplanes: was made with an American Overseas Airlines Douglas DC-4 between New York City and Hurn Airport in England via Gander, Newfoundland, and Shannon, Ireland on October 23, 1945. *First known List of wheel-well stowaway flights, wheel-well stowaway: An Indonesian orphan, Bas Wie, 12, hid in the wheel well of a Dutch Douglas DC-3 flying from Kupang to Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, Australia, on August 7, 1946. He survived the three-hour flight despite severe injuries, and later became an Australian citizen. *First documented supersonic flight: was by Chuck Yeager in a Bell X-1 on October 14, 1947. *First flight by a jet transport: was by a Rolls-Royce Nene-powered Vickers VC.1 Viking on April 6, 1948. *First nonstop around-the-world flight: Starting on February 26, Capt. James Gallagher and his crew refuelled inflight four times in Boeing B-50 Superfortress, Boeing B-50A Superfortress ''Lucky Lady II'' while flying around the world, to return to where they started at Carswell AFB in Texas on March 2, 1949. *First criminal prosecution of an aircraft bombing: Albert Guay along with two accomplices was convicted of murder and hanged for the bombing of Canadian Pacific Air Lines Douglas DC-3 Flight 108 on September 9, 1949, which killed all 23 occupants. *First jet on manned jet aerial victory: was thought to have been by Lt. Brown in a Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star, F-80 over a MiG-15 on November 8, 1950, however that MiG survived. Instead the first victory was made in a Grumman F9F Panther, Grumman F9F-2B Panther flown by Lt. Cdr. William T. Amen, commanding officer of VF-111, over Captain Mikhail Grachev in a MiG-15 from the 139th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment on November 9, 1950. *First propeller driven aircraft to exceed the speed of sound (in a dive): was a McDonnell XF-88 Voodoo (without assistance from the jet engines) flown by Capt. Fitzpatrick in late June, 1953. *First aircraft to exceed Mach 2: Scott Crossfield was first to fly at twice the speed of sound in a Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket on November 20, 1953. *First aircraft to fly with an area rule design: was the Grumman F11F Tiger, Grumman F9F-9 TigerThe Grumman F9F-9 Tiger was redesignated after its first flight as F11F-1 Tiger flown by Corwin Meyer on July 30, 1954. *First supercruise sustained supersonic flight in horizontal flight without using afterburner: was made by a Nord Gerfaut I research aircraft on August 3, 1954. *First aircraft shot down with a Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM): was a Taiwanese Martin RB-57D Canberra over China that was hit by three S-75 Dvina, SA-2/V-750 missiles on October 7, 1959. *Jet Pack, First manned Jetpack flights: Engineer Wendell Moore (engineer), Wendell Moore made the first flight at Bell Laboratories in February 1961. *First supersonic flight by an airliner: was made by William Magruder in a dive from altitude with a Douglas DC-8-43, briefly reaching a speed of Mach 1.012 at at during a test flight on August 21, 1961. *First solo circumnavigation by a woman: Jerrie Mock returned to Columbus, Ohio, on May 17, 1964, having flown around the world in her Cessna 180 Skywagon since leaving the same airport 29 days earlier in a race with Joan Merriam Smith, who had followed a different route. *First pole-to-pole circumnavigation: was completed by Captains Fred Austin and Harrison Finch in Boeing 707, Boeing 707-349C "Pole Cat", in 57 hours, 27 minutes on 15 November 1965. *First woman to fly for a major U.S. airline: Bonnie Tiburzi became the first female pilot for a major U.S. airline, American Airlines, in March 1973. *First manned flight by an electrically powered aeroplane: was made with a Brditschka HB-3, Brditschka MB-E1, a modified motor glider with an Bosch KM77 electric motor on October 23, 1973. *First scheduled supersonic passenger flights: were made with Concorde SSTs from
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
to Bahrain, and simultaneously from
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
