Milestones of Flight: 7/1

2008 - Suit threatened against Atlanta airport as gun free zone.

2008 - The Dutch air base at Volkel is believed to hold between 10 and 20 U.S. B-61 gravity bombs that Dutch F-16 fighter jets would deploy during wartime.

The Netherlands rebuffed a U.S. Air Force study’s finding that U.S. nuclear weapons at a Dutch air base are being stored in conditions below Defense Department security standards.

2008 - Airline passengers at security checkpoints have grown accustomed to the refrain, "Laptops must be removed from their cases and placed on the belt."

But now, the Transportation Security Administration has given the go-ahead for passengers to use newly designed carry-on bags that will let them pass through security without having to take their laptops out for the X-ray inspection.

2008 - Diego Garcia was once again embroiled in controversy over the charge that the Americans had used the island for interring prisoners. The furore in Britain forced the government to admit that two flights had landed in Diego Garcia.

The 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait marked the most intense operational period in Diego Garcia's history. From August 1, 1990 to February 28, 1991, NAVSUPPFAC Diego Garcia achieved and maintained the highest degree of operational readiness and provided levels of support which outstripped all contingency planning. As the base population doubled almost overnight, with the deployment of a Strategic Air Command Bombardment Wing and other aviation detachments, workload base-wide increased from 300-2000% over peacetime levels with no personnel augmentation. Diego Garcia became the only U.S. Navy base that launched offensive air operations during Operation Desert Storm and Diego Garcia remains a vital link in the U.S. defense structure.

When the islands were separated from Mauritius, their inhabitants were brutally removed from their homes, packed into boats that first took them to the Seychelles and then deposited them on the wharves in Mauritius. The Chagos islanders have languished since then in distressing circumstances.

They got no compensation at the time of expulsion as the British government claimed that they were transients and not permanent settlers of the islands. The Chagos islanders are banned from returning to the islands even for a short visit. The US military considers the islanders as a security risk, but a part of the archipelago is open to yachts from around the world. The Salomon Island is on the regular route for yachts sailing across the Indian Ocean.

2008 - The Pentagon will buy and operate one or two commercial imagery satellites and plans to design and build another with more sophisticated spying capabilities, according to government and private industry officials.

The satellites could spy on enemy troop movements, spot construction at suspected nuclear sites and alert commanders to militant training camps.

2008 - A U.S.-led coalition helicopter has been shot down south of the Afghan capital.

Small-arms fire downed the chopper in Kherwar district of Logar province. The pilots were able to land the aircraft and evacuate everyone on board before it caught fire.

2008 - As of today, it will become compulsory for pilots of aircraft up to 2000kg to carry a PLB (Personal Locator Beacons)in Sweden.

2007 - Airline On-Time Performance Slips, Cancellations and Mishandled Bags Up in June.

[Press Release] "The nation’s largest airlines recorded a lower rate of on-time flights and a higher rate of mishandled baggage and canceled flights this past June than during either this past May or the previous June, according to the Air Travel Consumer Report released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The report also shows that consumer complaints against air carriers rose in June compared to the same previous months."

2002 - First flight Pilatus PC-21, a single-turboprop, low swept-wing monoplane advanced trainer with a stepped tandem cockpit.

2002 - A Russian Tupolev 154 collides in midair with a Boeing 757 cargo plane over southern Germany. The 69 passengers and crew on the Russian plane and the two-person cargo crew were all killed.

The collision occurred even though each plane had TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidance System) collision-avoidance equipment onboard and everything functioned correctly.

Both planes were on their planned flight paths, flying with their lights off in the dark, according to regulation. About 45 seconds before the crash, with each plane traveling at 35,000 feet, the TCAS system in each plane indicated to the pilots that they should change their altitude. The Boeing cargo jet was to descend and the Tupolev was supposed to rise. However, a Swiss air-traffic controller ordered the Tupolev pilot to descend as well.

As directed, both planes lowered their altitudes at the same time; they crashed in mid-air over Ueberlingen, Germany, very close to the Swiss border. There were no survivors of the fiery crash, which caused debris to scatter over a 20-mile radius. Residents of the area heard the thunderous impact, but no one on the ground was killed.

