Please remain seated: Aviation Firsts ( 2 Min Read )
let’s look at some of the Firsts in the Aviation Industry
They chose to fly first by tossing a coin.
Yes! Wilbur was the winner. His trial flight was on 14-Dec which was not successful, so it was Orville turn to to make the next flight, this historic flight took place on 17-Dec 1903. The plane was named
‘Flyer’ which was their own design including the engine. They made 4 flights and the 4th flight was 852 feet and lasted 52 seconds.
There was also a Wright sister
Katharine Wright was the younger sister of Wilbur and Orville. She provided them with moral, material & financial support as they pursued human flight. Funding was from her salary as a school teacher and from their own bi cycle shop which Katharine managed. She became an international celebrity when she accompanied her brothers in Europe. On her return she managed the affairs of the Wright Company.
A comment to a friend about a specific problem led to the invention of the Wrist Watch
Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos Dumont was the first man to make a heavier-than-air flight in Europe. Once he told his friend Louis Cartier how difficult it was to check his pocket watch while steering his dirigible. So Cartier invented the first wrist watch in 1904 and presented to his friend.
The first airport to be named after Nobel Peace Prize Winner in Tirana, Albania
Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Skopje, the part of Ottoman empire, now part of Macedonai of Albanian parents. Tirana International Airport Nene Tereza. is commonly known as Rinas International airport, after the town which it is based.
This Northwest airlines pilot created something that changed the way we travel
In 1987, pilot Bob Plath created a vertically based “Wheeled Bag” for his own use. Soon, other aircrew were purchasing the convenient bag for themselves. By 1989 Plath was selling them to the public under the brand name TravelPro RollABoard. Air travel has’nt been the same since this invention.
It was the ‘ Rolls’ of ‘Rolls Royce’, the first to make a double crossing of the English Channel
He made the flight on 2nd June 1910. He was flying a French built Wright Bi-plane. He flew from Dover to France and back without landing. Charles Lindberg was of course the first to make a transatlantic from New York to Paris.
This pilot demanded a bonus of US $ 150,000 for this dangerous task.
The United States Air Force had approached highly test pilot Slick Goodwin and offered him the attempt to be the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound. After it was turned down, it was the flying ace Chuck Yeager who became the first pilot in history to have exceed the speed of sound in level flight.
He was the first aviator to carry out a night bombing mission
Argentinian pilot Almandos Almonacid participated in the World War I as pilot of French Air Force. In recognition of his achievements, in France he was awarded several honors, including the Legion of Honor. The La Rioja Airport is named in his honor.
The airport is named in honor of a person who was assassinated after getting off a plane
Ninoy Aquino International airport, Manila- Philippines. Aquino was a leading opposition senator during the Presidency of Ferdinand Marcos. he had been on a self imposed exile in USA, was returning to Manila to negotiate with Marcos. As he stepped off the plane, a shot was fired at his head from point blank range killing him instantly.
‘Emesis Bag’ is the technical name for an air sickness bag
Derived from the two Latin words meaning ‘out of’ and ‘to send’. Virgin Atlantic sponsored a design contest for the air sickness bags known as “Design for Chunks” and even introduced Star Wars themed bags. There is even a web site: www.airsicknessbags.com , possibly the most complete compendium of said bags known in the universe.