American explorer Richard Byrd and three companions made the
first flight over the South Pole, flying from their base on the Ross
Ice Shelf to the pole and back in 18 hours and 41 minutes.

Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr.
(October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957)

On July 27, 1949, the world’s first jet-propelled airliner, the British
De Havilland Comet, made its maiden test-flight in England. The
jet engine would ultimately revolutionize the airline industry,
shrinking air travel time in half by enabling planes to climb faster
and fly higher.

The Comet was the creation of English aircraft designer and
aviation pioneer Sir Geoffrey de Havilland (1882-1965).

De Havilland started out designing motorcycles and buses, but
after seeing Wilbur Wright demonstrate an airplane in 1908, he
decided to build one of his own.

CAMILLE
BOHANNON

From London’s Heathrow Airport and Orly Airport outside Paris,
the first Concordes with commercial passengers simultaneously
take flight on January 21, 1976. The London flight was headed to
Bahrain in the Persian Gulf, and the Paris to Rio de Janeiro via
Senegal in West Africa. At their cruising speeds, the innovative Concordes flew well over the sound barrier at 1,350 miles an
hour, cutting air travel time by more than half.

   
Amelia Earhart is shown on Jan. 12, 1935, after the first
Hawaii-to-California flight. She was the first pilot to
succeed at flying the route.

(FOX NEWS) – Aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart departed on a
journey to become the first pilot to successfully fly solo from
Hawaii to mainland United States on this day in history, Jan.
11, 1935. 

The daring flight across a vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean
had claimed the lives of 10 previous aviators. She earned
$10,000 from promoters in Hawaii for her death-defying
achievement.

Earhart also hoped to promote a future in which commercial
air travel closed the distances around the world. 

Hawaii celebrates the great aviator.