Aviation History

Washington National Airport Renamed

Ronald Reagan was in office from 1981 to 1989. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), which serves 111 nonstop destinations...

Gulfstream G280 Set Overwater Record

  The G280, which entered service in November 2012, can fly eight passengers 3,600 nm/6,667 km at Mach 0.80. Source...

“Operation Power Flite”: The First Nonstop Around-the-World Flight Completed by Three U.S. Air Force B-52 Bombers

  The 52Bs launched from Castle AFB, California at 1:00 PM, and landed at March AFB, California.  The flights were...

First Anniversary of the Gulfstream G280’S Entry into Service

Gulfstream Aerospace Corp first announced the G280 on Oct. 5, 2008, and its first flight took place on Dec. 11,...

The First Maiden Flight of the First Prototype of the B4

The company Firma Rheintalwerke G. Basten, from which the “B” in the original designation is derived, manufactured the first two...

Airline Deregulation Act of 1978

Post World War II, the then federal Civil Aviation Board (CAB) regulated all interstate flight routes, schedules, and fares. The...

The First Omnirange Airways

Before Global Positioning System (GPS), airplanes in the United States relied on VORs to fly and in poor weather pilots...

Pilatus’ Announcement of the PC-24

  The PC-24’s interior was enhanced with the goal of improving the overall passenger flight experience. The aircraft’s new integrated...

Airspeed Record of Mach 6.72 (4,543 mph, 7,297 km/h) in a North American X-15

On October 3, 1967, a North American X-15 was dropped at 45,000 feet (13,716 meters) over Mud Lake, Nevada. Pilot...

Wiley Post’s Succesfull Use of a Pressure Suit

Since the Lockheed Vega that Post used to fly, named “Winnie Mae”, was not airtight or pressurized, and the atmosphere...