SEP12

1924 - 1st flight of the Fokker D.XIII, fighter aircraft produced in the Netherlands for the German Army.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fokker_D.XIII

1929 - French Charles Fauvel set a distance record of 1258 km and endurance record of 12hrs and 3min for an aircraft under 400 kg with the Peyret-Mauboussin PM X (High wing single seat tourer).

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Fauvel - http://aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=9458

1929 - A new world speed record of 357mph is established at Calshot by Squadron Leader A.H. Orlebar of the Royal Air Force High Speed Flight, piloting a Supermarine S6 seaplane.

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/history-of-aviation-timeline/interactive-aviation-timeline/british-military-aviation/1929.aspx

1930 - 1st flight of the Bloch MB-60, french 3 seat 3 engine High wing mailplane prototype.

http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=9838

1930 - 1st flight of The Taylor Cub, American small, light and simple utility aircraft, forefather of the popular Piper J-3 Cub.

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

1931 - Death of Joseph Marie Le Brix and René Mesmin, French raid aviators, in the crash of their Dewoitine D.33 'Trait d'Union' over Ural while attempting a stright line record flight from Paris to Tokyo.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Le_Brix - http://aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=335

1934 - 1st flight of The Gloster Gladiator (or Gloster SS.37), British biplane fighter.

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

1934 - 1st flight of The Hawker Hind, British light bomber.

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

1936 - 1st flight of The Nakajima Ki-34 'Thora', Japanese light transport twin-engine, low-wing monoplane.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakajima_Ki-34

1939 - 1st flight of the SNCAC NC-410 (Floatplane modified), French twin engine torpedo bomber prototype.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNCAC_NC.4-10 - http://aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=9488

1940 - Birth of Roger Keith Crouch, American scientist and NASA astronaut.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_K._Crouch

1941 - Death of Godfrey Bremridge, British WWI flying ace, Killed in a crash while serving as RAF instructor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godfrey_Brembridge - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/bremridge.php

1942 - The 89th Bombardment Squadron of the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) makes the first use of para-fragmentation bombs, during sweeps over Buna airstrip in New Guinea.

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/history-of-aviation-timeline/interactive-aviation-timeline/world-aviation/1942.aspx

1942 - 1st flight of The Miles M.38 Messenger, British four-seat single engine liaison monoplane.

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

1942 - Death of Valentine Henry Baker, British officer who served in all 3 British Armed Forces during WWI. He later became a civilian flight instructor, and co-founded of Martin-Baker Aircraft Company. During a test flight of the sole Martin-Baker MB 3 prototype, the engine seized and he was forced into an emergency landing, during which the aircraft struck a tree stump and he was killed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine_Baker_(pilot) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin-Baker_MB_3

1943 - Benito Mussolini is freed in a daring rescue by Walter Gerlach in a Fieseler Storch during Operation Gran Sasso

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

1945 - 1st flight of The Northrop XP-79, American ambitious design for a flying wing fighter aircraft, which crashed during its sole flight killing test pilot Harry Crosby.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_XP-79

1959 - Launch of Luna 2, Soviet spacecraft launched to the Moon and 1st spacecraft to reach the surface of the Moon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_2

1959 - 1st free Hover flight of the Curtiss-Wright X-100, American experimental VTOL tiltrotor airplane.

http://www.aviastar.org/helicopters_eng/curtiss_x-100.php

1961 - Air France Flight 2005 Sud Aviation Caravelle crashed near a place called Douar Doum 8.4 km from the threshold of runway 04 Rabat-Salé Airport in foggy weather killing all 77 on board.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_2005

1966 - Birth of Anousheh Ansari (born Raissyan), engineer and Iranian-American co-founder and chairman of Prodea Systems, 1st Iranian in space, 4th overall self-funded space tourist, and 1st self-funded woman to fly to the ISS.

