World Aviation in 1911 - Part 1

Part 2

6 January
750,000 Indians watch a flying display at Calcutta by Henri Jullerot in his Military Biplane.

7 January
Lieutenant Myron Sydney Crissy of the United States Army, drops the first live bomb from an aeroplane when he conducts a test drop on a target in San Francisco from a Wright biplane piloted by Philip O. Parmelee.

9 January
J.J. Hammond reaches speeds estimated at 44-47mph and an altitude of 2,500 feet while giving a demonstration attended by the Governor of Western Australia.

18 January
Eugène Ely, an exhibition pilot, makes the first landing on a ship. He touched down on a 120 feet long platform which had been erected on the stern of the cruiser USS Pennsylvania . The ship was moored in San Francisco Bay. The Curtiss biplane was fitted with three pairs of spring loaded hooks on the undercarriage and cables were stretched across the temporary flight deck at intervals of 3 feet. The aircraft came to a halt after 30 feet.

21 January
Lieutenant Paul W. Beck sends the first wireless-telephonic message from an aeroplane, sending a message from a Wright biplane over Selfridge Field in Michigan.

26 January
Glenn Curtiss makes the first premeditated aeroplane landing on water, water taxiing and water take-off from USS Pennyslvania in San Diego Bay.

1 February
Burgess and Curtiss becomes the first fully licensed aircraft manufacturer in the USA.

5 February
Vivian C. Walsh makes the first aeroplane flight in New Zealand in his Howard-Wright (type) biplane at Auckland.

7 February
The first French flying certificate is issued to Lieutenant de Rose.

18 February
Under the auspices of the British Army, Mr Henri Pecquet in a Humer-Sommer biplane made the first official airmail flight at the United Provinces Exhibition in Allahabad, India. He flew 6,000 letters and cards 5 miles from Allahabad to Naini Junction where they were transferred to rail.

22 February
Henri Pequet and Captain W.G. Windham begin a regular airmail service between Allahabad and Naini Junction in India, to coincide with the Universal Postal Exhibition in Allahabad.

March
The Aeronautica Militar Espanola is formed in Spain.

March
Captain Chambers of the United States Bureau of Navigation is ordered to assist in the formation of a United States Navy (USN) aviation branch.

3 March
Philip O. Parmelee, with Lieutenant B. Foulois as passenger, receives radio messages and drops written messages to army units during a flight near the Mexico/Texas border.

5 March
The Belgian Army Balloon Company is formed as the Compagnie des Ouviers et Aerostiers.

17 March
The Curtiss D pusher-engined biplane with a tricycle landing gear is demonstrated to the United States Army. Later it becomes their Army Aeroplane No.2.

23 March
Louis Breguet flies the world's first flight with 11 passengers a distance of 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) in his Breguet biplane.

24 March
Roger Sommer flies the world's first flight with 12 passengers a distance of 800 metres (2,625 feet) in his Sommer biplane.

11 April
The United States Army flying school is established at College Park.

12 April
Frenchman Pierre Prier makes the first non-stop flight from London to Paris, carrying passengers. He flies a Blériot for 3 hours 45 minutes from Hendon to Issy-les-Moulineaux in Paris.

12 April
Lieutenant T. Gordon Ellyson becomes the first pilot in the United States Navy (USN).

May
A Belgian female pilot, Helene Dutrieu, wins the Coppa del Re (Kings Cup) after beating 14 male rivals.

5 May
Anthony Fokker pilots his second Spinne (Spider) monoplane with a 50 horse-power engine.

5 May
Baron Sandji Narahara flies a biplane to 196 feet with a 50 horse-power Gnome engine.

11 May
Edouard Nieport sets a new speed record of 74mph in his Nieuport monoplane with a 28 horse-power engine.

Part 2