This Date in Planelopnik History: Speed Round

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
03/20/2015 at 10:56 • Filed to: planelopnik, planelopnik history

This is today’s Planelopnik History Speed Round , getting you caught up on milestones and important historical events in aviation from March 18 to March 20.

March 18, 1965 – Cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov becomes the first person to walk in space, leaving his spacecraft Voskhod 2 for twelve minutes.

March 18, 1962 – Convair CV-990 entered service with American Airlines . While the 990 didn’t hold as many passengers as the Boeing 707 or Douglas DC-8, it claimed to be faster than its competitors.

March 19, 1989 – First flight of the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft .

March 19, 1964 – Geraldine Mock, piloting a Cessna 180, becomes the first woman to fly around the world , taking 29 days to complete the journey, with 21 stopovers and covering almost 22,860 miles.

March 19, 1941 – The 99th Pursuit Squadron is activated . Known as the Tuskegee Airmen, the 99th was the first all-black unit of the United States Army Air Corps.

March 19, 1916 – Eight American planes of the 1st Provisional Aero Squadron take off in pursuit of Pancho Villa, marking the first United States air-combat mission in history .

March 20, 2011 – First flight of the 747-8I (747-800 International), which can carry up to 467 passengers in a typical three-class configuration over 8,000 nmi (15,000 km) at Mach 0.855.

March 20, 1940 – Boeing delivers the first Model 307 Stratoliner to Pan American Airways. The Stratoliner was the first commercial transport aircraft with a pressurized cabin, allowing flight at an altitude of 20,000 ft, well above many weather disturbances.

March 20, 1932 – First flight of the Boeing P-26 Peashooter , the fastest air-cooled pursuit fighter in the world at the time.

DISCUSSION (16)

William Byrd > ttyymmnn
03/20/2015 at 11:04

Good stuff!

We're only a few months from marking the Osprey's first crash as well.

Racescort666 > ttyymmnn
03/20/2015 at 11:09

Aero history is awesome. Where's Rock Bottom? He totally dogs this shit.

ttyymmnn > William Byrd
03/20/2015 at 11:10

There was a lot of hand wringing over the Osprey in its early days. Folks tend to forget that the Harrier had a similar history of problems in its early days, it's just that when an Osprey crashes it's probably full of troops. That's its job. Apparently, the Osprey is now safer than helicopters .

ttyymmnn > Racescort666
03/20/2015 at 11:11

No idea. Give him a call. I could use the clicks. I try to write an article a day, but it's tough. I may shift over to this every-three-days-or-so format. I think people on this forum prefer a quick read.

William Byrd > ttyymmnn
03/20/2015 at 11:11

I think it's awesome. I've seen 2-3 of them passing over the tidal basin in DC. That'll get your attention real quick.

Racescort666 > ttyymmnn
03/20/2015 at 11:19

I'll send it to him.

Jayhawk Jake > ttyymmnn
03/20/2015 at 11:27

I like this format a lot. Once or twice a week quick highlights.

I had my series of "Unusual Airplanes", and it was quite a bit of work, so I understand where you're coming from.

ttyymmnn > Jayhawk Jake
03/20/2015 at 11:29

If I didn't care so much to make it good, it wouldn't take so long. But those long-form posts can take two hours of writing and proofing. Trouble is, most folks don't like to read more than a paragraph in this forum. That's not bad; it's just the way it is. So I may stick to this format mostly, but write longer pieces if it's warranted.