Edge Rewrite
location Source code View original
// request.cf · coarse context

A page that knows where it met you.

Only coarse request metadata is shown. This demo does not display or persist visitor IP addresses.

Country
US
Cloudflare location
CMH
Connection
HTTP/2
Language
Not provided

Ray ID: a24ce0677eaba9c0

Jump to content

Portal:Aviation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from P:AVIA)

Portal topics - (Random portal)

Activities
Culture
Geography
Health
History
Mathematics
Nature
People
Philosophy
Religion
Society
Technology
Main page   Categories & Main topics  


Tasks and Projects

The Aviation Portal

A Boeing 747 in 1978 operated by Pan Am.

Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. Aircraft include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft 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. Clément Ader built the "Ader Éole" in France and made an uncontrolled, powered hop in 1890. This was the first powered aircraft, although it did not achieve controlled flight. Some of the most significant advancements in aviation technology came with the controlled gliding flying of Otto Lilienthal in 1896. A major leap followed with the construction of the Wright Flyer, 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 engine which enabled aviation to become a major form of transport throughout the world. In 2024, there were 9.5 billion passengers worldwide according to the ICAO. As of 2018, estimates suggest that 11% of the world's population traveled by air, with up to 4% taking international flights. (Full article...)

Selected article

The Luftwaffe Balkenkreuz (balk cross) was carried on the upper and lower wings and the fuselages of practically all German military aircraft between 1935 and 1945. It was essentially the national marking used by the German Air Service in the last year of World War I.
The Luftwaffe Balkenkreuz (balk cross) was carried on the upper and lower wings and the fuselages of practically all German military aircraft between 1935 and 1945. It was essentially the national marking used by the German Air Service in the last year of World War I.
The German Luftwaffe was one of the strongest, doctrinally advanced, and battle-experienced air forces in the world when World War II started in Europe in September 1939. Officially unveiled in 1935, in violation of the Treaty of Versailles, its purpose was to support Hitler's Blitzkrieg across Europe. The aircraft that were to serve in the Luftwaffe were of a new age and far superior to that of most other nations in the 1930s. Types like the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka and Messerschmitt Bf 109 came to symbolize German aerial might.

The Luftwaffe became an essential component in the "Blitzkrieg" battle plan. Operating as a tactical close support air force, it helped the German armies to conquer the bulk of the European continent in a series of short and decisive campaigns in the first nine months of the war, experiencing its first defeat during the Battle of Britain in 1940 as it could not adapt into a strategic role, lacking heavy bombers with which to conduct a strategic bombing campaign against the British Isles.

Despite this setback the Luftwaffe remained formidable and in June 1941 embarked on Adolf Hitler's quest for an empire in eastern Europe by invading the USSR, with much initial success. However, the Luftwaffe's striking victories in the Soviet Union were brought to a halt in the Russian winter of 1942-1943. From then on, it was forced onto the strategic defensive contesting the ever increasing numbers of Soviet aircraft, whilst defending the German homeland and German occupied Europe from the growing Allied air forces pounding all aspects of German industry.

Having failed to achieve victory in the Soviet Union in 1941 or 1942, the Luftwaffe was drawn into a war of attrition which extended to North Africa and the Channel Front. The entry of the United States into the war and the resurgence of the Royal Air Force's (RAF) offensive power created the Home Front, known as Defense of the Reich operations. The Luftwaffe's strength was slowly eroded and by mid 1944 had virtually disappeared from the skies of Western Europe leaving the German Army to fight without air support. It continued to fight into the last days of the war with revolutionary new aircraft, such as the Messerschmitt Me 262, Messerschmitt Me 163 and the Heinkel He 162, even though the war was already hopelessly lost. (Full article...)

Selected image

C-17 Globemaster III
Photo credit: SSgt. Jacob N. Bailey, USAF
A squadron of C-17 Globemaster III airlifter aircraft on a low level tactical training mission over the Blue Ridge Mountains. The C-17 Globemaster III is used for rapid strategic airlift of troops and cargo to main operating bases or forward bases anywhere in the world. The aircraft carries on the name of two previous United States cargo aircraft, the C-74 Globemaster and the C-124 Globemaster II.
More selected pictures

Did you know

...that the Heinkel He 46, designed for the Luftwaffe in 1931, was still being used to fight the Soviets in 1943?

