Flight

On September 17, 1976, America’s first space shuttle, the Enterprise, made its debut public appearance.

Claire Lee Chennault was born on September 6, 1890, in Commerce, Texas. He formed and led the Flying Tigers during World War II.

Aviator and inventor Orville Wright was born on August 19, 1871, in Dayton, Ohio. He and his brother would go on to become aviation pioneers.

On August 12, 1983, the USPS issued its first Express mail stamp, though the service, and those like it, had been available for several years.

On July 31, 1971, US Astronauts David Scott and James Irwin became the first humans to drive on the Moon. Their Apollo 15 mission was the first of three in which the lunar rovers were driven on the Moon’s surface.

Aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart was born on July 24, 1897, in Atchison, Kansas. Earhart advanced the role of women in aviation during the early days of flight.  She was the first woman to fly the Atlantic Ocean solo (and the first person to do it twice), receive the Distinguished Flying Cross, and fly nonstop coast-to-coast across the US.

On June 26, 1948, the first supply-filled planes departed bases in England and Western Germany as part of the Berlin Airlift.

On June 24, 1918, Captain Brian Peck made the first airmail flight in Canada. It would be another decade before the service became official and Canada would issue its first Airmail stamps.

On June 23, 1938, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Civil Aeronautics Act, creating the Civil Aeronautics Authority. The CAA was tasked with investigating accidents, recommending ways to prevent future accidents, and setting airline fares and routes. It eventually became the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).