Great Moments in Travel History ? September 2013
By Jesse Sokolow on 1 September 2013
On September 1, 1910, Glenn H. Curtiss made a return flight from Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio to Euclid Beach in Cleveland in an hour and forty-two minutes. While he did not break his August record for the longest flight over water, he did average around 55 mph (88.5 km/h) in his biplane, securing the record for the reverse course.
Air Canada?s predecessor, Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCA), inaugurated service carrying two passengers and mail between Vancouver and Seattle aboard a Lockheed L-10A Electra on September 1, 1937.
The Boeing 737-900ER made it first flight from the Renton Municipal Airport in Renton, Washington on September 1, 2006. The aircraft can carry up to 180 passengers in a two-class layout, and is certified for up 220 passengers in a one-class configuration.
An Alaska Airlines Boeing 727 crashed into a mountain in the Tongass National Forest near Juneau, Alaska on September 4, 1971. All 111 people onboard perished in the crash.
On September 10, 1993, Boeing rolled out its 1000th 747. It was delivered to Singapore Airlines on October 12, 1993.
On September 11, 1966, Collett Everman Woolman, one of the four founders of Delta Air Lines, passed away. In 1928, Woolman purchased Huff Daland Dusters and renamed it Delta Air Service. Woolman was born on October 8, 1889, in Bloomington, Indiana. He grew up in Urbana, Illinois, and graduated from the University of Illinois with a B.A. in agriculture.
The first flight of the Airbus Beluga took place on September 13, 1994. At first, the aircraft was officially called the Super Transporter, but the more popular name ?Beluga? was eventually adopted because of the plane?s distinctive shape and design. It is used mainly for transport of Airbus components ready for final assembly across Europe, and is also used to transport space station components, large and delicate artwork, and entire helicopters.
15th The Douglas Aircraft division of McDonnell Douglas delivered its 2,000th jet airliner, a DC-10 built for United Airlines, on September 15, 1982. The aircraft is a three-engine widebody jet airliner, and has a maximum capacity of 380 passengers.
On September 15, 1988, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 604 crashed on takeoff after suffering multiple bird strikes. Thirty-five of the ninety-eight passengers onboard the Boeing 737 died in the crash.
American Airlines flight 723, a Convair 240, crashed on September 16, 1953, while on approach to Albany Airport in New York. All 28 passengers and crew members died.
On September 18, 1959, the Douglas DC-8 entered airline service simultaneously with United Air Lines and Delta Air Lines. The aircraft is a four-engine, long range, narrow body jet airliner.
On September 20, 1932, Douglas was awarded a contract by TWA to build a prototype of the DC-1, a two-pilot, 12-passenger plane. The agreement also gave TWA options for 60 additional aircraft.
On September 20, 1945, a converted British Gloster Meteor, the first operational British jet fighter, and the only Allied jet fighter to see combat in World War II, made its first flight as the tested for the Rolls Royce Trent-engines that had five-bladed propellers. The aircraft pioneered turboprop power and the one-off model was retired in 1948.
United Airlines took delivery of its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner on September 22, 2012. The carrier became the first North American airline to take delivery of the high-tech but problem-plagued aircraft.
On September 26, 1981, the Boeing 767-200 made its first flight. The aircraft entered service with United Airlines in 1982, and was the first aircraft to be used on transatlantic extended range twin engine flights.
Douglas World Cruisers Chicago and New Orleans completed a round-the-world flight on September 28, 1924. Originally, four aircraft had set out on the expedition (the Boston, Chicago, New Orleans, and Seattle), but the Boston and Seattle crashed during the trip. .
On September 28, 1956, William Boeing died aboard his yacht, the Taconite. Boeing founded the Pacific Aero Products Co. in 1916, which would later become Boeing Airplane Company.
On September 28, 2004, final assembly on the first Boeing 777-200LR began. The aircraft holds the record for longest nonstop flight by a commercial airliner.
On September 30, 1968, the first Boeing 747 rolled out during ceremonies at the new assembly facility in Everett, Washington. The aircraft was the first wide-body ever produced, and is one of the world?s most recognizable aircraft