1908 in aviation
Encyclopedia
This is a list of aviation
-related events from 1908:
Undated
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
-related events from 1908:
January
- 13 January – Henry FarmanHenry FarmanHenri Farman Henri Farman Henri Farman (26 May 1874 – 17 July 1958 was a French pilot, aviator and aircraft designer and manufacturer with his brother Maurice Farman. His family was British and he took French nationality in 1937.-Biography:...
wins the Deutsch-Archdeacon Prize for making a circular flight of 1 kilometre (0.621372736649807 mi). The flight lasts 1 minute and 28 seconds.
May
- 14 May – Charles FurnasCharles FurnasCharles W. Furnas was born in West Milton, Miami County, Ohio, the second son of Tanzy and Elizabeth Furnas. He is chiefly remembered for his work as a mechanic for the Wright Company and for being the world's first aeroplane passenger...
becomes the first passenger in an aeroplane in the United States, piloted by Wilbur WrightWright brothersThe Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur , were two Americans credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903...
. They fly for a distance of approximately 600m in 28-3/5ths seconds in the Wright 1905 FlyerWright Flyer IIIThe Wright Flyer III was the third powered aircraft built by the Wright Brothers. Orville Wright made the first flight with it on June 23, 1905. The Flyer III had an airframe of spruce construction with a wing camber of 1-in-20 as used in 1903, rather than the less effective 1-in-25 used in 1904...
, modified with seats for pilot and passenger. Shortly after, Orville WrightWright brothersThe Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur , were two Americans credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903...
flies Furnas for 4.12 km in 4 minutes 2-2/5ths seconds. - Henry Farman is reported to have flown with a Mlle P. Van Pottelsberghe in Ghent, Belgium in late May. If correct she would be the first woman passenger in an aeroplane.
June
- June – Alliott Verdon RoeAlliott Verdon RoeSir Edwin Alliott Verdon Roe OBE, FRAeS was a pioneer English pilot and aircraft manufacturer, and founder in 1910 of the Avro company...
performs taxiing and towed flight trials with his first powered aeroplane at BrooklandsBrooklandsBrooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first purpose-built motorsport venue, as well as one of Britain's first airfields...
, SurreySurreySurrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. - 28 June – Jacob EllehammerJacob EllehammerJacob Christian Hansen Ellehammer was a Danish watchmaker and inventor born in Bakkebølle, Denmark. He is remembered chiefly for his contributions to powered flight....
makes the first piloted, powered aeroplane flight in Germany.
July
- The Royal NavyRoyal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
s Director of Naval Ordnance, CaptainCaptain (naval)Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
Reginald BaconReginald BaconAdmiral Sir Reginald Hugh Spencer Bacon, KCB, KCVO, DSO was an officer in the Royal Navy noted for his technical abilities who was described by the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Jacky Fisher, as the man "acknowledged to be the cleverest officer in the Navy".-Family:Reginald was born at Wiggonholt in...
, recommends that the Royal Navy acquire an airshipAirshipAn airship or dirigible is a type of aerostat or "lighter-than-air aircraft" that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust mechanisms...
to compete with the Imperial German Navys ZeppelinZeppelinA Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century. It was based on designs he had outlined in 1874 and detailed in 1893. His plans were reviewed by committee in 1894 and patented in the United States on 14 March 1899...
s. - 4 July – Glenn H. Curtiss is awarded the Scientific AmericanScientific AmericanScientific American is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text as well as the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics...
trophy for being the first person in the United States to make a public flight of over 1 km (0.621372736649807 mi). The award is for a flight at Hammondsport in which he flies 1,550 m (5,090 ft) in 1 minute and 42 seconds. - 8 July – Thérèse PeltierThérèse PeltierThérèse Peltier was a French sculptress and aviator. Popularly believed to have been the first ever woman passenger in an airplane she should perhaps instead be recognised as the first woman to pilot a heavier-than-air craft...
officially becomes the first woman to fly in an aeroplane. She is a passenger on a flight made by Léon DelagrangeLéon DelagrangeLéon Delagrange Léon Delagrange Léon Delagrange (Ferdinand Léon Delagrange; March 13, 1873 was a pioneer French aviator and also a sculptor .He was born at Orléans and studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris...
at TurinTurinTurin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
. However, this flight may not have been fully controlled. See also #May and #October.
August
- 8 August – Wilbur Wright makes his first flights at the Hunaudières racetrack at Le MansLe MansLe Mans is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans. Le Mans is a part of the Pays de la Loire region.Its inhabitants are called Manceaux...
, France. The Wright Flyer used for this and later flights had been shipped to Le HavreLe HavreLe Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
by Orville the previous year. It had been seriously damaged by custom officials when it arrived in France and uncrated. Wilbur spent the whole summer of 1908 rebuilding the machine and getting it into flying condition. Wilbur's flights in this machine will have a profound effect on European aviation during the following months. - 20 August – Robert Gastambide becomes the first passenger carried by a monoplaneMonoplaneA monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with one main set of wing surfaces, in contrast to a biplane or triplane. Since the late 1930s it has been the most common form for a fixed wing aircraft.-Types of monoplane:...
when he is taken up on the Antoinette II. - 21 August – Wilbur Wright moves to Camp d'Auvours, 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) east of Le Mans, where all his flights for the remainder of the year will be based.
- 21 August – The Antoinette II flies the first circle by a monoplane.
September
- 3 September – Seeking a contract to build the United States ArmyUnited States ArmyThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
s first airplane, Orville Wright begins flight trials before Army observers at Fort MyerFort MyerFort Myer is a U.S. Army post adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. It is a small post by U.S...
, VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, in a new Wright Model A flyer. The flight lasts 1 minute 11 seconds. - 9 September – At Fort Myer, Orville Wright sets three world records: a flight endurance record of 57 minutes 13 seconds on his first flight, a new flight endurance record of 1 hour 2 minutes and 15 seconds on his second flight, and an endurance record for a flight with a passenger (Army LieutenantLieutenantA lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Frank P. Lahm) of 6 minutes 24 seconds on his third flight. - 10 September – At Fort Myer, Orville Wright sets a world flight endurance record of 1 hour 5 minutes and 52 seconds.
- 11 September – At Fort Myer, Orville Wright sets a world flight endurance record of 1 hour 10 minutes and 24 seconds.
- 12 September – At Fort Myer, Orville Wright sets a world record for flight endurance with a passenger (Army MajorMajorMajor is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
George O. Squier) of 9 minutes 6⅓ seconds. - 17 September – LieutenantLieutenantA lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Thomas SelfridgeThomas SelfridgeThomas Etholen Selfridge was a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army and the first person to die in a crash of a powered airplane. He was a passenger while Orville Wright was piloting the aircraft.-Biography:...
becomes the first person killed in a powered airplane and the first military aviation casualty when the aircraft, a Wright Model A, Orville Wright is piloting during U.S. Army tests, crashes at Fort Myer. Wright is severely injured. - Thérèse PeltierThérèse PeltierThérèse Peltier was a French sculptress and aviator. Popularly believed to have been the first ever woman passenger in an airplane she should perhaps instead be recognised as the first woman to pilot a heavier-than-air craft...
makes a flight of 200 metres (656 feet) at a height of approximately 2.5 meters (8 feet) at the Military Square in TurinTurinTurin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Photos of Peltier with the aeroplane are published on 27 September. Unofficially, it is the first flight by a female aviator.
October
- 3 October - George P. Dicken of the New York HeraldNew York HeraldThe New York Herald was a large distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between May 6, 1835, and 1924.-History:The first issue of the paper was published by James Gordon Bennett, Sr., on May 6, 1835. By 1845 it was the most popular and profitable daily newspaper in the UnitedStates...
becomes the first newspaper reporter to fly in an airplane when he rides as a passenger with Wilbur Wright at Camp dAuvours. - 5 October – Zeppelin-airship LZ IV destroyed by fire at Echterdingen.
- 7 October – Wilbur Wright flies with Mrs. Hart O. Berg as passenger at Camp dAuvours. This is the first fully controlled flight with a woman passenger.
- 14 October – Henry Farman makes the first cross-country flight in a power-driven aeroplane, from Bouy to Reims 27 kilometres (16.8 mi) in 20 minutes.
- 16 October – Samuel CodySamuel CodySamuel Franklin Cowdery was born in Birdville, Texas, USA. He was an early pioneer of manned flight, most famous for his work on the large kites known as Cody War-Kites that were used in World War I as a smaller alternative to balloons for artillery spotting...
makes his first aeroplane flight in the UK in British Army Aeroplane No. 1. - 18 October – Wilbur Wright climbs to 115 metres (377.3 ft) above Camp d'Auvours.
November
- Horace, Eustace and Oswald Short found Short BrothersShort BrothersShort Brothers plc is a British aerospace company, usually referred to simply as Shorts, that is now based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Founded in 1908, Shorts was the first company in the world to make production aircraft and was a manufacturer of flying boats during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s...
, the first aircraft manufacturing company in England, in BatterseaBatterseaBattersea is an area of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is an inner-city district of South London, situated on the south side of the River Thames, 2.9 miles south-west of Charing Cross. Battersea spans from Fairfield in the west to Queenstown in the east...
, London.
December
- 18 December – Wilbur Wright at Camp d'Auvours, 11 kilometres east of Le Mans. flies 99.8 kilometres (62 mi) in 1 hour 54 minutes 2/5 sec. rising to 110 m (360 ft) - a new world record.
- 31 December – Wilbur Wright wins a prize of FF 20,000 from MichelinMichelinMichelin is a tyre manufacturer based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne région of France. It is one of the two largest tyre manufacturers in the world along with Bridgestone. In addition to the Michelin brand, it also owns the BFGoodrich, Kleber, Riken, Kormoran and Uniroyal tyre brands...
for the longest flight of the year (a world record) - 123.2 kilometres (76.6 mi) in 2 hours 18 minutes and 33 1/5 seconds from Camp d'Auvours.
Undated
- The United States ArmyUnited States ArmyThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
announces plans to buy flying machines. - FiatFiatFIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...
begins to manufacture aero engines.
March
- 12 March - AEA Red WingAEA Red Wing|-References:NotesBibliography*. Retrieved: 19 May 2005.-See also:...
, flying from the surface of Keuka LakeKeuka LakeKeuka Lake is an unusual member of New York's Finger Lakes because it is Y-shaped, instead of long and narrow. Because of its shape, it was referred to in the past as Crooked Lake...
near Hammondsport, New YorkHammondsport, New YorkHammondsport is a village in Steuben County, New York, United States. The population was 731 at the 2000 census. The village is named after its founding father.The Village of Hammondsport is in the Town of Urbana and is northeast of Bath, New York....
. Flight distance is 97.2 metres (318.9 ft) but ends with the aircraft collapsing to the ground, leaving the pilot slightly bruised. This is the first public demonstration of a powered aircraft flight in the United States.