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AVIATION FIRSTS
December 17, 1903
First flight by a heavier than air vehicle - The Wright Flyer.
December 3, 1914
First aircraft ever to have a machine gun fire through its propeller arc - Morane Saulnier
April 1, 1915
First monoplane fighter; first aircraft to have synchronized gun firing through its propeller arc - Fokker Eindecker
First aircraft to ever land on a moving ship - Sopwith Pup
May 31, 1919
First aircraft to cross the Atlantic (with stops along the way) - Navy Curtiss NC4
October 20, 1921
May 28, 1924
The first aircraft to fly around the world - Douglas World Cruiser DT-2
May 21, 1927
First non-stop solo flight across the Atlantic - Ryan NYP, Spirit of St. Louis
August 29, 1929
First flight of the first civilian aircraft ever to beat front line military aircraft in a race - Travel Air Mystery Ship
November 28, 29, 1929
First aircraft to fly over the South Pole - Ford Trimotor
January 10, 1932
First flight of an all metal monoplane bomber to be produced in quantity - Martin B-10
March 20, 1932
First U.S. all metal, low-wing fighter to fly - Boeing P-26
November 20, 1933
First single engine monoplane produced by Focke Wulf after World War 1 - FW-56
July 1, 1934
First aircraft ever to fly a total of 635 hours, 34 minutes before landing - Curtiss Robin
July 17, 1935
First flight of a mass produced four engine bomber - Boeing B-17
Nov. 6, 1935
First flight of a British fighter aircraft capable of top speeds of over 300 mph - Hawker Hurricane
July 4, 1937
August 11, 1937
October 14, 1938
First U.S. production aircraft to exceed 300 MPH in level flight - Curtiss P-40
August 27, 1939
The first ever experimental jet takes flight - Heinkel He-178
May 29, 1940
July 28, 1940
August 2, 1940
First transport helicopter to fly - FA-223
December 7, 1940
April 2, 1941
First jet combat aircraft and first twin engine jet aircraft to fly - Heinkel He-280
December 12, 1941
First cruise missile test flight - The V-1 Flying Bomb
January 14, 1942
First flight of the first helicopter produced in quantity, first USAAC helicopter, and first helicopter to land on a ship at sea - Sikorsky R-4
April 18, 1942
May 21, 1942
First aircraft to be designated from the start as a night fighter takes to the air - Northrop P-61
July 18, 1942
First operational jet aircraft to fly - Me262
June 23, 1943
September 9, 1942
First air attack on U.S. mainland - Yokosuka E14Y
July 30, 1943
First operational jet bomber to fly - Arado AR-234
November 2, 1943
First flight of a multi-engine U.S. Navy fighter - Grumman F7F
June 14, 1944
First production rocket propelled fighter plane becomes operational - Me163
September 7, 1944
First flying vehicle to exceed the speed of sound - German V-2 Missile
September 6, 1945
First flight of a helicopter across the English Channel - FA-223
December 3, 1945
First jet aircraft to land on an aircraft carrier - Vampire
June 25, 1946
First flying wing bomber to fly - XB-35
October 14, 1947
First aircraft to fly faster than the speed of sound in level flight - Bell X-1
November 24, 1947
Flight of first Grumman jet fighter - F9F
December 17, 1947
First swept wing bomber to be deployed by the U.S.A.F. - B-47
February 26, 1949
First non-stop flight around the world - B-50
April 16, 1949
First flight of an American production jet aircraft to have an afterburner and the first operational all weather interceptor - F-94
June 25, 1950
First U.S. fighter to down a North Korean aircraft - F-82
May 25, 1953
First U.S. production aircraft capable of supersonic speeds in level flight - F-100
September 18, 1953
First Soviet aircraft capable of supersonic speeds in level flight - MiG-19
October 3, 1953
First US Navy aircraft capable of supersonic speeds in level flight - F4D
February 7, 1954
First aircraft to hold simultaneous records for speed, altitude and time to climb - F-104
December 19, 1954
First supersonic all-weather interceptor and first operational delta-wing aircraft - F-102
March 25, 1955
First supersonic carrier-based aircraft - F-8
March 10, 1956
First supersonic training aircraft - T-38
December 30, 1956
First flight of a bomber at supersonic speeds - B-58
January 18, 1957
First jet plane flight around the world without landing - B-52
August 31, 1957
First flight of a British delta-wing jet bomber - Avro Vulcan
December 6, 1957
First flight of a U.S. Army turboprop powered airplane - OV-1 Mohawk
December 14, 1959
First aircraft to hold simultaneous records for speed, altitude, and time-to-climb - F-104
November 13, 1963
The largest aircraft in history ever to land on and take off from an aircraft carrier - C-130
December 21, 1964
The first operational aircraft to employ variable geometry wings takes flight - F-111
October 24, 1967
First airborne radar aircraft to direct a successful attack on an enemy plane - EC-121
December 31, 1968
First flight of an airliner capable of speeds over Mach 1 - Tu-144
January 21, 1976
Regularly scheduled supersonic flights commence - Concorde
Sept. 30, 1982
First helicopter around the world flight - Bell 206
December 14, 1984
First forward swept wing (FSW) aircraft to exceed the speed of sound is flown - X-29
December 14, 1986
First unrefueled non-stop flight around the world - Rutan Voyager.
October 9, 1988
First aircraft to fly a fully automated flight from takeoff to landing - Condor
December 7, 1988
First F-15B development aircraft modified by NASA for flight control research - F-15S/MTD
March 8, 1989
First supersonic cruise jet fighter - F-16XL
March 19, 1989
First production tilt-rotor aircraft to fly - V-22
February 17, 1991
First flight of a civil aviation four seat aircraft with a pressurized cabin - Lancair IV-P
June 14, 1994
First flight of a jetliner 100% digitally designed using three dimension computer graphics - Boeing 777
April 24, 2001
First drone aircraft to fly across the Pacific - RQ-4.
August 13, 2001
Solar powered aircraft sets new altitude record - NASA Helios
June 21, 2004
First non-government manned aircraft to reach space - Space Ship One
November 10, 2005
World record set for distance traveled non stop by a commercial aircraft - Boeing 777
February 11, 2006
First unrefuled one man round the world flight by a jet powered aircraft - Global Flyer
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