...that the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight contains the world's oldest airworthy survivor of the Battle of Britain, alongside ten other historic aircraft - two of which fought over Normandy on D-Day? ...that Royal Brunei Catering, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Royal Brunei Airlines, was named as Best Regional Caterer 1995/1996 by Singapore Airlines?

More Did you know facts

General images - load new batch

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

Aviation news

1 August 2026 – 2026 Aerodiana Cessna 208 crash
Thirteen people, including 11 tourists, are killed when a small aircraft crashes near the Nazca Lines, Peru, after departing Pisco, Ica. (Firstpost)
31 July 2026 –
Indonesian authorities announces it arrested a Malaysia Airlines pilot for allegedly smuggling over 26 kg (57 lb) of ecstasy and a package of methamphetamine into Jakarta International Airport. (AP)
25 July 2026 –
Two people are killed when a Tecnam P2010 aircraft crashes into a home in Ganderkesee, Lower Saxony, Germany. (DPA via South China Morning Post)
24 July 2026 –
The SpaceX Starship test flight 13, the first to successfully deploy operational Starlink satellites, successfully lands in the Indian Ocean intact. (CNN)
23 July 2026 – Middle Eastern crisis
Reuters reports that Iran sent Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officers, along with drone- and missile-related equipment, on a Mahan Air flight to Houthi-controlled Yemen on July 13, in preparation for the blockade on Saudi Arabia. (Reuters)

Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Selected biography

Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was a pioneering aviator, engineer, industrialist and film producer. He was widely known as a playboy and one of the wealthiest people in the world. He is famous for setting multiple world air-speed records; building the Hughes H-1 Racer and H-4 Hercules airplanes; producing Hell's Angels and The Outlaw; and, for his debilitating and eccentric behavior later in life. Hughes was born in Houston, Texas on December 24, 1905, although his exact birthdate is debated by some biographers. His parents were Allene Gano Hughes and Howard R. Hughes Sr., who patented the tri-cone roller bit, which allowed rotary drilling for oil in previously inaccessible places. Howard R. Hughes Sr. founded Hughes Tool Company in 1909 to commercialize this invention.

Selected Aircraft

Dash 8 300 landing at Bristol (UK)
Dash 8 300 landing at Bristol (UK)

The de Havilland Canada DHC-8, popularly the Dash 8, is a series of twin-turboprop airliners designed by de Havilland Canada in the early 1980s. They are now made by Bombardier Aerospace which purchased DHC from Boeing in 1992. Since 1996 the aircraft have been known as the Q Series, for "quiet", due to installation of the Active Noise and Vibration Suppression (ANVS) system designed to reduce cabin noise and vibration levels to near those of jet airliners.

Notable features of the Dash 8 design are the large T-tail intended to keep the tail free of propwash during takeoff, a very high aspect ratio wing, the elongated engine nacelles also holding the rearward-folding landing gear, and the pointed nose profile. First flight was in 1983, and the plane entered service in 1984 with NorOntair. Piedmont Airlines (formerly Henson Airlines) was the US launch customer for the Dash 8 in 1984.

The Dash 8 design had better cruise performance than the earlier Dash 7, was less expensive to operate, and more notably, much less expensive to maintain. The Dash 8 had the lowest costs per passenger mile of any feederliner of the era. The only disadvantage compared to the earlier Dash 7 was somewhat higher noise levels, but only in comparison as the Dash 7 was notable in the industry for extremely low noise due to its four very large and slow-turning propellers.

  • Length: 107 ft 9 in (32.84 m)
  • Wingspan: 93 ft 3 in (32.84 m)
  • Height: 27 ft 5 in (8.34 m)
  • Powerplant: 2× Pratt & Whitney Canada PW150A turboprops, 5,071 shp (3,781 kW) each
  • Cruise speed: 360 knots (414 mph, 667 km/h)
  • Maiden Flight: June 20, 1983

