1923

Master Index

1925

1924 Chronology of Aviation History
Major Aviation Events

1924 Aviation Records

• Speed: (France), 278.47-mph, Florentin Bonnet, Bernard Ferbois V2, 11 December 1924.

• Distance: (USA), 3,293-miles, Smith and Richter, de Havilland DH.4B, 28 August 1923.

• Altitude: (France), 36,565-feet, Joseph Sadi-Lecointe, Nieuport-Delage, 30 October 1923.

• Weight: (Italy), 57,319-lbs, SAI Caproni, Caproni Ca.60.

• Engine Power: (UK), 1,000-hp, Napier, Cub.

January 1924

• January 29 — Pateras Pesara flies an experimental helicopter in Paris. The machine flew 800 meters (2,640 ft) in just over 10 minutes.

February 1924

• February 20 — Three French Army officers make the first two-way aerial crossing of the Sahara Desert in a Breguet 14.

March 1924

• March — First flight of the Fairey Fawn.

• March — Huff Darland Dusters is established as the world's first crop dusting company in Georgia (U.S. state). It will eventually grow into Delta Air Service, then Delta Air Lines.

• March 25 — Royal Air Force officers McLaren, Plenderleith, and Andrews set off in an attempted round-the-world flight in a Vickers Vulture II. Their attempt will ultimately fail in Siberia in early August.

April 1924

• April 1 — Imperial Airways is formed, with the Backing of the British government.

• April 1 — Britain's Fleet Air Arm is established.

• April 1 — The Royal Canadian Air Force is formed.

May 1924

• May 4 — First flight of the Sikorsky S-29-A.

• May 19 — The first aerial circumnavigation of Australia is carried out, by an RAAF crew in a Fairey IIID.

• May 26 — First flight of the Tupolev ANT-2.

June 1924

• June 16 — First flight of the Blériot-SPAD S.51.

• June 23 — First flight of the Focke-Wulf A-16.

• June 23 — Lt Russell Maughan makes the first one-day crossing of the United States, completing the flight from Long Island to San Francisco in a Curtiss PW-8 in 21 hours, 48 minutes.

July 1924

• July 1 — Regular night airmail services commence in the United States, linking Chicago with Cheyenne.

• July 17 — Pelletier d'Oisy completes a flight from Paris to Tokyo. The journey takes 120 hours in the air.

• July 19 — First flight of the Blériot 135.

August 1924

• August — First flight of the Savoia Marchetti S.55.

• August — First flight of the Hawker Cygnet.

• August — The Bolivian Air Force is formed, as the Cuerpo de Aviación.

• August 8 — US Navy airship USS Shenandoah docks with the USS Patoka while the latter is underway, showing that airships could operate from support ships far out to sea.

• August 21 — First flight of the Fokker F.VII.

• August 24 — The USS Richmond rescues the crew of an Italian flying boat that is forced down in the Arctic Ocean by bad weather.

September 1924

• September — First flight of the Aero A.24.

• September 11 — Canada's first regular airmail service begins, with Laurentide Air Services linking Haileybury with Rouyn.

• September 28 — Two of four Douglas World Cruisers of the U.S. Army Air Service arrive in Seattle, completing the first aerial circumnavigation of the world. They had left the city on April 6, taking 175 days for the journey.

October 1924

• October 12-15 — Transportation of the Zeppelin-Airship LZ.126 (ZR.III Los Angeles) to USA under guidance of H. Eckener.

November 1924

• November 6 — First flight of the Dornier Do.J.

• November 11 — Lt Dixie Kiefer makes the first night catapult launch from a ship, the USS California.

• November 24 — A KLM Fokker F.VII makes the first flight from the Netherlands to the Dutch East Indies, taking 127 hours 16 minutes.

December 1924

• December 13 — In an early parasite fighter experiment, Lt Clyde Flinter unsuccessfully attempts to dock his Sperry Messenger with the US Army airship TC-3.

• December 14 — A Martin MO-1 is launched using an explosive-driven catapult fitted to a turret on USS Mississippi, requiring less distance than ever for the take-off.

Works Cited

1. Gunston, Bill, et al. Chronicle of Aviation. Liberty, Missouri: JL Publishing Inc., 1992. 14-17
2. Parrish, Wayne W. (Publisher). "United States Chronology". 1962 Aerospace Yearbook, Forty-Third Annual Edition. Washington, DC: American Aviation Publications, Inc., 1962, 446-469.
3. Wikipedia, 1924 in aviation
4. Shupek, John (photos and card images), The Skytamer Archive. Skytamer.com, Whittier, CA