Aviation History

June 30: End of Aviation's Sixth Month — 30 Days, 30 Stories, One Endless Sky
June 30: End of Aviation's Sixth Month — 30 Days, 30 Stories, One Endless Sky
|Randall Wagnon
As June closes and summer takes full hold, we've spent another month celebrating the aviation history that makes every flight meaningful. From D-Day's aerial armada to Lindbergh's prep, from the... Read more...
June 29, 1995: Space Shuttle Atlantis Docks with Mir — Aviation Reaches Across the Cold War
June 29, 1995: Space Shuttle Atlantis Docks with Mir — Aviation Reaches Across the Cold War
|Randall Wagnon
On June 29, 1995, Space Shuttle Atlantis docked with the Russian Mir space station — the first docking between an American and Russian spacecraft since the Apollo-Soyuz mission in 1975.... Read more...
June 28, 1914: The Shot That Launched a War — And the Aviation Age
June 28, 1914: The Shot That Launched a War — And the Aviation Age
|Randall Wagnon
On June 28, 1914, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo triggered the chain of events that led to World War I — and, in a profound twist of... Read more...
June 27, 1954: The World's First Nuclear Power Plant Opens — Aviation and the Atomic Age
June 27, 1954: The World's First Nuclear Power Plant Opens — Aviation and the Atomic Age
|Randall Wagnon
The Atomic Age and the Jet Age grew up together, and nowhere was that more apparent than in the ambitious nuclear-powered aircraft programs of the 1950s. June marks key milestones... Read more...
June 26, 1945: The United Nations Charter Signed — Aviation Enables a Connected World
June 26, 1945: The United Nations Charter Signed — Aviation Enables a Connected World
|Randall Wagnon
On June 26, 1945, representatives of 50 nations signed the United Nations Charter in San Francisco — a gathering made possible in part by the remarkable logistical achievement of moving... Read more...
June 25, 1950: The Korean War Begins — Aviation in America's Forgotten War
June 25, 1950: The Korean War Begins — Aviation in America's Forgotten War
|Randall Wagnon
On June 25, 1950, North Korean forces crossed the 38th Parallel and invaded South Korea, triggering a war that would produce the first sustained jet-vs-jet air combat in history. The... Read more...
June 24, 1947: Kenneth Arnold's UFO Sighting — The Day Aviation History Got Strange
June 24, 1947: Kenneth Arnold's UFO Sighting — The Day Aviation History Got Strange
|Randall Wagnon
On June 24, 1947, private pilot Kenneth Arnold was flying his CallAir Model A near Mount Rainier, Washington when he reported seeing nine unusual objects flying in formation at extraordinary... Read more...
June 23, 1980: The Boeing 767 Rolls Out — Wide-Body Aviation's New Chapter
June 23, 1980: The Boeing 767 Rolls Out — Wide-Body Aviation's New Chapter
|Randall Wagnon
On June 23, 1980, Boeing unveiled the 767 at its factory in Everett, Washington. The wide-body twin-engine jet went on to become one of the most successful commercial aircraft in... Read more...
June 22, 1944: The GI Bill and Aviation — How America Built Its Aviation Workforce
June 22, 1944: The GI Bill and Aviation — How America Built Its Aviation Workforce
|Randall Wagnon
On June 22, 1944, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Servicemen's Readjustment Act — the GI Bill — into law. Among its many impacts, the GI Bill funded flight training for... Read more...
June 21, 2004: SpaceShipOne Makes the First Private Spaceflight — Aviation's Next Frontier
June 21, 2004: SpaceShipOne Makes the First Private Spaceflight — Aviation's Next Frontier
|Randall Wagnon
On June 21, 2004, Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne — piloted by Mike Melvill — became the first privately funded manned spacecraft to reach space, climbing to an altitude of 100 kilometers... Read more...
June 20, 1956: The SR-71 Blackbird Program Begins — The Fastest Plane Ever Built
June 20, 1956: The SR-71 Blackbird Program Begins — The Fastest Plane Ever Built
|Randall Wagnon
The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird program traces its origins to 1956, when the CIA approached Lockheed's secret Skunk Works division about developing a successor to the U-2 spy plane. What emerged... Read more...
June 19, 1942: The Tuskegee Airmen Receive Their Wings — America's Red Tails
June 19, 1942: The Tuskegee Airmen Receive Their Wings — America's Red Tails
|Randall Wagnon
June 19th — Juneteenth — carries profound meaning in American history. In the world of aviation, it is also close to when the Tuskegee Airmen were earning their wings at... Read more...