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

1966 - 2nd prototype of The Dassault Mirage IIIV, French vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) prototype fighter, reaches Mach 2 in an horizontal flight.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dassault_Mirage_IIIV

1966 - Launch of Gemini 11, NASA spacecraft which achieved a world record high-apogee earth orbit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemini_11

1969 - Philippine Airlines Flight 158 BAC One-Eleven crashed while on a VOR approach to Manila International Airport, killing 45 over 47.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_Airlines_Flight_158

1970 - Launch of Luna 16 (Ye-8-5 series), Soviet unmanned space mission to the moon, 1st robotic probe to land on the Moon and return a sample of lunar soil to Earth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_16

1970 - The 3 airliners hijacked on the 6 September are blown up by Palestinian Terrorists after they release most of the 255 passengers. The Pan American World Airways (Pan-Am) 747 is blown up after all aboard have been freed. These incidents highlight the vulnerability of international air travel as a terrorist target.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawson's_Field_hijackings#Days_in_the_desert

1971 - 1st fligth of The Bede BD-5 Micro, American small, single-seat homebuilt aircraft

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bede_BD-5

1974 - Birth of Caroline Aigle, 1st woman fighter pilot in the French Air Force.

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

1976 - Death of Roger Poupon, French WWI flying ace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Poupon - http://theaerodrome.com/aces/france/poupon.php

1977 - Maxie Anderson, Ben Abruzzo, and Ed Yost in an attempt to make the 1st crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in the 'Double Eagle' balloon, are forced to ditch 3 miles off the coast of Iceland 65½ hours after taking off.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Eagle_(balloon)

1978 - 1st flight of The Cessna Model 425 (originally known as Corsair and later Conquest I), American pressurized, turboprop airplane certified for eight occupants but usually configured to seat six.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_425

1979 - Death of Joseph Frantz, French WWI pilot, 1st pilot to shoot down an airplane in a dogfight.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Frantz

1980 - Florida Commuter Airlines Flight 65 Douglas DC-3A crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near West End Settlement on Grand Bahama Island. Eyewitness accounts state that the plane was flying low and plunged into the ocean shortly after passing through a cloud; killing all 34

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

1991 - Launch of STS-48, space shuttle Discovery mission, carrying the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), NASA-operated orbital observatory whose mission was to study the Earth’s atmosphere, particularly the protective ozone layer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-48 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Atmosphere_Research_Satellite

1992 – NASA launches Space Shuttle Endeavour on STS-47 which marked the 50th shuttle mission. On board are Mae Carol Jemison, the 1st African-American woman in space, Mamoru Mohri, the 1st Japanese citizen to fly in a US spaceship, and Mark Lee and Jan Davis, the 1st married couple in space.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-47

1993 - Launch of STS-51, Space Shuttle Discovery mission, to launch the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite ACTS. The flight also featured the deployment and retrieval of the SPAS-ORFEUS satellite and its IMAX camera, which captured spectacular footage of Discovery in space.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-51

1994 - Death of Boris Borisovich Yegorov, Soviet physician-cosmonaut and 1st physician to make a space flight.

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

1994 - Frank Eugene Corder crashed a stolen Cessna 150 onto the South Lawn of the White House, apparently trying to hit the building; he was killed, and was the sole casualty.

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

1999 - The 11th FAI World Rally Flying Championship ends in Ravenna in Italy. Winners are Polosh Krzysztof Wieczorek and Waclaw Wieczore. All 5 Polish crews took places in the best 10,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11th_FAI_World_Rally_Flying_Championship

2008 - XL Airways, British low-cost charter and scheduled airline, ceases operations.

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

2009 - STS-128 (ISS assembly flight 17A), NASA Space Shuttle Discovery mission to the ISS, is back on earth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-128

2012 - Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Air Flight 251 Antonov An-28 descended below minima on approach in instrument meteorological conditions and impacted a forested slope while attempting to land at Palana Airport in Russia, Killing 10 over 14.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky_Air_Flight_251