Swiss aviation officials blamed the Russian pilots for the tragedy, but the evidence showed their charges to be baseless. The pilots were experienced and the plane and its collision-avoidance system were in fine working order. Instead, it was the Swiss air-traffic system that appeared to be faulty. Their own collision-avoidance system was not in operation and they had only one controller on duty at the time.

2002 - A report by an American-based think tank predicts the war in the Sudan could escalate with both the government and rebels buying new weapons.

2001 - Athens' international airport opened a small archaeological museum that will display the dozens of ancient artefacts uncovered during construction work at the site

Greek Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos and Transport Minister Christos Verelis inaugurated the museum, which houses 172 pieces including amphoras, tools, engravings and bas-relief sculpture.

1998 - Chep Lap Kok¹ Hong Kong's new international airport's opening was marred by technical disasters on a spectacularly embarassing scale. More than 10,000 bags missed their flights on the first day alone, information boards failed, moving walkways ground to a halt, and the air conditioning broke down.

There were also problems outside with pilots disdirected to their stands and air-bridges failing to connect with airplanes. All these glitches were eventually resolved and between 2001 and 2005 chep Lap Kok was consistently voted the world's best airport in an annual survey of air-travelers.

This is one of the largest and most sophisticated airports in the world. The project cost US$20 billion, and during the peak period of construction, 21,000 people were working on the site. The airport is an on-going 40-year project that will see Chep Lap Kok become busier than London's Heathrow and New York's JFK combined.

1997 - First flight of the Su-30MKI, flown by V. Yu. Aver'yanov.

1997 - Defibrillators on American aircraft.²

American Airlines became the first United States air carrier to place automatic external defibrillators on its fleet of 700 aircraft. AEDs are thus available to give immediate coronary care to in-flight heart-attack victims. Since seconds count, many lives have been saved by restoring the natural rhythm of their heart beats. The airline was the first public entity in the United States to do mass deployment of AEDs, and trained over 22,000 flight attendants on the use of the defibrillator. On February 18, 1998, their first passenger was saved when he collapsed on an aircraft after rushing to catch a connecting flight. On April 12, 2004, The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration required AEDs to be on commercial passenger aircraft of a certain size.

1994 - During Operation Desert Storm, the last F-15E Strike Eagle left the Persian Gulf region.

The aircraft went to the area in August 1990 at the start of Desert Shield.

1993 - Twentieth Air Force, which is responsible for day-to-day operation of the United State's ICBM force, transfers from Air Combat Command to Air Force Space Command.

Air Training Command is redesignated the Air Education and Training Command, to which Air University, now ceasing to be a major command, is assigned. Air Combat Command transfers Vandenberg AFB, California, to U.S. Air Force Space Command, which activates the Fourteenth Air Force to perform missile warning, space surveillance, and launch and satellite control.

1992 - Continuing reorganization, the U.S. Air Force inactivates Air Force Logistics Command and Air Force Systems Command, replacing them with the Air Force Materiel Command.

1988 - The U.S. and the Soviet Union agreed to destroy their intermediate-range missile stockpiles in the Intermediate range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

Each side sent inspectors to conduct on-site inspections of production facilities. During Phase I, C-5s and C-141s flew Soviet inspectors to the U.S. and carried American inspectors to the ports of entry in the Soviet Union to inaugurate a continuing mission.

1985 - A C-141 Starlifter from the 438th Military Airlift Wing flew 39 passengers that were released from the hijacked Trans World Airlines flight 847 on June 30 by two Shiite Muslins.

These survivors were flown from Damascus to Rhein-Main AB, Germany.

1985 - The 7th Bombardment Wing at Carswell AFB, Texas became the first unit to receive the air-launched cruise missile, modified for use on B-52H Stratofortess bombers.

1985 - U.S. Air Forces in Europe activated its first ground launched cruise missile wing, the 501st Tactical Missile Wing, at Royal Air Force Greenham Common, England, U.K.