to Rio de Janeiro on January 21, 1976. *First circumnavigation by helicopter: H. Ross Perot, Jr. and Jay Coburn in Bell 206, Bell 206L-1 LongRanger II ''Spirit of Texas'', from September 1 to 30, 1982. *First non-stop, un-refueled flight around the Earth: was made by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager in the Rutan Voyager over 9 days, 3 minutes and 44 seconds, running from December 14 to 23, 1986. *First all-female airliner crew: was the American Airlines Boeing 727 flown from Washington D.C. to Dallas, Texas captained by Beverley Bass on December 30, 1986. *First helicopter to the North Pole: was a Bell Jetranger III flown by Dick Smith (entrepreneur), Dick Smith on April 28, 1987. *First flight by an aircraft fuelled only with hydrogen: was made by a Tupolev Tu-155 (a modified Tu-154 airliner) powered only by hydrogen on April 15, 1988. A National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, NACA Martin B-57B flew on hydrogen in February 1957, but only for 20 minutes before reverting to jet fuel. *First circumnavigation which landed at both poles: was made in a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter flown by Dick Smith, who carried out landings on both poles during 1988 and 1989. *First east-west circumnavigation by helicopter: was completed in a Sikorsky S-76 by Dick Smith in 1995. *First to land a helicopter at both Poles: Quentin Smith & Steve Brooks landed a Robinson R44 at the North Pole in October 2002 and at the South Pole in January 2005, *First solo non-stop fixed-wing aircraft flight around the Earth: was made in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, flown by Steve Fossett, from Salina, Kansas, from February 28 to March 3, 2005, in 67 hours. *First solo flight by an armless pilot: Just using her legs Jessica Cox earned her pilot's license on May 10, 2008, flying a ERCO Ercoupe, Ercoupe from San Manuel Airport, Arizona. *First piloted overnight solar-powered flight in a fixed-wing aircraft: was made by Andre Borschberg on the ''Solar Impulse, Solar Impulse 1'' between July 7–8, 2010. *First trans-Atlantic flight by autogyro: Norman Surplus flew solo from Belfast, Maine, to Larne, Northern Ireland in a Rotorsport UK MT-03 Autogyro "Roxy" between July 8, 2015 and August 11, 2015. *First piloted non-stop solar-powered transatlantic flight:
Bertrand Piccard Bertrand Piccard FRSGS (born 1 March 1958) is a Swiss explorer, psychiatrist and environmentalist. Along with Brian Jones, he was the first to complete a non-stop balloon flight around the globe, in a balloon named Breitling Orbiter 3. He was ...
flew from New York City to Seville in the ''Solar Impulse, Solar Impulse 2'' between June 20–23, 2016. *First circumnavigation of the world by a piloted fixed-wing aircraft using only solar power: ''Solar Impulse 2'' between March 2015 and July 2016; Borschberg and Piccard alternated piloting stages of the journey. *First circumnavigation by helicopter passing antipodal pointsPoints on opposite sides of the globe was completed with a Robinson R66 by Peter Wilson (pilot), Peter Wilson and Matthew Gallagher (pilot), Matthew Gallagher on August 7, 2017. *First electroaerodynamic thrust winged Ion-propelled aircraft test flight: MIT EAD Airframe Version 2 using ionic wind on November 21, 2018. *First circumnavigation by autogyro: Norman Surplus flew a RotorSport UK MT-03 between June 1, 2015 and June 28, 2019 from McMinnville, Oregon, USA, for an eastbound circumnavigation. *First female circumnavigation via both poles: were Payload Specialist Jannicke Mikkelsen, and Flight Attendant Magdelena Starowicz, as part of the crew of a Gulfstream G650ER ''One More Orbit'' between July 9, 2019 and July 11, 2019. *First powered, controlled takeoff and landing on another planet or celestial body: was the NASA rotorcraft ''Ingenuity (helicopter), Ingenuity'' on Mars on April 19, 2021.


See also

* Australian aviation firsts * Circumnavigation * List of circumnavigations * List of spaceflight records#Human spaceflight firsts, Firsts in human spaceflight * Timeline of women in aviation


Notes


References


Citations


Sources

* ''Conquistadors of the Sky: A History of Aviation in Latin America''. Dan Hagedorn. University Press of Florida, 2008. . * ''Interpretive History of Flight.'' M.J.B. Davy. Science Museum, London, 1937. * ''Leave No Man Behind: The Saga of Combat Search and Rescue.'' George Galdorisi, Thomas Phillips. MBI Publishing Company, 2009. . * {{DEFAULTSORT:Firsts in aviation History of aviation Aviation pioneers, Aviation records Aviation-related lists Lists of firsts, Aviation