1925

Master Index

1927

1926 Chronology of Aviation History
Major Aviation Events

1926 Aviation Records

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

• Distance: (France), 3,352.92-miles, Costes and Rignot, Breguet 19 GR, 19 October 1926.

• 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.

1926

• 1926 — First flight of the Boulton Paul Sidestrand.

January 1926

• January 6 — Deutsche Lufthansa is formed by the merger of Deutsche Aero Lloyd and Junkers Luftverkehr.

• January 26 — The Plus Ultra, a Dornier Do.J hydroplane completes a Trans-Atlantic flight with a crew of Spanish aviators, including Ramón Franco and Julio Ruiz de Alda Miqueleiz.

February 1926

• No data.

March 1926

• March 1 — Four Royal Air Force Fairey IIID's begin a long-distance flight, taking them from Cairo to Cape Town and then on to Lee-on-Solent, England, where they will arrive on June 2.

• March 16 — Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fuelled rocket near Auburn, Massachusetts.

April 1926

• April 1 — Italian airline Società Italiana Servizi Aerei begins operations linking Trieste, Venice, Pavia, and Turin with Cant 10 flying boats.

• April 6 — Varney Speed Lines begins operations in the US. It will later become Continental Airlines.

• April 24 — First flight of the Handley Page Harrow (HP.31).

• April 30 — Bessie Coleman, the first licensed African-American female pilot was killed along with mechanic William Wills, who was piloting the plane, after they crashed as a result of a wrench that Wills had accidentally left loose and that got stuck in the control gears.

May 1926

• May 7 — First flight of the Blériot 127.

• May 9 — Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett make the first flight over the North Pole in a Fokker VIIa-3m.

• May 11 — 14 – Roald Amundsen makes the first airship flight over the North Pole. The Norge leaves Spitsbergen and arrives in Teller, Alaska three days later.

June 1926

• June 16 — The Armstrong Whitworth Argosy entered service with Imperial Airways.

• June 19 — First flight of the Blackburn Iris.

• June 26 — First flight of the Avro Tutor.

• June 30 — Alan Cobham sets out on a round trip from England to Australia in a de Havilland DH.50. He will arrive Back in London on October 1 and receive a knighthood for his accomplishment.

July 1926

• July 1 — A Blackburn Dart makes the first night landing on an aircraft carrier, HMS Furious.

• July 2 — The United States Army Air Service becomes the United States Army Air Corps.

• July 24 — Two Lufthansa Junkers G.24's leave Berlin to make a round-trip to Beijing. They will return on September 26.

August 1926

• August — The Lioré et Olivier 21 entered service with Air Union.

September 1926

• September — The Martin T3M entered service with the United States Navy.

October 1926

• October 21 — British airship R.33 makes further parasite fighter tests, releasing two Gloster Grebes from 2,500 ft (762 m).

• October 27 — First flight of the Blériot 165.

November 1926

• November 13 — Schneider Trophy race flown at Hampton Roads, USA. Won by Mario De Bernardi (Italy) in a Macchi M.39 at 396.698 km/h (246.5 mph).

• November 15 — T. Neville Stack and B.S. Leete leave England in an attempt to reach India by air in a de Havilland DH.60. They will arrive in Karachi on January 8, 1927.

December 1926

• December — The SABCA S-2 entered service with SABENA.

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, 1926 in aviation
4. Shupek, John (photos and card images), The Skytamer Archive. Skytamer.com, Whittier, CA