Today in Aviation

August 2

  • 2013 – British Airways Flight 902, an Airbus A380 (G-XLEA), operates the 1st fare paying flight for the new British Airways A380 fleet to Frankfurt. Departing London Heathrow at just after 7am.
  • 2010 – Todd Reichert of the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies pilots a human-powered ornithopter, Snowbird, in Ontario, sustaining 19.3 seconds of flight, covering a distance of 145 metres (475 ft). The 42.6 kg (92.59 lb) craft has 32-metre- (105-foot-) span flapping wings.[1]
  • 2005 – Air France Flight 358, an Airbus A340-300, skids off a runway in Toronto, Ontario, while landing and catches fire; all 309 on board escape without fatalities or serious injuries, but the aircraft is completely destroyed by the fire.
  • 1991 – Launch: Space Shuttle Columbia STS-43 at 11:01:59 am EDT. Mission highlights: TDRS deployment.
  • 1990 – (2-4) Iraq invades and occupies Kuwait. At the time, the United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Independence (CV-62) is in the northern Arabian Sea; during the month, additional aircraft carriers will deploy to within striking range of Iraq and Kuwait, with USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) deploying to the eastern Mediterranean Sea and then the Red Sea, and USS Saratoga (CV-60) departing Norfolk, Virginia, to deploy to the Red Sea. USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) relieves Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Red Sea in mid-August.
  • 1990 – British Airways Flight 149 was a flight from London Heathrow Airport to Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, (the former international airport for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), via Kuwait City and Madras (now called Chennai) operated by British Airways Boeing 747-136 G-AWND. The flight never travelled on after stopping at Kuwait International Airport, near Kuwait City, several hours after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. The aircraft operating the flight, its passengers and crew were captured by Iraqi forces and many of the passengers and crew were initially detained and later became part of the ‘Human Shield’. One passenger, a member of the Kuwaiti Royal Family, was killed by the Iraqis, most of the remaining passengers were later freed, though at least one died during captivity, and the aircraft was destroyed, still on the airport, near its original landing gate. Allegations that the airline deliberately did not divert, so as to insert British covert operatives, form the basis of at least one court case.
  • 1985 – Delta Air Lines Flight 191, a Lockheed Tristar, crashes on approach to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport because of wind shear from a sudden microburst thunderstorm. Of the 163 passengers and crew aboard, 27 survive.
  • 1981 – Fuerza Aérea Panamena de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 300, FAP-205, c/n 284, departs Penonomé, Panama at 1140 hrs. for Coclecito, Panama, with two crew and Panama's President General Omar Torrijos and four of his aides aboard. Before reaching the destination the airplane flew into the side of Marta Mountain at an altitude of 3,400 ft. at ~1200 hrs., killing all seven.
  • 1966 – First flight of the Sukhoi Su-17 was 1 Jul 1969.[2][better source needed]. However, the Su-7IG, a converted Su-7BM, first flew on 2 Aug 1966 with V. S. Ilyushin at the controls, becoming the first Soviet variable geometry aircraft.[3]
  • 1947 – Star Dust (registration G-AGWH) was a British South American Airways (BSAA) Avro Lancastrian airliner which disappeared in mysterious circumstances on 2 August 1947 during a flight from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Santiago, Chile. A comprehensive search of a wide area (including what is now known to have been the crash site) discovered no wreckage, and the true fate of the aircraft and its passengers and crew remained a mystery for over fifty years. Speculation about the cause and nature of the disappearance of Star Dust included theories of international intrigue, intercorporate sabotage, or abduction by aliens.
  • 1945 – 855 B-29 Superfortresses drop 5,987,481 kilograms (13,200,136 lb) of bombs on Toyama, Tachikawa, and other cities in Japan. The attack on Toyama is an incendiary raid that destroys almost the entire city.
  • 1945 – A U. S. Navy PV-1 Ventura patrol plane discovers survivors of the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis (CA-35), the first indication that Indianapolis is even missing, 84 hours after she had been sunk by the Japanese submarine I-58 in the Philippine Sea. A large air-sea rescue operation lasts until August 8, but saves only 316 of her crew of 1,199.
