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The Aviation Portal

A Boeing 747 in 1978 operated by Pan Am

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 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 is 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; 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...)

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The air flow from the wing of this agricultural plane is made visible by a technique that uses colored smoke rising from the ground. The swirl at the wingtip traces the aircraft's wake vortex, which exerts a powerful influence on the flow field behind the plane.
The air flow from the wing of this agricultural plane is made visible by a technique that uses colored smoke rising from the ground. The swirl at the wingtip traces the aircraft's wake vortex, which exerts a powerful influence on the flow field behind the plane.
Aerodynamics is a branch of dynamics concerned with studying the motion of air, particularly when it interacts with a moving object. Understanding the motion of air (often called a flow field) around an object enables the calculation of forces and moments acting on the object. Typical properties calculated for a flow field include velocity, pressure, density and temperature as a function of position and time. By defining a control volume around the flow field, equations for the conservation of mass, momentum, and energy can be defined and used to solve for the properties. The use of aerodynamics through mathematical analysis, empirical approximation and wind tunnel experimentation form the scientific basis for heavier-than-air flight.

External aerodynamics is the study of flow around solid objects of various shapes. Evaluating the lift and drag on an airplane, the shock waves that form in front of the nose of a rocket is an example of external aerodynamics. Internal aerodynamics is the study of flow through passages in solid objects. For instance, internal aerodynamics encompasses the study of the airflow through a jet engine.

The ratio of the problem's characteristic flow speed to the speed of sound comprises a second classification of aerodynamic problems. A problem is called subsonic if all the speeds in the problem are less than the speed of sound, transonic if speeds both below and above the speed of sound are present (normally when the characteristic speed is approximately the speed of sound), supersonic when the characteristic flow speed is greater than the speed of sound, and hypersonic when the flow speed is much greater than the speed of sound. Aerodynamicists disagree over the precise definition of hypersonic flow; minimum Mach numbers for hypersonic flow range from 3 to 12. Most aerodynamicists use numbers between 5 and 8. (Full article...)

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Did you know

...in 1931 Amelia Earhart flew a Pitcairn PCA-2 autogyro to a then world altitude record of 18,415 feet (5613 m)? ...that the fighter pilot Aleksandr Kazakov destroyed 32 German and Austro-Hungarian planes during WWI, while his formal tally of 17 is explained by the fact that only planes crashed in the Russian-held territory were officially counted? ... that the Tony Jannus Award for distinguished achievement in commercial aviation is named for the pilot of the first scheduled commercial airline flight?

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

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

Selected biography

Marshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard GCB OM GCVO DSO (3 February 1873 – 10 February 1956) was a British officer who was instrumental in establishing the Royal Air Force. He has been described as the Father of the Royal Air Force.

During his formative years Trenchard struggled academically, failing many examinations and only just succeeding in meeting the minimum standard for commissioned service in the British Army. As a young infantry officer, Trenchard served in India and in South Africa. During the Boer War, Trenchard was critically wounded and as a result of his injury, he lost a lung, was partially paralysed and returned to Great Britain. While convalescing in Switzerland he took up bobsleighing and after a heavy crash, Trenchard found that his paralysis was gone and that he could walk unaided. Some months later, Trenchard returned to South Africa before volunteering for service in Nigeria. During his time in Nigeria, Trenchard commanded the Southern Nigeria Regiment for several years and was involved in efforts to bring the interior under settled British rule and quell inter-tribal violence.

In 1912, Trenchard learned to fly and was subsequently appointed as second in command of the Central Flying School. He held several senior positions in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I, serving as the commander of Royal Flying Corps in France from 1915 to 1917. In 1918, he briefly served as the first Chief of the Air Staff before taking up command of the Independent Air Force in France. Returning as Chief of the Air Staff under Winston Churchill in 1919, Trenchard spent the following decade securing the future of the Royal Air Force. He was Metropolitan Police Commissioner in the 1930s and a defender of the RAF in his later years.

Selected Aircraft

The Yakovlev Yak-42 is a line of tri-jet aircraft produced by the aircraft company Yakolev. The Yak 42 was produced from 1980-2003.

Historically, the yak-42 was competition for older Russian aircraft companies. The Yak-42 was only made in one passenger variant, but it was used in many tests of equipment.

