Category: TDiFH

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19490518: New York’s first helicopter station began operating at pier 41 on the East River.
19510518: Charles F. Horne became Administrator of Civil Aeronautics. He succeeded Donald W. Nyrop (see October 4, 1950), who became Chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board on this same day. (Nyrop had submitted his resignation from the CAA post on March 18.) Horne, a regular Navy officer, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1926 and received an M.S. degree in communications and electronics from Harvard in 1935. On loan from the Navy, he became Acting Director of CAA’s Airways Division in 1949.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19280517: Another amendment to the Air Mail Act of 1925 (see June 3, 1926) provided that air carriers that had operated satisfactorily on mail routes for two years could exchange their contracts for “air mail route certificates” for a period not to exceed 10 years. The amendment protected the investment of the airlines in the equipment necessary for carrying out their original contracts since the life of that equipment was considerably longer than the life of those contracts. At this time, mail contracts provided virtually the only profitable form of airline operation. (See April 29, 1930.)
19850517: United Airlines pilots went on strike over the company’s plan for a two-tiered pay structure with lower pay for new pilots. The union and management soon reached an economic agreement that permitted such a two-tier system, but back-to-work issues delayed settlement until June 14.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19280516: Transcontinental Air Transport (TAT) came into being. Backed by powerful financial groups that allied manufacturers with operating airlines, TAT was unusual for its time in giving priority to passenger service rather than mail. The airline was popularly known as the “Lindbergh Line” because of its association with the famous aviator. (See July 7, 1929, and July 19, 1930.)
19320516: The official Air Commerce Bulletin published a rule providing for a new scheduled air transport pilot rating. Those receiving the rating had to demonstrate their ability to use airway navigation aids and to fly specified manuevers guided entirely by instruments. Effective January 1, 1933, the Aeronautics Branch required the new rating for all pilots on scheduled interstate passenger service. To meet this deadline, 330 pilots obtained the rating by the end of 1932. Fifty years later, on December 31, 1982, the estimated number of certificated airline transport pilots was 73,741.
19400516: President Roosevelt called for the production of 50,000 airplanes a year.

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19300515: In regulations effective on this date, the Department of Commerce required airlines to obtain a certificate of authority to operate if they engaged in interstate passenger service. To qualify, an airline was required to demonstrate that it possessed aircraft that were properly equipped and maintained, a sufficient number of qualified airmen, and an adequate ground organization for the services provided. The routes served were required to possess such air navigation facilities as the Department deemed necessary for safe and reliable operations. Airlines were required to apply for the certificate by July 15, a deadline later extended to August 15, 1930.
19300515: Boeing Air Transport inaugurated the first airline stewardess service. The first stewardess was a registered nurse, Ellen E. Church, who has been described as the first female crew member aboard a commercial airliner.
19390515: The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), an organization devoted to the interests of general aviation, was founded.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19650514: The formation of a 12-member NASA-FAA Coordinating Board for the exchange of research and development information and for joint planning of related activities was announced. The aim of the Board was to strengthen the coordination, planning, and exchange of information between the two agencies.
19690514: Hamburger Flugzeubau GmbH and Messerschmitt-Bolkow GmbH merged to form Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm, the largest aerospace concern in Germany.
19710514: In United States v. Lopez, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York declared FAA’s antihijacking profile system constitutional (see July 17, 1970).

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19400513: The VS-300, precursor of today’s fully mature helicopter, made its first free flight, at Stratford, Conn. As designer Igor I. Sikorsky continued to improve the aircraft, which employed a single main rotor, it set records that included a world flight endurance record of over 1 hour, 32 minutes on May 6, 1941. The VS-300’s first flight in its final configuration took place on December 8, 1941.
19460513: President Truman signed the Federal Airport Act establishing the Federal-aid airport program (FAAP), the first peacetime program of financial aid aimed exclusively at promoting development of the nation’s civil airports.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19450512: CAA announced the iniation of tests to determine the radius of interference from low- and high-frequency radio stations on radio reception by airplanes. The tests were considered highly important because of their general applicability to the airport construction program being considered by Congress.
19770512: Administrator Bond imposed an agency-wide hiring and promotion freeze. At FAA’s national Headquarters and its Metropolitan Washington Airports office, the freeze affected both external and internal hiring. Field offices, however, could fill positions from within FAA, as long as promotions were not involved. The few exceptions to these rules included hiring required to meet air traffic training schedules. To further trim back Washington Headquarters personnel, Bond later instituted a field placement program between March 27 and October 24, 1978.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19590511: The Vertol 107 helicopter, a twin-turbine-powered transport, was demonstrated in flight at Philadelphia International Airport.
19700511: Kenneth M. Smith became FAA’s Deputy Administrator, succeeding David D. Thomas (see July 1, 1965). He was nominated by the President on March 24, and confirmed by the Senate on April 30.
Born in Sacramento, Calif., Smith began his career in aviation in 1939 as an aircraft electrical installer with Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corp. (later the General Dynamics Corp.) in San Diego. He was a Navy pilot during World War II, and attended St. Mary’s University and California Polytechnic University in 1943 and 1944 under a Navy training program.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19650510: The Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center provided air traffic control service for an emergency Air Force airlift to the Dominican Republic during U.S. intervention in civil conflict in that country. In 1,710 missions, the airlift carried 14,699 tons of cargo and 17,921 passengers.
19730510: The Civil Aeronautics Board published the first rule regulating smoking on aircraft for reasons of consumer comfort and protection. The Board required airlines to provide separate sections for smokers and nonsmokers. Subsequent modifications to the rule included a 1981 requirement that airlines guarantee a seat in the nonsmoking section to every nonsmoker who met the check-in deadline. (See March 19, 1970, and June 20, 1984.)
19820510: FAA began an experimental program of allowing airlines to buy, sell, and transfer airport landing “slots” among themselves.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19290509: An Interdepartmental Committee on Airways was established to study and pass on applications for extension of civil airways in the United States. Totaling six members, the committee consisted of three representatives each from the Post Office and Commerce Departments.
19360509: The German rigid airship Hindenburg moored at Lakehurst, N.J., after a nonstop transatlantic passage of 61 hours 38 minutes from Fiedrichshafen, Germany.