  • 1943 – The 1943 Liberator crash at Whenuapai was an aircraft accident in New Zealand during World War II. The C-87 Liberator Express aircraft, owned by the USAAF and operated by United Airlines, was transferring Japanese men, women and children of the Consular Corps, to exchange for Allied POWs. On 2 August 1943, it took off from Whenuapai Aerodrome runway 04 at 2:20 am, with rain and fog conditions at minimums for departure, and quickly passed through low stratus. Captain Herschel Laughlin’s gyro horizon had inadvertently been left caged – while the instrument displayed level flight, the aircraft entered a steepening bank to the left. The crew detected the problem in a few seconds, but as the aircraft was straightening up and levelling out, it hit the ground at about 200 mph (320 km/h), bounced a few times and exploded. The third bounce threw its first officer, R. John Wisda, out through the canopy; he rolled end over end about 100 m (330 ft) through mud and reeds. A medic later found him trying to keep warm near a burning tyre. The major factors of the accident were the lack of a pre-flight checklist, and crew fatigue (126 flying hours in the last 26 days). The crash killed three of the five crew (United States nationals), and eleven of the twenty-five passengers (eight Japanese and three Thai nationals). Two additional passengers died later from injuries.
  • 1943 – (2-3) The final raid of the Battle of Hamburg, by 740 British bombers, fails when the bombers scatter their bombs widely. Thirty British aircraft do not return. Despite the enormnous damage it has inflicted, Operation Gomorrah has failed to completely destroy Hamburg.
  • 1943 – Boeing B-17E Flying Fortress, 41-2463, "Yankee Doodle", of the 19th Bomb Group, then to 394th Bomb Squadron, 5th Bomb Group, crashes on takeoff due mechanical failure at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, Bombardier Sgt. John P. Kruger and navigator Lt. Talbert H. Woolam are killed. Pilot was Gene Roddenberry, future creator of Star Trek. The airframe was stricken on 13 August 1943.
  • 1940 – As one of the components of Operation Hurry, the first of many operations in which Royal Air Force fighters fly off Allied aircraft carriers for service at Malta, twelve Fairey Swordfish from the British aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal make the first night raid on Italian soil in the early morning hours, attacking Cagliari in southern Sardinia. They inflict heavy damage on the airfield and on Italian seaplanes anchored in the harbor and drop naval mines into the harbor. Two Swordfish are lost. Nine accompanying Blackburn Skuas shoot down an Italian Cant Z.501. It is a diversionary attack to cover the carrier HMS Argus, which flies off 12 RAF Hawker Hurricanes to Malta from a point south of Sardinia later in the day.
  • 1929 – (2-10) The English aviatrix and ornithologist Mary Russell, Duchess of Bedford, her personal pilot C. D. Barnard, and mechanic Robert Little make a record-breaking flight in the Fokker F.VII Spider (G-EBTS) of 10,000 mi (16,000 km) from Lympne Airport in Lympne, England, to Karachi, then in the British Indian Empire, and back to Croydon Airport in South London, England, in eight days.
  • 1925 – The only Viking IV stationed at Ottawa was the British-built G-CYES and it was written off.
  • 1924 – One of the three surviving Douglas World Cruiser aircraft, the "Boston", 23-1231, c/n 147, loses oil pressure while flying west over the North Atlantic, has to alight on the open sea. Crew is rescued, but during an attempt to tow the float plane by the USS Richmond, the aircraft capsizes in rough seas and has to be abandoned near the Faroe Islands.
  • 1917 – Squadron Commander Edwin Dunning of the British Royal Naval Air Service becomes the first pilot to land an airplane on the deck of a moving ship when he puts a Sopwith Pup down on HMS Furious.
  • 1916 – (2-16) German Zeppelins raid southeast England. Lieutenant William Leefe-Robinson, Royal Flying Corps, shoots down Zeppelin SL 11 in a BE.2c.
  • 1916 – A Bristol Scout C from the Royal Navy seaplane carrier Vindex unsuccessfully attacks the German Zeppelin L 17. It is the first interception of an airship by a carrier-based aircraft.
  • 1915 – Building upon 1913 flying-off experiments aboard HMS Hermes, an aircraft takes off from a platform aboard a fully operational British aviation ship for the first time, when a Sopwith Baby equipped with wheeled floats takes off from HMS Campania.
  • 1911 – The first woman in the United States licensed as a qualified pilot is Harriet Quimby, a drama critic.
  • 1909 – The first flying machine purchased and put into service by a government is the Wright Flyer. The US Army accepts its first airplane and pays the Wrights $25,000, plus a $5,000 bonus, because the machine exceeded the speed requirement of 40 mph.

References

  1. ^ "Human-Powered Ornithopter Project". Archived from the original on 26 September 2010. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
  2. ^ Sukhoi Su-17
  3. ^ http://sukhoi.org/planes/museum/su17/
Edit today's anniversaries – August Archive – All anniversaries...


Purge server cache

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Portal:Aviation&oldid=1360050682"