Connecting Skies • Bridging Continents
Liebherr-Aerospace and HAECO have completed the first major landing gear overhaul for the COMAC C909 regional jet, expanding local MRO capability in China. Liebherr-Aerospace and
Vista has reported strong growth in private aviation demand across China and Asia-Pacific, driven by cross-border business activity and long-range travel demand. Vista has reported
Air Niugini has relaunched its Higher Altitude Program as part of a broader operational and leadership overhaul while continuing its fleet modernisation strategy. Papua New Guinea’s national carrier, Air Niugini, has relaunched its operational improvement initiative under a revised programme titled the “Higher Altitude Program” as
European defence and aerospace companies are increasing participation in AFRIDEX 2026 as Africa’s defence and industrial cooperation landscape continues to expand. European defence, aerospace and security companies are showing increasing interest in AFRIDEX 2026, with organisers confirming that 46% of current exhibitors originate from Europe. The
Saudia has become the first airline in the Middle East and Africa to operate the Airbus A321XLR following delivery of its first aircraft from Airbus. Saudia has become the first airline in the Middle East and Africa to operate the Airbus A321XLR following delivery of its
China has launched the Shenzhou-23 crewed spacecraft carrying three astronauts to the Tiangong space station aboard a Long March-2F rocket. China has launched the Shenzhou-23 crewed spacecraft, sending three astronauts to the country’s orbiting Tiangong space station. The mission lifted off on 25 May from the
The Aerolite Spitfire Type 433 has made its public debut in Cornwall, combining modern composite technology with the design heritage of the iconic WWII fighter
Indonesia has taken delivery of Rafale fighters, Airbus A400M transport aircraft, and Dassault Falcon 8X aircraft as part of its ongoing military modernisation programme. Government
inter airport Europe will relocate to Milan and relaunch as inter airport Global in 2027, introducing new operational and ground support equipment demonstration platforms. inter
May 25
2012 – The first Solar Impulse aircraft, HB-SIA, the first solar-powered aircraft capable of both day and night flight thanks to its batteries charged by solar power, completes the first leg of its first intercontinental flight, arriving at Madrid, Spain, after a flight from Payerne Airport outside Payerne, Switzerland. [2]
2011 – First flight of the e-Genius, German manned electric airplane, two seated side by side high wing configuration aircraft completely manufactured of fibre composites and equipped with a retractable landing gear, propulsion realized by a permanent magnet synchronous motor with an electrical driven variable pitch propeller.
2008 – Phoenix (Robotic Spacecraft) lands on Mars to search for environments suitable for microbial life on Mars, and to research the history of water there.
2003 – Boeing 727 tail number N844AA mysteriously disappears in Angola, along with pilot Ben Charles Padilla.
1996 – Death of David Wayne Howe, American WWII flying ace and later test pilot for Bell.
1986 – A prisoner in a Parisian jail escapes when his wife rescues him in a helicopter
1978 – The first Challenger was rolled out at Cartierville, Montreal.
1973 – Launch of Skylab 2, first manned mission to Skylab, the first U. S. orbital space station.
1970 – First commercial aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in level flight is a Tupolev Tu-144.
1968 – First flight of the Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler, twin-engine, mid-wing electronic warfare aircraft, Developed from Grumman A-6 Intruder.
1964 – First flight of The Ryan XV-5 Vertifan, American jet-powered V/STOL experimental aircraft.
1953 – First flight of the North American F-100 Super Sabre, supersonic jet fighter aircraft.
1951 – First delivery of The English Electric Canberra B2, first-generation jet-powered light bomber, to replace the Lincolns of No. 101 Squadron at Binbrook, Lincolnshire.
1937 – The first letter to encircle the world by commercial air mail despatched from New York via San Francisco to Hong Kong, Penang, Amsterdam and Brazil is back to New York.
1928 – First flight of the Sikorsky S-38, American twin-engined 8-seat amphibious aircraft sometimes called “The Explorer’s Air Yacht” and Sikorsky’s first widely produced amphibious flying boat.
1927 – Lieutenant James Doolittle was the first person to do an outside loop in an Army Racer.
1910 – Orville Wright takes his 82-year-old father for his first airplane ride. Also on this day, Wilbur and Orville fly together for the only time in a six-and-one-half minute flight at Simms Station, near Dayton, Ohio.
1909 – French Paul Tissandier, sets a world Flight Airspeed Record for an aeroplane in a Wright biplane, achieving 54kph (34mph).
1905 – Ferdinand Ferber makes his first aerial tests in Chalais-Meodon, France with his No.6 bis glider fitted with a 12-hp Peugeot motor.
1896 – Birth of William John Charles Kennedy-Cochran-Patrick, Scottish WWI fighter ace, founder of Aircraft Operating Company of South Africa Pty Ltd.
1893 – Birth of Christopher Joseph Quintin Brand, South African officer of the Royal Air Force, WWI pilot and raid pilot.
1889 – Birth of Léon Jean Pierre Bourjade, French WWI fighter ace and leading balloon busting ace. Post-war, he completed his theological studies and devoted the remainder of his life to service as a medical missionary to lepers.
1889 – Igor Sikorsky, American aviation engineer who developed the first successful helicopter was born.
1866 – The Aereon N°2, American dirigible airship, flew over New York City.
1864 – Birth of Anne Löwenstein-Wertheim Princess of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg (born Lady Anne Savile), British aviation pioneer.
1757 – Birth of Louis-Sébastien Lenormand, French physicist, inventor and pioneer in parachuting.
