Aviation has a rich background. From the moment man decided to take flight, there have been a lot of milestones from then to now. Let’s take a look at some of the most important things that have happened in aviation over the years in the month of September.
Let’s take September 1, for instance; on September 1, 1928, Montréal, Canada and New York were officially linked with airmail and passenger services when Colonial Air Transport began scheduled operations. Let’s find out what else happened in September.
Week of September 1 - 7
On September 1, 1914, the first United States tactical air unit, First Aero Squadron, was established in San Diego because of the war in Europe. The unit had 16 officers, 77 enlisted men, and 8 airplanes. In 1921 on the first day of September, President Warren Harding authorized the creation of the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics.
On September 2, 1910, the first female pilot in the United States, Blanche Scott, made a solo flight at Lake Keuka, Hammondsport. Two years earlier on September 3, 1908, Orville Wright made his first flight at Fort Meyer, Virginia. He circled the field one and a half times.
In 1922, on September 4, the first continental air crossing was made within a single day.
In France, on September 5, 1908, the first triplane flight was made. It was called “Goupy”, named after the creator, Ambroise Goupy, and it featured three sets of wings stacked above the others and was powered by a 50-hp Renault engine.
September 7, 1904 was another recording-setting day for the Wright Brothers. They used their weight-and-derrick-assisted take-off device that made them independent of the wind and weather. Five years later on September 7, the first aerodrome was built by the United States Military in College Park, Maryland.
Week of September 8 - 14
In 1911 on September 9, the first mail carried by air was delivered to the UK. It carried letters to King George V and other members of the British Royal Family.
In 1993 on September 10, Boeing produced its 1,000th 747 airplane after the 747 program was launched.
September 11, 1920, Edison Mouton flew into Marina Field, San Fransico from New York, finishing the first U.S. transcontinental airmail flight. This flight took Mouton and his crew 75 hours to complete. And, on September 11, 2001, the terrorist attacks on the United States by al-Qaeda took place when four passenger jets were hijacked. We remember the lives lost each year on September 11.
In 1928 on September 13, a single-engine Liore et Oliver LeO.198 airplane was launched from the Ile de France ocean liner in order to reduce the amount of time it took for mail to reach the United States from Europe. It worked, shaving one day off of the time it took to reach the United States.
On September 14 in 1944, the first successful flight into the eye of a hurricane was made by a three-man American crew, flying a Douglas A-20 Havoc. They set the precedent for how we get valuable scientific information about hurricanes, and we even use this method today.
Week of September 15 - 21
September 15, 1904 saw Wilbur Wright in the airplane called the Flyer II where he made a half-circle while in a controlled flight. On this date in 1928, Universal Air Lines started it’s daily passenger service between Chicago and Cleveland.
Unfortunately, on September 17, 1908, the first fatality in a powered aircraft happened. Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge was killed while flying with Orville Wright at Fort Meyer, Virginia. And, in 1947 on this date, The United States Air Force became an independent service within the United States military and became the United States' first line of defense.
On September 19, 1928, the first diesel engine to power a heavier-than-air aircraft was tested in Utica, Michigan. And on September 20, 1904, Wilbur Wright made his first circular flight in his powered aircraft, Flyer III, in Ohio. In 1950, on September 21, the USAF announced that remote-controlled airplane tests would be made from a TV on the ground.
Week of September 22 - 30
On September 22, 1950, the first non-stop flight of the Atlantic is made by jet aircraft. In 1929, on September 24, Lt. James H. Doolittle made the first blind flight, relying only on his instruments.
On September 25, 1903, the Wright Brothers arrive in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina to start testing their first powered aircraft. The 27 of September in 1913 marks the date that Katherine Stinson became the first woman in the United States to make an official airmail flight. On this same day in 1956, the first piloted plane to exceed Mach 3 is the Bell X-2.
American pilot, Howard Rinehart, became the first person to fly an airplane fitted with retractable flying gear on September 28, 1920. In 1982, on September 30, the first round-the-world flight in a helicopter was made, and the two pilots landed safely.
Thanks for joining us for another month of aviation history! Come back next month for more interesting facts about what’s happened in aviation history.
