Byrd and Chief Aviation Floyd Bennett flew over the North Pole on May 9, 1926, in the Josephine Ford, a triple-engine Fokker high-wing monoplane. Byrd’s and Bennett’s flight was the first time an aircraft had flown over the top of the world. The pair took off from Spitsbergen, Norway, and reportedly covered the 1,545-mile […]
Gulfstream G280 Received Certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency
The G280 earned its type certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Aug. 30, 2012, and entered service on Nov. 13, 2012. With a range of 3,600 nautical miles (6,667 km), the aircraft was the only super mid-sized business jet that could reliably fly nonstop from London to New York. The G280 also […]
Gulfstream G650’s Flight Test
The high Mach number was achieved to validate the aircraft’s maximum speed for stability characteristics, a requirement for receiving a Certificate of Airworthiness from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Such high speeds were outside the aircraft’s normal flight envelope. The G650’s maximum allowable Mach number at the time was Mach 0.925. Before this first test […]
First Commercial Nonstop Flight
Reducing the Risk of Midair Collisions
On December 27, 1978, Former United States Secretary of Transportation Brock Adams announced a comprehensive regulatory program to improve aviation safety by reducing the risk of midair collisions in U.S. airspace by 80.00%. The announcement followed a tragic collision over San Diego between a Pacific Southwest Airlines jet and a private aircraft that occurred on […]
New York Municipal Airport Opening
First Chimpanzee to Orbit Earth
Fun Fact Friday: In 1961, the first chimpanzee orbited Earth on NASA’s Mercury-Atlas 5 (MA-5) mission. This needed to be done before an astronaut could be orbited in the Mercury capsule. The chimpanzee performed a series of learned tasks on its journey, which showed that humans would have a limited functional capability in space.
Gulfstream Delivered its 150th Gulfstream G200
On April 26, 2007, Gulfstream Aerospace delivered its 150th Gulfstream G200 business jet. The G200 is one of Gulfstream’s six business jets and the first of the new generation of super mid-size business-jet aircraft to enter service. It offers the longest range, the largest cabin and the best balanced overall performance among its competitors. […]
First ARSR-4 Commissioned by the FAA
On April 12, 1996, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) commissioned the nation’s first Air Route Surveillance Radar 4 (ARSR-4) air route surveillance radar. An Air Route Surveillance Radar is a long-range radar system used by the United States Air (USAF) Force and the FAA to control airspace within and around the borders of the United […]
Delivery of the 600th Cessna Citation CJ3
On April 5, 2021, Textron Aviation delivered in North America the 600th Cessna Citation CJ3 aircraft. The CJ3+, an upgraded version of the CJ3, received FAA certification in 2014. It features a Garmin integrated cockpit and cabin Iridium phone; high speed internet capabilities; Garmin G3000 avionics suite , which includes turbulence detecting weather radar, […]