  • Crew: 3
  • Span: 114 ft 5 in (34.88 m)
  • Length: 119 ft 4 in (36.38 m)
  • Height: 32 ft 3 in (9.83 m)
  • Engines: 3× Lotarev D-36 turbofan
  • Cruise Speed: 740 km/h (399 knots, 460 mph) (economy cruise)
  • Range: 4,000 km (2,158 nmi, 2,458 mi) (with maximum fuel)
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Today in Aviation

February 3

  • 2011 – Two Republic of China Air Force AT-3 trainers collide, one aircraft crashed near Fangliao and other landed safely. The two pilots of the crashed AT-3 ejected safely.
  • 2010 – A Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter of the United States Army crashed in Germany about 1800 hrs. local time northeast of Mannheim, killing three people on board.
  • 2008 – Silver State Helicopters ceases operations and enteres bankruptcy. At the time of closing Silver State operating 194 helicopters from its 34 flight schools.
  • 2005 – Kam Air Flight 904, a Boeing 737-200, crashes in a snowstorm in Afghanistan. All 96 passengers and eight crew members die.
  • 1998 – Cavalese cable car disaster: A United States Marine Corps EA-6 B Prowler cut a cable supporting a gondola, causing the death of 20 people. The two pilots, Captain Richard J. Ashby and his navigator Captain Joseph Schweitzer, were put under trial in the United States, but were found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide, but later they were found guilty of obstruction of justice for having destroyed evidence. Both were discharged from the Marines.
  • 1995 – Launch: Space Shuttle Discovery STS-63 at 05:22:04 am UTC. Mission highlights: Mir rendezvous, Spacehab, IMAX, Astronaut Eileen Collins becomes the first woman to pilot the Space Shuttle Discovery.
  • 1994 – Launch: Space Shuttle Discovery STS-60 at 7:10:05 am EST. Mission highlights: SPACEHAB, Wake Shield Facility.
  • 1994 – First launch: H-II, Japanese satellite launch system.
  • 1988 – Death of Kenneth Lee Porter, American WWI flying ace, Engineer who worked for Boeing during WWII and was a member of the US fighting pilots Association.
  • 1991 – Returning from a strike against Iraqi forces, a U. S. Air Force B-52G Stratofortress attempting to land at Diego Garcia crashes on final approach.
  • 1985 – First flight of the Atlas XH-1 Alpha, a South African prototype attack helicopter, used as a concept demonstrator for the then-planned Rooivalk project.
  • 1984 – Launch: Space shuttle Challenger STS-41-B at 13:00:00 UTC. Mission highlights: Comsat deployments, first untethered spacewalk by Bruce McCandless II with Manned Maneuvering Unit; first landing at KSC; dry run of equipment for Solar Max rescue.
  • 1982 – The Mil Mi-26 helicopter lifts a load weighing 57 metric tons to 2,000 m (6,500 ft) to break a world record for a helicopter.
  • 1978 – Introduction: de Havilland Canada Dash 7, popularly known as the Dash 7, turboprop-powered regional airliner with STOL capabilities, is introduced in service by Rocky Mountain Airways.
  • 1977 – Salyut 4 is back on earth.
  • 1966 – Launch of ESSA-1 (or OT-3) US spin-stabilized operational meteorological satellite.
  • 1966 – Luna 9, an unmanned Soviet spacecraft, makes the first successful landing on the Moon.
  • 1964 – The 1964 Turkish Airlines Ankara crash occurred when a Turkish Airlines Douglas C-47 A-5-DK airliner, registration TC-ETI, on a cargo flight from Istanbul Yeşilköy Airport (IST/LTBA) to Esenboğa Airport (ESB/LTAC) in Ankara, flew into terrain in Ankara Province whilst on an ILS approach. The aircraft had three crew on board and all were killed at the accident.
  • 1964 – The Federal Aviation Agency launches Operation Bongo Mark 2 to investigate the effects of supersonic flight; over the coming months, a Convair B-58 will fly through the sound barrier at low altitude over Oklahoma City.
  • 1964 – The North Vietnamese Air Force establishes its first jet fighter unit, Fighter Regiment No. 921, equipped with MiG-17 s. North Vietnamese jet fighter units will be based in the People’s Republic of China until August while their pilots undergo training.
