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In Italy, Leonardo de Vinci designs the first flying machine. He utilizes the structure of bird wings to engineer the model of his aircraft.
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Pilâtre de Rozier and Marquis d'Arlandes become the first human passengers in an aircraft lighter than air. This occurs in an untethered Montgolfiere balloon in Paris, France.
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In Lyons, France, Elisabeth Thible becomes the first woman to fly in an unthethered air balloon.
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The exact date of Charles K. Hamilton's birth is unknown. He was born some time during 1885.
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The exact date of Ralph Johnstone's birth is unknown. He was born some time during 1886.
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Wilbur Wright sends correspondence to the Smithsonian Institute stating that he believes human flight is possible.
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At Kill Devil Hills in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville Wright pilots the Wright Flyer on a flight lasting 12 seconds, traveling 120 feet. This is the world's first manned, powered, sustained and controlled flight by an aircraft that is heavier-than-air. Three further flights are made, including one lasting nearly a minute.
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The World’s first major international flying meet happens in Reims, France. Glenn Curtiss, the only American on the field, competes. At this meet, Curtiss averages 47 miles per hour over a 6.2 mile-long course, winning the Gordon Bennett Cup prize for speed.
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The Los Angeles International Air Meet, the first major airshow in the United States, is held at Dominguez Field. Glenn Curtis, Clifford Harmon, and Charles Hamilton – all of whom later participate in the Atlantic City Airshow – compete in this festival.
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Charles Hamilton becomes the first man to make a round-trip flight from New York to Philadelphia in a single day.
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Canada’s first airshow is held in Montreal. Walter Brookins, Frank Coffyn and John Alexander Douglas McCurdy fly. After competing in Montreal, these aviators come to Atlantic City to participate in its meet.
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A major airshow is held in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Participating aviators include: Glenn Curtiss, Walter Brookins, Charles Hamilton, Clifford Harmon, Fred Coffyn, and J.A.D McCurdy. See the Flying Fearless: 1910 Airshows in Atlantic City and Asbury Park timeline for detailed events. 1910 Atlantic City and Asbury Park Airshows
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1910 Atlantic City and Asbury Park AirshowsAn airshow is held in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Aviators such as Walter Brookins, Clifford Harmon, Duval La Chapelle, Fred Owens, Johnny Mack, Ralph Johnstone and Arch Hoxsey are featured in the airshow program. While the events are hosted by the city of Asbury Park, the exhibition field is actually located in Interlaken, New Jersey. See the Flying Fearless: 1910 Airshows in Atlantic City and Asbury Park timeline for detailed events.
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The Harvard-Boston Aero Meet takes place at the Harvard Aviation Field in Atlantic, Massachusetts. The Wright Brothers and Glenn Curtiss exhibition teams are in attendance. The airshow inspires a young woman, Harriet Quimby, to fly. She becomes the first American woman to garner a pilot’s license.
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Blanche Stuart Scott becomes the first woman to fly solo in an airplane.
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An airshow is held at Kinloch Field in St. Louis, Missouri. On October 11, 1910, Arch Hoxsey takes Theodore Roosevelt on a ride in his airplane, making Roosevelt the first president to fly in an aircraft.
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The first recorded attempt to cross the Atlantic in a dirigible is made by Walter Wellman in his airship America. Wellman and his crew depart from the Atlantic City inlet. Their attempt is thwarted when a panel on the airship rips.
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An airshow takes place on Long Island, in Belmont Park, New York. The airshow, called the Belmont International Aviation Tournament, draws both American and international aviators such as: Glenn Curtiss, John Moisant, Arch Hoxsey, Ralph Johnstone, Charles Hamilton, Count Jacques de Lesseps, Roland Garros and Claude Grahame-White.
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Harriet Quimby takes her pilot’s test and becomes the first woman in the United States to earn her pilot’s license.
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While flying in the Third Annual Boston Aviation Meet at Squantum, Massachusetts, Harriet Quimby is ejected from her aircraft and is killed.
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Departing from Atlantic City, Melvin Vaniman attempts a trans-Atlantic flight in his airship “Akron.” The ship explodes over the Atlantic City inlet, killing all onboard.
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Charles Hamilton dies of complications from tuberculosis and pneumonia.
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Some time during 1915, Glenn Curtiss returns to Atlantic City and establishes an airborne sightseeing service. In wooden-winged boats embarking from the inlet, Curtiss flies Atlantic City’s summertime residents over the resort. It becomes a fashionable recreational activity for the city’s social elite.
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Sometime during 1918, a filmmaker named Jaccard – perhaps Jacques Jaccard who directed silent films such as The Diamond from the Sky – establishes another flying boat sightseeing service. He is Curtiss’ only competition. This instills in Curtiss the idea that a similar enterprise could be operated and maintained on land.
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The second Pan-American Aeronautical Congress is held on the Steel Pier. Inspired by Curtiss and Jaccard’s sightseeing services, a group is formed to establish an official airfield on the island of Atlantic City. This idea flourishes and Atlantic City becomes the home of the country’s first municipal “airport.” The airport is named Bader Field after Edward L. Bader.
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Charles A. Lindbergh completes the first solo, nonstop trans-Atlantic flight.
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As part of his Guggenheim Tour, Charles A. Lindbergh visits Atlantic City.
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Sometime in 1928, Ida Mae Hampton becomes the first Southern New Jersey woman to earn her pilot’s license. She flies from Bader Field in Atlantic City. She famously declined an invitation to fly on the “American Nurse” flight which disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean in September of 1932.
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Glenn Curtiss dies from complications after appendix surgery.
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Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to complete a solo, nonstop Trans-Atlantic flight.
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Dr. Albert E. Forsythe and C. Alfred Anderson take off from Bader Field in Atlantic City. They become the first African Americans to complete a Trans-Continental flight.
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The National Aviation Facilities Experimental Center (NAFEC) opens in Pomona, NJ. Today it is called the William J. Hughes Technical Center.
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The Transfair is held at the National Aviation Facilities Experimental Center (NAFEC) – now named the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center – in Pomona, NJ. Though a variety of forms of transportation are displayed, aircraft are the highlight exhibit. 100,000 visitors attend.
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Sometime during 1978 the second Transfair takes place at the Technical Center in Pomona, NJ drawing crowds as high as 100,000 spectators.
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The Atlantic Community College Foundation sponsors an airshow at the Atlantic City International Airport in Pomona, NJ in order to raise funds for the Community College’s Center for Aviation Studies program. While the event is an “artistic success,” it fails to draw a large crowd with only 55,000 individuals in attendance.
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The airshow returns to the Atlantic City International Airport in Pomona, NJ with demonstrations by United States Army Golden Knights, the United States Air Force Thunderbirds, Frecce Tricolori, Team America and solo performers including acrobatic fliers and wing walkers.
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Sometime during 1993, the Millville Airport in Millville, NJ hosts its first Wheels and Wings Airshow with 2,500 people in attendance.
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The Millville Airport hosts 92,000 visitors at its Wheels and Wings Airshow.
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For the first time since 1910, Atlantic City hosts an airshow. The United States Army Golden Knights, the United States Air Force Thunderbirds, the New Jersey Air National Guard and the United States Coast Guard all participate and demonstrate. More than 200,000 visitors watch the aerial performances. Since 2003, the airshow – held over the Atlantic City beaches – has become an annual event with growing attendance each year.
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The Atlantic City Airshow celebrates its centennial anniversary with flights by the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, Air National Guard, U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team. Also scheduled are U.S. Marine Harrier Jet and U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet demonstrations.