1985 - NASA announces 10 finalists for Teacher in Space.

1982 - At Shaw AFB, South Carolina, U.S. Air Force Tactical Air Command formally accepted the F-16.

1979 - General Dynamics and Boeing began competitive tests to determine which company would receive the air-launched cruise missile contract.

1978 - 1-19: Frank Haile Jr., and William Wisner fly two Beechcraft Bonanzas around the world in formation.

1976 - Strategic Air Command transferred its drone reconnaissance program from the 100th Strategic Reconnaissance at Davis Monthan AFB, Arizona to Tactical Airlift Command.

Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical Division built the small unmanned remotely piloted jet powered drones that were launched from DC-130 aircraft and recovered in mid-air by CH-3 recovery helicopters. All Strategic Air Command drones, six DC-130s and seven CH-3 recovery helicopters were transferred.

1976 - Clive Canning arrives in the United Kingdom, having flown from Australia in a Thorp T-18 homebuilt aircraft.

1975 - U.S. Air Force Air National Guard air refueling units began support of Strategic Air Command operations.

1974 - Aerojet-General received a follow-on contract for the Titan III.

1971 - Selfridge AFB, MI, is turned over by the Aerospace Defense Command to the Air National Guard. It is the first major active U.S. Air Force base to come under control of the Air Guard.

1970 - At Pease AFB, New Hampshire, the 509th Bombardment Wing became the first operational ready unit equipped with FB-111 aircraft.

1969 - First flight of the prototype S-32 (Su-17) fighter bomber, E.K. Kukushev test pilot.

1968 - The United States, the United Kingdom, the former Soviet Union, and over 50 other countries signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT.

Starting with the premise that nuclear war would produce terrible devastation and that the "proliferation of nuclear weapons would seriously enhance the danger of nuclear war," the Treaty's signatories, nuclear and non-nuclear state alike, pledged to refrain from transferring other countries weapons, technology, or materials that could create new capabilities to produce nuclear explosive devices. While permitting and encouraging peaceful uses of nuclear energy, the signatories agreed to an inspection system designed to prevent the diversion of nuclear materials for military purposes. With this agreement, the international community "established the diplomatic norm that gave nations a clear path to a non-nuclear future." To facilitate the deal, the nuclear weapons states agreed to general language about nuclear disarmament as a long-range goal.

Of course there were certain countries that consistently violated NPT such as the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) that often promise to give up nuclear weapons voluntarily, as it did in the Clinton administration's 1994 Agreed Framework. Such governments even readily bargain over their promise, especially in exchange for items of tangible economic and political value, such as fuel oil, nuclear reactos, "security assurances," or removal from lists of state sponsors of terrorism.

Even though five states, the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, France and China continued to possess nuclear weapons, all the signatories agreed that a world without additional nuclear powers would be a safer and better one."

Trouble comes from some nations, known since President Bush's (43) State of the Union speech as "axis of evil" continue to violate NPT because the only thing truly reliable about them is their boundless mendacity.

1968 - A Seaboard World Airlines DC-8 carrying 214 U.S. troops to Vietnam, from McChord Air Force Base, Washington, via Yokota AFB, Japan was forced to land on Etoforu Island in the Kuril Island chain by Soviet fighters.

Pilot Joseph Tosolini was warned by a Japan Self-Defense Force radar site on the northern island of Hokkaido that he had strayed off course and was headed for the Soviet Union. The warning came too late, as the aircraft had already been intercepted by MiGs flown by Yu.B. Alexandrov, V.A. Igonin, I.F. Evtoshenko and I.K. Moroz. A day later, after the Soviets received an apology for the incident, the aircraft and passengers were released.

1967 - Two U.S. Air Force Sikorsky HH-3E Jolly Green Giants made the first nonstop flight across the Atlantic.

They covered 4,271 miles in 30 hours and 46 minutes, with nine inflight refuelings. The two helicopters took off from New York at 1:05 a.m. on May 31 so they could arrive during the middle of Helicopter Day at the 27th Paris Air Show at 1:51 in the afternoon, Paris time.

