On May 20, 1927, Charles Lindbergh began his famous flight across the Atlantic aboard the Spirit of St. Louis. Flying alone for 33 hours across 3,600 miles in stormy weather, he became an instant celebrity and American legend.
On May 15, 1918, America’s airmail service began when two Curtiss Jennys departed New York and Washington, DC. In the months that followed, pioneering aviators expanded airmail service over the treacherous Allegheny Mountains to Chicago and eventually the west coast.
On May 14, 1935, US and Cuban pilots flew the first international airmail sky train. Inspired by locomotives hauling wagons, this air train consisted of a motored airplane pulling two gliders.
On February 20, 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth aboard his Friendship 7 capsule.
On January 31, 1961, Mercury-Redstone 2 launched Ham the Chimp into space. It was an important step in a program aimed at getting the first American in space.
On January 11, 1935, Amelia Earhart became the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California. She completed the 2,400-mile flight in 18 hours.
On December 16, 1912, the United States issued the world’s first stamp to picture an airplane – a 20¢ Parcel Post issue.
James “Jimmy” Doolittle was born on December 14, 1896, in Alameda, California. A pioneering aviator with many “firsts” to his name, he’s best remembered as the leader and namesake of the “Doolittle” Raid on Japan during World War II.
On November 29, 1929, Richard E. Byrd made his first flight over the South Pole. It was the first of five expeditions he made there during his life.