Connecting Skies • Bridging Continents
Rotron Aerospace has successfully demonstrated its SkyLance long-range autonomous strike platform following its acquisition by Ondas Inc., supporting expanded UK defence and export capability. Rotron
United Airlines is celebrating five years of nonstop flights between Accra and Washington D.C., having carried more than 435,000 passengers since launching the route in
Airbus is advancing A350F certification testing in Bremen using full-scale cargo system demonstrators to validate the aircraft’s electric cargo door and cargo loading systems ahead of first flight. Airbus is progressing certification and operational readiness testing for its new Airbus A350F, with large-scale demonstrators in Bremen
Honeywell says advanced airspace optimisation and SESAR-driven ATM modernisation could significantly reduce aviation emissions while improving operational efficiency across European airspace. Honeywell says greater airspace optimisation and digital Air Traffic Management (ATM) integration will play a critical role in reducing aviation emissions and supporting Europe’s long-term
Boom Supersonic has selected a Colorado test site for development of its Symphony supersonic engine programme, with prototype testing expected to begin before the end of 2025. Boom Supersonic has selected a site at the Colorado Air and Space Port to support development testing of its
Chinese airlines are set to raise domestic passenger fuel surcharges from 16 May 2026, with higher fees on both short- and long-haul domestic routes amid elevated jet fuel costs. Chinese airlines are set to increase domestic passenger fuel surcharges from 16 May 2026, as carriers respond
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
Trimble has introduced a new smart antenna enclosure for its PX-1 RTX solution, aimed at accelerating integration for commercial drone delivery and UAV applications. Trimble
Phelan Green outlines its strategy to supply electro-sustainable aviation fuel from South Africa into European markets, aligned with upcoming EU and UK blending mandates. By
2010 – Death of Stelio Frati, Italian mechanical engineer and aeroplane designer. He graduated from the University of Milan as a Mechanical Engineer in 1943, and after teaching aircraft design became a freelance aircraft designer, being responsible for many well known aircraft designs. Best known designs are the Falco F8L and the Aermacchi SF.260.
2010 – Launch: Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-132 at 10:21:22 UTC. Mission highlights: ISS assembly flight ULF4: Mini-Research Module 1.
2005 – A Eurocopter AS350 helicopter piloted by Eurocopter test pilot Didier Delsalle touched down on the top of Mt. Everest, at 8,850 m (29,035 feet). This record has been confirmed by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.
1997 – Star Alliance is founded. The world’s first and largest airline alliance, headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany (near Frankfurt Airport) the five founders were the world’s leading airlines Air Canada, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Thai Airways International and United Airlines.
1979 – Progress 6 (Soviet unmanned cargo spacecraft) docks with Salyut 6.
1973 – Skylab, the United States’ first space station, is launched.
1941 – During testing, the Grumman XP-50 prototype (39-2517) is lost, falling victim to a turbo-supercharger explosion that destroyed the aircraft. The test pilot Bob Hall bailed out while the XP-50 plunged into Smithtown Bay in Long Island Sound.
1940 – The Yermolayev Yer-2, a long-range Soviet medium bomber, has its first flight.
1939 – Following first flight of the prototype Short S.29 Stirling four-engine bomber, L7600,
the undercarriage, airframe damaged beyond repair.
1938 – First prototype Focke-Wulf Fw 187 V1, D-AANA, crashes at Bremen, Germany, when test pilot Paul Bauer, having completed test series, makes high-speed run across airfield, pulls up too sharply, stalls, spins in next to the control tower.
1936 – First flight of the Miles Whitney Straight M.11, two-seater light aircraft with a dual-control, ‘side-by-side’ cockpit configuration.
1915 – The U.S. Navy contracts with the Connecticut Aircraft Company for its first airship.
1909 – Pilot S.F.Cody makes first flight of more than a mile in Britain using British Army Aeroplane No 1, flying from Laffan’s Plain to Danger Hill in Hampshire at average height of 30 ft (9.1 m). Later in the afternoon, the Prince of Wales asks Cody to repeat the flight, but in so doing, Cody is forced to turn quickly to avoid some troops in his path, smashing the tail against an embankment. Aircraft rebuilt at Farnborough with design changes to improve performance.
1908 – Charles Furnas becomes the first North American passenger in an aeroplane, piloted by Wilbur Wright. Wilbur Wright flew Charles W. Furnas for a distance of 2.5 miles in a Wright Model B.
1884 – Birth of Claude (Claudius) Honoré Desiré Dornier, German airplane builder and founder of Dornier GmbH.