  • 1959 – Boeing B-47E-50-LM Stratojet, 52-3371, of the 384th Bombardment Wing, crashes during landing near Little Rock, Arkansas. Pilot, co-pilot, and navigator killed.
  • 1959 – First flight of the Agusta-Bell AB.102, Italian helicopter based on the mechanical components of a Bell 48 that Agusta incorporated into an all-new, streamlined fuselage.
  • 1959 – American Airlines Flight 320, a Lockheed L-188 Super Electra, crashes into the East River, New York City, as a result of pilot error; sixty-five passengers and crew are killed.
  • 1948 – All 145 pilots and co-pilots at National Airlines go on strike, grounding the carrier’s 22 aircraft. The dispute is mainly over air safety.
  • 1946 – Pan American inaugurates the first commercial use of Lockheed Model 049 Constellation with the aircraft’s first scheduled service between New York and Bermuda.
  • 1945 – The US Army’s Eighth Air Force launches Operation Thunderclap – 1,000 B-17 bombers raid Berlin, killing 3,000 and leaving 120,000 homeless.
  • 1945 – Bound for the Kola Inlet in the Soviet Union, Convoy JW 64 becomes the first Arctic convoy to depart from the River Clyde. Its escort, designated Operation Hotbed, includes the British escort aircraft carriers HMS Campania and HMS Nairana. Campania carries the first night fighter involved in a convoy escort operation, a Fairey Fulmar equipped with airborne intercept radar.
  • 1944 – U. S. Navy Task Force 58 completes its support of ground operations on Kwajalein Island and Roi-Namur.
  • 1943 – (Overnight) 263 British bombers attack Hamburg, Germany; 16 are shot down, mostly by Messerschmitt Bf 110 night fighters of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1.
  • 1943 – While shooting down a British Halifax bomber, German night fighter ace Reinhold Knacke is himself shot down and killed by one of the Halifax’s gunners. The first of three out of Germany’s top four night fighter aces to die during the month, his score stands at 44, all at night, when he is killed.
  • 1942 – The Canadian Women’s Auxiliary Air Force was renamed RCAF Women’s Division.
  • 1941 – Death of Enzo Omiccioli, Italian WWII pilot, killed during a dogfight Against 6 Gloster Gladiators in Ethiopia.
  • 1937 – In the Spanish Civil War, a Nationalist (rebel) attack on Málaga begins, supported by an Italian “legionary” air force of about 100 aircraft.
  • 1935 – Hugo Junkers died, German engineer and aircraft designer, who pioneered the first great changes in aviation materials and design technology.
  • 1931 – Canadian Airways flew the first international service between Winnipeg and Pembina, North Dakota.
  • 1928 – New York City decides to build its first municipal airport.
  • 1928 – First flight of the Boeing F3B (Model 77), an American biplane fighter and fighter bomber in a land version.
  • 1925 – A distance record of 3,166 km (1,967 miles) in a straight line, is established by a Breguet 19 flown by Captain Ludovic Arrachart and Captain Henri Lemaître from Paris to Villa Cisneros (Sahara).
  • 1920 – Death of Hermann Hasselmann, German Aviation Pioneer, and Hugo Schäfer, German WWI flying ace on board of their Junkers F 13.
  • 1918 – Death of Rupert Randolph Winter, British WWI flying ace, killed in action.
  • 1911 – The Blériot XIII, French experimental passenger-carrying aircraft, flown by Léon Lemartin broke a world record by flying with 8 passengers.
  • 1903 – Birth of [[|Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton|Douglas Douglas-Hamilton]], Scottish nobleman and pioneering aviator.
  • 1884 – Birth of Frank Maxwell Andrews, general officer in the United States Army and one of the founding fathers of the USAF.
  • 1873 – Birth of Hugh Montague Trenchard, British officer who was instrumental in establishing the RAF, described as the Father of the Royal Air Force.
  • 1859 – Birth of Hugo Junkers, innovative German engineer, as his many patents in varied areas (gas engines, aeroplanes) show, pioneering the first great changes in aviation materials and design technology.

References

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