This flight was only possible due to the inflight refueling. No helicopter has ever crossed the Atlantic without refueling.

1966 - The U.S. Air Force transferred the responsibility for intercontinental ballistic missiles from Air Combat Command to Air Force Space Command.

1966 - U.S. Air Force and Navy jets carry out a series of raids on fuel installations in the Hanoi-Haiphong area.

The Dong Nam fuel dump, 15 miles northeast of Hanoi, with 9 percent of North Vietnam's storage capacity, was struck on this day. The Do Son petroleum installation, 12 miles southeast of Haiphong, would be attacked on July 3. The raids continued for two more days, as petroleum facilities near Haiphong, Thanh Hoa, and Vinh were bombed, and fuel tanks in the Hanoi area were hit. These raids were part of Operation Rolling Thunder, which had begun in March 1965. The attacks on the North Vietnamese fuel facilities represented a new level of bombing, since these sites had been previously off limits. However, the raids did not have a lasting impact because China and the Soviet Union replaced the destroyed petroleum assets fairly quickly.

China reacted to these events by calling the bombings "barbarous and wanton acts that have further freed us from any bounds of restrictions in helping North Vietnam." The World Council of Churches in Geneva sent a cable to President Lyndon B. Johnson saying that the latest bombing of North Vietnam was causing a "widespread reaction" of "resentment and alarm" among many Christians. Indian mobs protested the air raids on the Hanoi-Haiphong area with violent anti-American demonstrations in Delhi and several other cities.

1966 - The Kansas Air National Guard's 184th Bomb Group became the first guard unit to receive B-1B Lancers.

1966 - The U.S. Air Force started aeromedical flights from Saigon to the U.S. via Japan. This route reduced flight time by 24 hours.

1966 - Secretary of the Air Force Harold Brown presented the Gen. Thomas D. White Space Trophy to Lt. Col. Edward H. White, the first astronaut to walk in space.

The trophy is awarded annually to the Air Force officer or unit making the foremost contribution to U.S. progress in aerospace.

1965 - TIROS X, the first weather satellite paid for by the U.S. Weather Bureaus, launched into a north-south polar orbit from Cape Kennedy, Florida, to report on hurricane situations in the Caribbean and Atlantic.

1964 - The first jet-augmented KC-97L became operational.

1964 - Strategic Air Command activated its last and 13th Minuteman 1B squadron, the 400th Strategic Missile Squadron at Francis E. Warren AFB, Wyoming.

1963 - Dr. Edward Tsang Lu, Ph.D., American astronaut, NASA Group 15--1995, is born in Springfield, Massachusetts.

1962 - U.S. Air Force Strategic Air Command activated its first Minuteman 1B squadron, the 66th Strategic Missile Squadron, at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota.

1961 - The North American Air Defense Command begins operation of a space detection and tracking system designed to provide electronic cataloging of man-made space objects.

1961 - Dr. Kalpana Chawla, Ph.D., American astronaut, NASA Group 15--1995, is born in Karnal, India.

One of seven astronauts who perished when the space shuttle Columbia broke up over north central Texas during its reentry from orbit.

1960 - An ERB-47H Stratojet (53-4281) of the 38th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, flying over the Barents Sea was downed by Soviet pilot Vasili Poliakov, flying a MiG-15.

Co-pilot Bruce Olmstead and navigator John McKone survived and were taken captive. The pilot, Bill Palm and ELINT operators Eugene Posa, Oscar Goforth and Dean Phillips were killed. Olmstead and McKone were released from Soviet captivity on January 25th, 1961. Bill Palm's remains were returned to the U.S. on July 25, 1960. Eugene Posa's remains were recovered by the Soviets, but never returned to the US.

1960 - Strategic Air Command began testing an airborne command post, a modified KC-135, in ground alert operations at Offutt AFB, Nebraska.

1959 - Strategic Air Command inactivated its first missile wing, the 704th Strategic Missile Wing at Vandenberg AFB, California.

