JUL08

1932 - 1st flight of The Supermarine Scapa (Nanuk/Solent/Southampton X), British general reconnaissance biplane twin engined flying boat. Developed from the Southampton, it formed the basis of the later Stranraer flying boat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Scapa

1935 - Birth of Vitaly Ivanovich Sevastyanov, Soviet cosmonaut

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitali_Sevastyanov

1936 - 1st landing of an aircraft at Rhein-Main-Flughafen (Today Frankfurt am Main Airport) is made by a Junker Ju-52

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flughafen_Frankfurt_am_Main

1940 - The Boeing Model 307 Stratoliner, American commercial transport aircraft, is the 1st aircraft with a pressurized cabin to enter commercial service with Transcontinental Airways on the New York to Burbank in California route.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_307 -

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/history-of-aviation-timeline/interactive-aviation-timeline/world-aviation/1940.aspx

1941 - 1st operation, against Wilhelmshaven, of the Fortress 1, RAF Boeing B-17s, 1st operation use of the Flying Fortress.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_B-17_Flying_Fortress#The_RAF -

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/history-of-aviation-timeline/interactive-aviation-timeline/british-military-aviation/1941.aspx

1944 – Swordfish aircraft from the British Merchant Aircraft Carrier (or “MAC-ship”) MV Empire MacCallum mistakenly sink the Free French submarine La Perle. It is the only time that MAC-ship-based aircraft sink a submarine.

http://www.sectionrubis.fr/spip.php?article191

1946 - 1st flight of The Convair Model 110, unpressurized American airliner prototype which will lead to the CV-240 development.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convair_CV-240_family

1947 - 1st flight of The Yakovlev Yak-23 'Flora', Soviet jet fighter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakovlev_Yak-23

1947 – Reports are broadcast that a UFO crash landed in Roswell, New Mexico.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unidentified_flying_object#The_Kenneth_Arnold_sightings

1947 - 1st flight of The Boeing 377 'Stratocruiser', American large long range airliner, developed from the C-97 Stratofreighter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_377

1948 – The USAF accepts its 1st female recruits (Sergeant Esther McGowin Blake) into a program called Women in the Air Force (WAF).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_the_Air_Force_(WAF)#Recruits - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esther_Blake

1948 - 1st flight of The Ilyushin Il-28, Soviet jet bomber aircraft of the immediate post war period. It was the USSR's 1st such aircraft to enter large-scale production.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilyushin_Il-28

1953 – Sabena begins the 1st international helicopter service, linking Belgium, the Netherlands and France

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Aviation/Historical_anniversaries/July_in_aviation/July_8

1957 - 1st flight of The Bensen B-8M , small US single-seat autogyro.

http://www.aviastar.org/helicopters_eng/bensen_b-8m.php

1958 - 1st flight of The Borgward Kolibri, German three-seated utility helicopter, 1st German helicopter after WWII.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borgward_Kolibri

1959 - 1st Argentine Navy Carrier, ARA Independencia (V-1), is commissioned. Colossus-class light aircraft carrier, former HMS Warrior (R31),

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARA_Independencia_(V-1)

1960 - 1st flight of the Mikoyan-Gurevich Ye-150, prototype single-seat fighter/interceptor , part of the Mikoyan-Gurevich Ye-150 family.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_Ye-152

1961 - Death of Leonard Thomas Eaton 'Taps' Taplin, Australian WWI flying ace, aviation pioneer and commercial pilot, he pioneered the use of aerial photography for cartography.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Taplin - http://theaerodrome.com/aces/australi/taplin.php

1965 - Death of Albert Paul Mantz, American noted air racing pilot and movie stunt pilot, while flying the very unusual aircraft (Tallmantz Phoenix P-1) for the movie 'The Flight of the Phoenix'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Mantz

1965 - Canadian Pacific Airlines Flight 21 Douglas DC-6B from Vancouver to Prince George, crashed after three "mayday" calls. All 58 passengers and crew were killed. An inquest determined that the explosion was the result of a bomb, but the source of the bomb was never determined.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Pacific_Airlines_Flight_21

1972 - Death of Jan Willem Hugo Lambach, Dutch physics engineer and aircraft designer.

http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Frank_Lambach

1976 - Launch of Palapa A1, Indonesian communication satellite.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palapa

1977 - Death of Katherine Stinson, US early female flier and aviation pioneer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Stinson

1983 - 1st flight of the Airbus A300-600, French short- to medium-range widebody jet airliner.

http://www.aviastar.org/air/inter/airbus-300.php

1985 - 1st flight if the Airbus A310-300, french medium- to long-range twin-engine widebody jet airliner.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_A310#Variants - http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=3965

1988 - Death of Judith Margaret Chisholm (Born Lowe), British record aviatrix.

http://www.wingnet.org/rtw/RTW007R.HTM

1988 - 11-year old Chris Marshall takes off with a Mooney M20 for a flight from San Diego to Paris.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Aviation/Historical_anniversaries/July_in_aviation/July_8

1991 - A US Navy F/A-18 Hornet is forced to shoot down an E-2 Hawkeye after its crew abandons it following an engine fire

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Aviation/Historical_anniversaries/July_in_aviation/July_8

1992 - 1st flight of The Bede BD-10, US attempt to introduce the world's 1st kit-built jet-powered general aviation supersonic aircraft

http://www.aviastar.org/air/usa/bede_bd-10.php

1994 - Launch of STS 65, Space Shuttle program mission of Columbia, Spacelab (SL) flight designed to conduct research in a microgravity environment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-65

1999 - Death of Charles "Pete" Conrad, Jr., American naval officer, test pilot, astronaut and engineer, and the third person to walk on the Moon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Conrad

2000 - Aerocaribe Flight 7831 British Aerospace Jetstream 32 struck the ground in a mountainous area near Chulum Juarez, Mexico in an attempt to circumvent severe weather, killing all 19 on board.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerocaribe_Flight_7831

2003 - Sudan Airways flight 139 Boeing 737-2J8C, plunged into a hillside 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) east of Port Sudan after a missed approach to the airport of Port Sudan, when the pilots attempted to land the aircraft following the loss of power on one of its engines that forced them to return.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudan_Airways_Flight_139

2006 - Aerospace scientists in Toronto conduct the 1st confirmed flight of a manned ornithopter (UTIAS Ornithopter No.1) operating under its own power. Assisted by a turbine jet engine, it flies of around 300 metres for 14 seconds.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTIAS_Ornithopter_No.1

2010 - Solar Impulse, Swiss long-range solar powered aircraft, sets an endurance record, landing after a 26-hour flight including nearly 9 hours of night flying, 1st entire diurnal solar cycle flight and 1st manned flight over night of a solar plane.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_Impulse

2011 - Hewa Bora Airways Flight 952 Boeing 727-30 crashed at Bangoka International Airport, Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo as it attempted to land during weather conditions that included heavy rain, and limited visibility, killing 74 over 118.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hewa_Bora_Airways_Flight_952

2011 - Launch of STS-135, last Atlantis Shuttle Mission and also last Space Shuttle Mission.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-135