Connecting Skies • Bridging Continents
Investment strengthens delivery capability, engineering capacity and customer experience Pilatus Aircraft Ltd has broken ground on a new delivery centre and manufacturing and engineering facility
New Pilot 100i aircraft to support structured pilot training growth Blitz Aviation has joined the Piper Flight School Alliance as its newest member, alongside placing
Rising fuel costs, noise constraints and emissions pressure reshape regional aviation For regional operators, the transition to electric aviation is moving beyond long-term planning into immediate operational consideration, particularly in niche segments such as seaplane operations where route flexibility and environmental constraints intersect. COST PRESSURES ACCELERATE
Move signals long-term commitment to local aerospace and defence capabilities Bell Textron Inc. has announced the establishment of a new subsidiary in Ukraine, marking a step toward expanding its industrial and operational footprint in the region. LOCAL ENTITY TO SUPPORT FUTURE OPERATIONS The newly formed entity,
Focus on technology integration, sustainability and global partnerships Embraer is set to participate in Hannover Messe 2026, taking place from 20 to 24 April in Hannover, Germany, where the company will present its latest developments in innovation, sustainability, and advanced aerospace technologies. INNOVATION AND COLLABORATION IN
Programme continues to expand global engineering talent pipeline The GE Aerospace Foundation, in collaboration with the University of Cincinnati, has marked the graduation of 28 students from its Next Engineers Academy, reinforcing ongoing efforts to develop future engineering talent through structured STEM education initiatives. PROGRAMME BUILDS
2011 – Launch of Elektro-L No.1, also known as Geostationary Operational Meteorological Satellite No.2 or GOMS No.2, Russian geostationary weather satellite.
2011 – Launch of SA-224, also known as NRO Launch 49 (NRO L-49), American reconnaissance satellite.
2009 – Royal Air Maroc Flight 200, operated by Boeing 767-36NER CN-RNT is substantially damaged in a heavy landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Cracks are discovered in the forward fuselage on inspection.
1997 – A new balloon absolute distance record of 16,722 km (10,363 miles) is set by Steve Fossett, during his unsuccessful non-stop, round the world flight, which he is forced to abandon in India.
1996 – STS-72, Space shuttle mission, recovers in space the Japanese spacecraft ‘Space Flyer Unit’ and lands back on earth.
1982 – Lockheed F-117A, 80-785, crashes on take-off on its first test flight at Groom Lake, Nevada, due to crossed wiring of the yaw controls, coming to rest inverted adjacent to the runway. Lockheed test pilot Bob Ridenhauer survives with serious injuries and retires from test flying. He had to be cut out of the overturned cockpit section. This was almost exactly the same wiring mistake that caused the loss of a Lockheed A-12 on 28 December 1965.
1979 – Two USAF General Dynamics F-111F-CFs of the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing, 70-2367, c/n E2-06 / F-06, and 73-0714, c/n E2-90 / F-90, based at RAF Lakenheath, suffer mid-air off the Scottish coast while on a training mission over the Dornoch Firth’s Tain bombing range, all four crew surviving in what was described as a double “miracle” escape. Both crews escape in each plane’s two-seat crew ejection modules. Flotation bags on the Peluso/Schlitt module became partially dislodged soon after landing and the module submerged under several feet of water. The other crew module became inverted immediately after hitting the water and remained inverted on the water’s surface until the arrival of a fishing vessel. At that time the crew activated self-righting bags that partially righted the module. The crew then exited the module and, assisted by a RAF rescue parajumper, climbed aboard the fishing vessel before being hoisted to a RAF rescue helicopter.
1968 – South African Airways Flight 228, a Boeing 707-344C, crashes just after takeoff from JG Strijdom International Airport, Windhoek, South West Africa (now Namibia) due to pilot error; of the 128 on board, only 5 survive.
1964 – First flight of the Lockheed L-100 Hercules
1959 – Aeroflot puts the 84 to 110-seater Ilyushin IL-18, its first turboprop, into service from Moscow to Alma Ata, Kazakhstan, and Adler, now Sochi, on the Black Sea.
1959 – First flight of the Vickers Vanguard took place on 20 January 1959 [1][better source needed], a British short/medium-range turboprop airliner, development of the Vickers Viscount.
1942 – First official demonstration of the helicopter in the United States.
1941 – Death of Frederick Erastus Humphreys, American aviator, one of the original three military pilots trained by the Wright brothers and the first to fly solo.
1938 – First flight of the Tachikawa Ki-36 (Allied reporting name “Ida”)
1938 – British Air Commodore Arthur Travers Harris makes a purchasing trip to the United States to select aircraft to expand the Royal Air Force. The Lockheed Hudson and North American Harvard are chosen.
1938 – A Flight Refueling Ltd Armstrong Whitworth AW.23 refuels an Imperial Airways Short Empire over Southampton Water.
1935 – The first passengers leave for Australia on a new Imperial Airways/QANTAS service; the first Australian departures were made from Brisbane on April 17.
1934 – First flight of the Boeing P-29 (originated as the Model 264), US Fighter prototype, fully-cantilever wings, wing flaps, enclosed “greenhouse” canopy, and retractable undercarriage took place on 20 January 1934.[2][better source needed]
1932 – Imperial Airways’ Handley Page H. P.42 ‘Helena’ leaves Croydon, England, for Paris on the first leg of the company’s new mail service to Cape Town.
1932 – Charles Scott takes off for a new solo speed record between the UK and Darwin, in a de Havilland Gipsy Moth
1928 – Death of George Augustine Taylor, Australian artist, journalist, and aviation pioneer, first person in Australia to fly in a heavier-than-air craft.
1920 – The first civilian aircraft to be registered in Canada was (G-CAAA) registered in Sask. to Aerial Service Company of Regina.
1919 – Richard Hillary, Australian Spitfire pilot and author, was born (d. 1943). Hillary was a Battle of Britain pilot who died during World War II. He is best known for his book The Last Enemy, based upon his experiences during the Battle of Britain.
