1638: John Wilkins, Bishop of Chester, suggests some ideas to future would-be pilots in his The Discover of the World in the Moon book.
1709: Father Laurenco de Gusmao designs a model hot air balloon.
1783: Pilatre de Rozier and the Marquis dArlandes invent the first manned hot air balloon that flies.
1793: Jean-Pierre Blanchard makes first flight to the United States, on a hydrogen balloon.
1848 John Stringfellow builds a steam powered model aircraft, with a wingspan of 3.5 metres, which successfully flies a distance of 40 metres before crashing into a wall. Thus achieving the world's first powered flight.
1913 in aviation: China receives its first air fleet, 12 planes designed by French plane maker Rene Cuadron
1914 in aviation: The St. Petersburg/Tampa Airboat Line starts services, becoming the first airline to provide services. A.C. Pheil is the first airline passenger.
1915 in aviation: Aerobatic ace Adolphe Pegoud dies from hemorrage after landing his plane successfully.
1919 in aviation: Henry Farman carries 11 paying passengers in his F.60 Goliath plane from Paris to London, in what became the first commercial flight between the two European cities. NC-4, then Alcock & Brown, fly across the Atlantic. Avianca begins services.
1922 in aviation: The first commercial night flight between London and Paris is completed.
1923 in aviation: Army lieutenants Oakley G. Kelly and John A. MacReady complete the first non-stop flight from New York to Los Angeles in history. Sabena starts services.
1999 in aviation: Fear of the Y2Kcomputer virus and possible in-flight consequences for those planes flying during the night of December 31, 1999 and the early morning of January 1, 2000, spreads around the airline industry.
2003 in aviation: The Columbia space shuttle explodes, killing all seven occupants. Fina Air begins services. Boeing 727 mysteriously disappears in Angola, along with pilot Ben Charles Padilla. United Transit 141 crashes in Benin, spreading rumors that it is the Boeing 727 that disappeared earlier during the year.
