World
Aviation in 1947
4 April
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is
established with headquarters at Montreal in Canada.
3 July
The Philippine Air Force is re-established.
26 July
President Truman signs the United States Armed Forces
Unification Act.
3 August
The first public appearance of the Tupolev Tu4 heavy bomber
takes place at the Soviet Aviation Day parade. The aircraft
is a reverse engineered copy of the American B29.
14 August
Following the partition of India, the Royal Pakistan Air
Force is established. It drops Royal from its title on 23
March 1956.
18 September
The United States Air Force (USAF) is founded, and the new
service becomes independent within a newly unified United
States armed forces.
22 September
A United States Air Force (USAF) C54 Skymaster makes a
fully-automatic flight from Stephenville in Newfoundland to
the United Kingdom.
1 October
Los
Angeles Airways inaugurates its first scheduled helicopter
airmail service using Sikorsky S51s.
14 October
The Bell X1 rocket-powered aircraft, piloted by Captain
Charles 'Chuck' Yeager, becomes the first to exceed the speed
of sound in level flight. It reaches a speed of Mach 1.015 or
1,078kph (670mph) at an altitude 12,800 metres (42,000 feet).
Also this year...
Pan American World
Airways' (Pan-Am) 'Clipper' becomes the world's first
in-flight magazine. |