1959 - The U.S. Air Force (Tactical Air Command) used the C-130 aircraft as a paratrooper jump platform for the first time.

1958 - Royal Nepal Airlines is formed as a wholly government-owned airline, operating domestic services.

1957 - The 704th Strategic Missile Wing, the U.S. Air Force's first ballistic missile wing, activated at Cooke AFB, to maintain an Atlas D alert force and train crews for duty with the missile.

1954 - JASDF was established when the Defense Agency replaced the Security Agency, in order to bear the defense mission of Japan.

1950 - Air Defense Command deactivated because the Continental Air Command gradually assumed full charge of United States air defense.

1950 - The 374th Troop Carrier Wing airlifted the first troops from the U. S. Army 24th Infantry Division in Japan to Pusan, Korea.

1949 - First flight of Lockheed's F-94 Starfire prototype.

1947 - 1-10: Tests of 10 new Chelomei 14X dual-engine cruise missiles conducted, presumably at Uzbekistan test range

1946 - An Army Air Forces crew in a B-29 called Dave's Dream, assigned to the 509th Composite Group, dropped an atomic bomb on 73 naval vessels off Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean in a test known as Operation CROSSROADS.

The explosion sank five ships and heavily damaged nine others.

1946 - The first presidential airplane, a C-118 Liftmaster, "The Independence," arrived at Washington National Airport.

A military version of the Douglas DC-6, the four-engine Liftmaster could carry 20,200 pounds for 2,000 miles, and it could carry up to 76 troops.

1942 - Test pilot V. G. Kondratenko is born.

1941 - Jacqueline Cochran comes home from England.

Cochran hitched ride on B-17 home from England—passes first B-24 flying to England (armed with a single machine gun). She has a press conference when she arrives in U.S.and expresses ideas about using American women pilots. President and Mrs. Roosevelt immediately issue her an invitation to come to lunch to discuss it.

1941 - The Air Corps Ferrying Command sent its first air transport flights from Bolling Field, D.C., to Scotland via Montreal and Newfoundland.

Using modified B-24 Liberator bombers with seats in the bomb bay, the Arnold Line (after Gen. Henry H. Arnold) made six round trips to Scotland monthly. Lt. Col. Caleb V. Haynes flew the first flight.

1941 - Start of combat use of Ilyushin Il-2 Stormovik, ground-attack aircraft on the Western Front.

1939 The first American warplane flown to Britain by an American crew, a B-17E Flying Fortress, arrives.

1939 - Aviation plant founded in Rostov-on-Don, today callled OAO Rosvertol.

1939 - National Academy of Sciences sponsored a $10,000 research program at Cal Tech Rocket Research Project for development of rockets suitable to assist Air Corps planes in takeoffs, JATO, the first U.S. rocket program.

1938 - First flight (during month of July) Focke-Wulf Fw 189 Uhu.

1935 - Test pilot V.P. Somov is born.

1935 - The Flying Keys set endurance record by flying a Curtiss Robin non-stop for 653 hours, 34 minutes.

Brothers Fred and Algene Key, lifted off in a borrowed Curtiss Robin monoplane named Ole Miss from Meridian, Mississippi's airport. Twenty-seven days, 52,320 miles and 6,000 gallons of gasoline later, on July 1, they landed. Their non-stop endurance flight lasted 653 hours, and 34 minutes, a record which still stands (for intra-atmospheric flight). For this flight, a spill-free aerial refueling nozzle was developed, which was later adopted by the U.S. Army Air Corps. The Ole Miss is permanently displayed in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

1935 - Tests begun on S.V. Il'yushin experimental TsKB-26 aircraft.

It was developed into the DB-3 and DB-3F (Il-4) long-range bombers.

1931- The first mail delivered by rocket in the United States is claimed by three Struthers, Ohio high school students led by philatelist, John Kiktavi. He sends mail from Struthers to Poland, Ohio.

1930 - Frank Marshall, American engineer, is born.

Part of the Atlas management team; headed the Golden Ram program that cleared the Atlas missile for operations.

1926 - The Royal Swedish Air Force is formed.

