International Civil Aviation Day: List of firsts in civil aviation history

The first commercial flight The firstever commercial flight took place on January 1 1914 in the United States Piloted by Tony Jannus was a Benoist XIV two seater with a very small flight deck Jannus was accompanied by his one paying passenger Abram C Pheil former mayor of St Petersburg It flew for 23 minutes at an altitude of 15 feet between St Petersburg and TampaTony Jannus and Raymonde de Laroche PicYouTubeFirst commercial airline American salesman Percival Elliott Fansler who arranged for the firstever successful commercial flight piloted by Tony Jannus operations began on the St PetersburgTampa Airboat Line considered to be a firstever commercial airline route It operated for nearly four months carrying a total of 1205 passengers Two flights daily for six days a week costing USD 5 per person and USD 5 per 100 pounds of freight were made till April 27 1914Cal RodgersPicYouTubeThe first transcontinental flight American pilot Calbraith Perry Rodgers aka Cal Rodgers made the first transcontinental airplane flight across the US from September 17 1911 to November 5 1911 It was in response to newspaper editor William Randolph Hearsts USD 50000 prize offering to the first person who fly an aircraft coast to coast within a monthCal Rodgers and his aircraft PicYouTubeCal Rodgers and his aircraft PicYouTubeRodgers used a modified Wright Flyer called an EX which was flimsy didnt contain a cockpit and could fly only reach speeds of 5060 miles per hour His journey was not a smooth one and he did not complete the flight within the given time limit Cal Rodgers made the 4000 mile journey from Sheepshead Bay Brooklyn to Pasadena California after 70 stops numerous injuries and 86 hours in the airRaymonde De LarochePicYouTubeFirst woman to receive an airline pilots licence French aviator Raymonde de Laroche became the first woman in the world to receive a pilot licence on 8 March 1910 when the AeroClub of France issued her licence 36 of the Feacutedeacuteration Aeacuteronautique Internationale International Aeronautics Federation or FAI Women Of Aviation Worldwide Week is held annually on this day in commemoration of the anniversary of Laroche receiving her pilots licenceFirst woman to pilot an aircraft French sculptor and aviator Theacuteregravese Peltier has the honour of being known as the first woman to pilot a heavierthanair craft made a solo flight of 200 metres at a height of 25 metres at the Military Square in Turin ItalyJRD TataFirst Indian commercial airline pilot Frenchborn Indian aviator and business tycoon Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata aka JRD Tata who was inspired to take up flying by aviation pioneer Louis Bleacuteriot became Indias first licensed pilot in 1929 The Bharat Ratna awardee is considered the father of Indian civil aviationAlso read When the first Air India flight took to the skies 83 years agoFirst commercial Indian airline Indias first licenced pilot industrialist J R D Tata is also credited with beginninig the firstever commerical Indian airline venture Air India which was then known as Tata Airlines in 1932 Tata collaborated with South African aviator and friend Nevill Vintcent in building the airline Tata flew its first singleengine De Havilland Puss Moth carrying air mail from Karachi to Bombay and later continuing to Madras The airline was later renamed to Air India in 1946 Tata launched Air India International as Indias first international airline in 1948Sarla ThakralPicYouTubeFirst female Indian pilot Sarla Thakral became the first Indian woman to pilot an aircraft in 1936 at the age of 21 She flew a De Havilland Gipsy Moth aircraft solo and proceeded to complete 1000 hours of flying in the plane which was owned by the Lahore Flying Club This enabled her to become the first woman pilot to obtain Arsquo license She was also the first Indian to get airmail pilots licence