June 2004 - Issue 6

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The History of Commercial Aviation

Commercial Aviation Timeline

17 December 1903

At 23 years of age, Royal Air Force Officer Frank Whittle files his patent for the world's first jet engine. Britain's Air Ministry is not convinced of the merits of Whittle's ideas, and the jet engine remains just an idea until Whittle's successful experiment in 1937.

17 october 1903

Registered nurse Ellen Church becomes the world's first stewardess traveling from Oakland enroute to Chicago for Boeing Air Transport. In addition to being nurses, the first eight stewardesses had to be single, younger than 25 years old; weigh less than 115 pounds; and stand less than 5 feet, 4 inches tall.

23 october 2003

A TWA flight from Kansas City to Los Angeles crashes, killing all seven aboard, including famed Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne. An investigation reveals the cause to be rot due to the wooden wings of the Fokker Trimotor. TWA's request for an all-metal twin-engine airliner leads to the Douglas Aircraft Company's development of the DC-1.

17 october 1903

Amelia Earhart becomes first woman to cross the Atlantic solo in a Lockheed Vega. She flies a total of 2,026 miles from Newfoundland to North Ireland in 14 hours and 52 minutes. Already an acclaimed aviator, Earhart, or "Lady Lindy" as the press called her, would continue to set records until her mysterious disappearance July 2, 1937 in her attempt to travel the world.

23 october 2003

Wiley Post completes the first solo flight around the world. Post, flying in a Lockheed Vega monoplane called the "Winnie Mae," completes the 15,596-mile voyage in 4 days, 19 hours, and 36 minutes.

17 october 1903

President Franklin D. Roosevelt issues an Executive Order canceling existing air mail contracts because of fraud and collusion. The United States Army Air Corps is designated to take over air mail operations, but the deaths of several Army pilots leads to the Air Mail Act of 1934 which restored open bidding of air routes to commercial airlines.

23 october 2003

The China Clipper, the first of the Pan Am Clippers, takeoffs from San Francisco Bay with a crowd of over 125,000 watching. The huge flying boats enabled Pan Am to conquer the Pacific.

17 october 1903

Douglas Aircraft introduces the immensely popular DC-3, considered the greatest passenger plane of its time. American Airlines placed the first orders for the luxurious plane, which included sleeping accommodations for up to 14 passengers.

23 october 2003

In a Lockheed Lodestar, Howard Hughes completes his 14,824 mile trip around the world in a record-breaking 3 days, 19 hours and 17 minutes. A crowd of 25,000 greeted Hughes return at New York's Bennett Field. Hughes' interest in aviation would soon lead him to purchase seventy-seven percent of the shares in TWA.

17 october 1903

The Heinkel He 178 becomes first plane to fly with a jet engine. German engineer Hans Von Ohain developed the jet-engine, the HeS 38, which powered the plane at speeds well over 400 miles per hour. That was a big sensation back then.