1927

Master Index

1929

1928 Chronology of Aviation History
Major Aviation Events

1928 Aviation Records

• Speed: (Italy), 318.57-mph, Mario de Bernardi, Macchi M.52bis, 30 March 1928.

• Distance: (Italy), 4,763.81-miles, Ferrarin and del Prete, SIAI-Marchetti S.64, 5 July 1928.

• Altitude: (USA), 38,418-feet, CC Champion, Wright Apache, 25 July 1927.

• Weight: (Italy), 57,319-lbs, SAI Caproni, Caproni Ca.6.

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

January 1928

• January 6-8 — Lt Christian Schilt makes ten flights in a Vought O2U Corsair to evacuate wounded marines from the besieged village of Quilali, Nicaragua. He is awarded the Medal of Honor.

• January 7 — First flight of the Polikarpov Po-2.

February 1928

• February 7 — Bert Hinkler leaves Croydon in an Avro Avian, attempting the first solo flight from England to Australia. He will arrive in Darwin on February 22.

• February 12 — Lady Mary Hearth leaves Cape Town in an Avro Avian in an attempt to make the first solo flight by a woman from South Africa to England. She will arrive in Croydon on May 17.

March 1928

• March 5 — First flight of the Beardmore Inflexible.

• March 30 — Mario di Bernardi sets a new airspeed record — the first over 300 mph (483 km/h). He flies a Macchi M.52bis.

April 1928

• April 13 — The first non-stop flight across the Atlantic from East to West is made by Hermann Köhl, Ehrenfried GÜnther Freiherr von HÜnefeld, and Major James Fitzmaurice in a Junkers W.33 named the Bremen.

May 1928

• May — The Junkers G.31 enters service with Lufthansa.

• May — First flight of the Mitsubishi 1MF2 Hayabusa.

• May — First flight of the Sikorsky S-38.

• May — Sumitoshi Nakao becomes the first Japanese aviator to save his life by parachute when he bails out of one of two Mitsubishi 1MF2 Hayabusa-type fighter prototypes when it disintegrates during a diving test during official Army trials at Tokorozawa. Pilot uninjured.

• May 15 — Rev John Flynn founds the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia at Cloncurry, Queensland, using a de Havilland DH.50. The service takes medical services to remote parts of the Australian bush.

• May 22 — First flight of the Blériot 175.

• May 23 — Umberto Nobile commands the Italian airship Italia on an ill-fated flight over the North Pole. The airship crashes on its way Back, and Roald Amundsen is killed trying to rescue survivors.

June 1928

• June — First flight of the Hawker Hart.

• June 9 — Charles Kingsford Smith and his crew make the first flight across the Pacific Ocean in the Fokker F.VIIb-3m Southern Cross. They left Oakland, California on May 31 and reach Brisbane via Honolulu and Fiji. The flight takes 83 hours.

• June 11 — At the Wasserkuppe, Alexander Lippisch's Ente becomes the first aircraft to fly under rocket power.

• July 12 — Emilio Carranza crashes in the New Jersey Pine Barrens while returning from New York City to Mexico City on a historic goodwill flight.

• June 17 — Amelia Earhart becomes first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean.

July 1928

• July — First flight of the Avro Antelope.

August 1928

• August — The Daily Mail newspaper fits out a de Havilland DH.61 to use as a mobile press office. It carries its own darkroom and a motorcycle.

September 1928

• September 18 — Don Juan de la Cierva flies a Cierva C.8 autogyro from Croydon, England, to Le Bourget, France, making the first crossing of the English Channel in a rotary wing aircraft.

October 1928

• October 11 — The Zeppelin Graf Zeppelin crosses the Atlantic in 71 hours.

November 1928

• No data.

December 1928

• December 7 — First flight of the De Havilland Hawk Moth.

• December 12 — Royal Air Force Vickers Victorias evacuate British civilians from Kabul.

• December 19 — Harold Pitcairn flies his first autogyro.

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, 1928 in aviation
4. Shupek, John (photos and card images), The Skytamer Archive. Skytamer.com, Whittier, CA