The first
Bulgarian Air Force is formed, using Blériot, Albatros, Farman, Nieuport, Voisin, Somer, Skiorski, and Bristol aircraft (23 in total) to fight in the
First Balkan War.
20 January –
John Verrept broke the world altitude record with two passengers. He flew up to 1075 metres from Vidamée near
Senlis, beating the former record of 896 metres by
René Moineau.[5][6]
4 February – In
Paris, Austrian-born French inventor
Franz Reichelt, the "Flying Tailor," dies in a jump from the
Eiffel Tower in an attempt to demonstrate his "parachute-suit," a wearable
parachute. The jump is
captured on film.
12 February –
Anthony Fokker establishes Fokker Aeroplanbau in Germany, predecessor to
Fokker Aircraft Company.
17 February
Robert G. Fowler completes the first west-to-east flight across the
continental United States, arriving in
Pablo Beach, Florida, also becoming the second person to complete a U.S. transcontinental flight. After a false start from
San Francisco, California, on 11 September 1911, he had begun his journey from
Los Angeles, on 19 October 1911. During his journey, he flew the first plane to be launched from a rolling railroad
handcar, took up as a passenger Edward Shaw at
Beaumont, Texas, allowing Shaw to film the first aerial
motion pictures, and made the first air delivery of medicine, during a flight from
Jennings to
Evangeline, Louisiana. He made 65 forced landings during his journey.[8][9]
22 February –
Jules Védrines becomes the first pilot to exceed 100 miles per hour (160 km/h). He makes his flight in a
Deperdussin monoplane near
Pau, France, flying a distance of 200 km (120 mi) in 1 h 15 min 20.8 s, an average speed of 169 km/h (105 mph).[11]
24–25 February –
Italian ArmyCaptain Carlo Piazza takes the first wartime reconnaissance photographs from an airplane, photographing Ottoman Army positions in
Libya during the
Italo-Turkish War.[3]
March – The conversion of the ex-
torpedo boat tenderFoudre into the
French Navy's first ship capable of carrying and handling airplanes is completed. In her new role, Foudre is the first ship with an airplane
hangar. She also is the first warship to be permanently altered for service as an aviation ship.[12]
17 April –
AustrianphysicistVictor Hess ascends in a
balloon during a nearly total
solar eclipse – one of ten balloon flights he makes between 1911 and 1913 to study
ionization in the
atmosphere – and notes that ionization does not decrease with the sun blocked by the moon. He concluders that the source of ionization is not the sun, but rather something farther out in space. His flight marks the discovery of what American physicist
Robert Millikan in 1925 will name
cosmic rays.[17]
May – A recommendation is made that the French Navy investigate the design and procurement of an
aircraft carrier with a
flight deck. For the first time, an armored hangar is suggested for such a ship. Plans for the ship are cancelled about 1917 prior to any construction.[1][19]
George V approves the formation of the
Royal Flying Corps. Under overall control of the
British Army, it includes all British military and naval aircraft, organized into a Military Wing and a Naval Wing.[21]
19 May – As a curious crowd looks on, the Italian engineer
Giuseppe Bellanca teaches himself to fly in series of short, tentative hops at
Mineola Field on
Long Island outside
Mineola, New York. His success prompts him to establish the Bellanca School of Flying, which he operates from 1912 to 1916.[22]
The first annual
Aerial Derby takes place, sponsored by the Daily Mail. Seven participants flying a single circuit of an 81-mile (130-kilometer) course, starting and finishing at
Hendon Aerodrome in
London, with control points at
Kempton Park,
Esher,
Purley, and
Purfleet. A crowd of 45,000 spectators pays to see the start and finish, and large numbers of people watch the race along its route.
Thomas Sopwith wins in a
Bleriot XI-2 with a time of 1 hour 23 minutes 8.4 seconds, winning £250 and a gold cup.
26 July – France is the first country to use national markings on military aircraft other than a flag when they decree that military aircraft should display the manufacturer and serial number, the maximum load and roundels on the fuselage and wings.[28]
31 July – The
United States Navy tests an
aircraft catapult for the first time. The test, which is conducted ashore, is a failure, as the aircraft is badly damaged.[29]
10 September – A third fatal accident involving a Royal Flying Corps monoplane occurs when a
Bristol Coanda monoplane crashes near
Wolvercote (Oxford), killing Lieutenants E. Hotchkiss and C. Bettington. These accidents lead to a ban on the use of monoplanes by the RFC.
2 November – The first airplane flights in
Japan by
Imperial Japanese Navy personnel are made by two officers at Yokosuka Naval Air Technical Arsenal using Farman and Curtiss seaplanes.[24]
12 November
The first demonstration of naval aircraft at an Imperial Japanese Navy fleet review takes place at
Yokohama, with Lieutenant Yōzō Kaneko flying a Farman seaplane and Lieutenant
Sankichi Kōno a
Curtiss seaplane.[43]
28 November – The
Italian Air Battalion is made a fully operational command, the (Flotta Aerea d'Italia).
The United States Navy launches a
flying boat by catapult for the first time.[29]
William Beardmore and Company proposes the first
Royal Navyaircraft carrier with a flight deck - a 450-foot (140-meter), 15,000-ton ship capable of carrying ten airplanes – to the British Admiralty. The Admiralty rejects the proposal on the grounds of insufficient experience with operation of aircraft at sea.[44]
16 December –
Tony Jannus arrives in
New Orleans,
Louisiana, completing a flight from
Omaha,
Nebraska, over the
Missouri and
Mississippi rivers in a
Benoist Type XIIfloatplane he had begun on November 6. The 1,973-mile (3,177-km) journey sets a new distance record for overwater flight, and the 42 aerial exhibitions Jannus has performed along the way have exposed thousands of people in the central and southern United States to aviation.[45]
31 December – The Royal Navy has 16 aircraft in service – eight
biplane landplanes, five
monoplane landplanes, and three "
hydro-aeroplanes."[21]
^Chant, Chris, The World's Great Bombers, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2000,
ISBN0-7607-2012-6, p. 13.
^
abFranks, Norman, Aircraft vs. Aircraft: The Illustrated Story of Fighter Pilot Combat From 1914 to the Present Day, London: Grub Street, 1998,
ISBN1-902304-04-7, p. 9.
^
abDaniel, Clifton, ed., Chronicle of the 20th Century, Mount Kisco, New York: Chronicle Publications, 1987,
ISBN0-942191-01-3, p. 158.
^Crosby, Francis, The Complete Guide to Fighters & Bombers of the World: An Illustrated History of the World's Greatest Military Aircraft, From the Pioneering Days of Air Fighting in World War I Through the Jet Fighters and Stealth Bombers of the Present Day, London: Hermes House, 2006,
ISBN9781846810008, p. 17.
^Piszkiewicz, Dennis (1997). From Nazi Test Pilot to Hitler's Bunker: The Fantastic Flights of Hanna Reitsch. Westport: Praeger. p. 3.
ISBN978-0-27595-456-7.
^Maksel, Rebecca (August 13, 2008).
"The Father of Chinese Aviation". Air & Space. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved August 18, 2012.
References
Layman, R.D., Before the Aircraft Carrier: The Development of Aviation Vessels 1849–1922, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1989,
ISBN0-87021-210-9
Peattie, Mark R., Sunburst: The Rise of Japanese Naval Air Power 1909–1941, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2001,
ISBN1-55750-432-6
Robertson, Bruce. Aircraft Markings of the World 1912–1967, Stroud, England: Harleyford Publications, 1967.