1926 - A Blackburn Dart makes the first night landing on an aircraft carrier, HMS Furious.

1925 - The U.S. Air Mail Service begins overnight flights between New York and Chicago over the Allegheny Mountains.

1924 - Dr. George W. Lewis appointed Director of Aeronautical Research of NACA, a post he held until 1947.

1922 - Eight naval medical officers were first to report for flight training, at NAS Pensacola, having previously completed flight surgeon's course at the Army Technical School of Aviation Medicine.

1920 - Wright Aeronautical produced a French Hisso cannon engine which fired 37-mm shells through the propeller shaft.

1920 - Belgium establishes the first internal air-service of any European colony with the Lara-Ligne Aérienne Roi Albert in Belgian Congo.

1919 - London's first airport is opened, at Hounslow Heath. The facilities include a permanent Customs hall.

Hounslow Heath, once part of the extensive Forest of Middlesex, is now largely buried beneath the runways of London Airport.

1917 - A School of Aeronautics is established at the University of Toronto in Canada.

1916 - Design Experimental Bureau--Not the Experimental Design Bureau of later years--aviation research organization formed in Moscow, Russia.

1913 - The Dutch Luchtvaartafdeling is formed, with just 4 pilots.

the Luchtvaartafdeling (aviation department) of the Dutch Army was the ancestor of Koninklijke Luchtmacht (KLu), (Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF))

1912 - Harriet Quimby, American aviator, died this date.

The first female pilot to fly across the English Channel. Although she was the first American woman to become a licensed pilot, her career as a pilot lasted a mere 11 months. On April 16, 1912 she left England in a 50-hp monoplane lent to her by Louis Blériot. She headed for France in a plane she had never flown before and a compass she had just learned how to use. Despite poor visibility and fog, Quimby landed 59 minutes later near Hardelot, France. Upon landing, she was greeted by the local residents, but the RMS Titanic sinking just days earlier, limited reporting of Quimby's achievement in the world press. She died the same year, when she lost control of her plane at a flying exhibition near Quincy, Massachusetts.

1911 - Trial of first Navy aircraft, Curtiss A-1. The designer, Glenn Curtiss, makes first flight in Navy's first aircraft, A-1, at Lake Keuka, New York, then prepares Lt. Theodore G. Ellyson, the first naval aviator, for his two solo flights in A-1.

1908 - Cai Jintao, Chinese engineer, is born in Nantong, Jiangsu, China.

He made important contributions to the development of China's space aeronautics undertakings.

1903 - Amy Johnson, pioneering British female aviator, died this date.

She first achieved fame as a result of her attempt (1930) to set a record for solo flight from London to Darwin, Australia, although she missed that record by three days. She took up flying in 1928, and also showed talent for mechanics. By 1930 she had qualified as both a pilot and a ground engineer. Flying a De Havilland Moth, Johnson set out to beat Bert Hinkler's record for flying to Australia. Though she did not beat the record, she made it to Australia, and was given a hero's welcome. She was the first woman to make the trip. The Daily Mail gave her a £10,000 prize. Johnson made other long-distance flights. While on a wartime aircraft delivery flight January 5, 1941, she disappeared over the Thames estuary.

1872. -Louis Blériot, the pioneer aviator who made the world’s first airplane flight across the English Channel, is born in Cambrai, France.

As a successful inventor of automobile lights and accessories, he had his own funds available for his interest in aviation. After experimenting first with gliders, and light-engine airplanes of various designs, he designed and built his own monoplane,Blériot XI, with a 25-hp engine, which took him across the channel
..........................................................................................................

¹ Chep Lap Kok means "fish with whiskers," a reference to the red perch that used to be abundant in nearby waters. In 1992, Chep Lap Kok was a small island two hours away from Hong Kong by boat, with steep hills rising to about 300 feet, and waves breaking on its lonely shores. A less suitable location for an airport could scarcely be imagined, but by 1995 the island had been turned into a level platform just 20 feet above sea level and measuring 4 miles by 2 miles.

² A later press release by American Ailines gives a different date.