This day in: 1961, 1967, 1969, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1992 & 1997

04 Jul 2010

4 July 1961 The first Westland Wessex ASW helicopters entered RAF service, with 815 Squadron, Culdrose, Cornwall. 4 July 1967 As concern had been expressed in the UK over the new phenomenon of sonic booms, the UK minister of State for Technology stated that random Lightning flights would be made over the country to gauge public reaction. 4 July 1969 The modern hang glider was developed in United States by Australian Bill Moyes, while working for NASA. The first flight was made by fellow Australian Bill Bennett, who took off on waterskis near Staten Island, New York, and then flew over the Statue of Liberty. 4 July 1975 Boeing unveiled its 747SP ("Special Performance"), a shortened version of the 747-200, able to operate from short runways in 'hot&high'-conditions and be capable of extreme long-distance flights. 4 July 1976 Israeli commandos freed over a hundred hostages from a hijacked Air France Airbus A300, which had landed at Entebbe airfield in Uganda 8 days previously. Three hostages, the commando's leader and all 7 hijackers were killed in a 35-minute gunfight, along with 20 Ugandan soldiers. 4 July 1977 Patricia Undall and Nan Gaylord won the 30th and final annual women's United States transcontinental air race, nicknamed 'The Powder Puff Derby'. They flew their Cessna 177 from Palm Springs, California, to Tampa, Florida. 4 July 1984 The Bell Model 400 TwinRanger helicopter made its first flight, at Fort Worth, texas. 4 July 1986 The Dassault-Breguet Rafale A experimental combat aircraft made its first flight at Istres, France, during which it achieved Mach 1.3+. 4 July 1989 One person was killed when a Soviet Air Force Mikoyan MiG- 23 crashed near Kortrijk in Belgium. The pilot had ejected in Polish airspace due to technical problems with the aircraft. The MiG-23 was then escorted by two United States Air Force McDonnell Douglas F-15s under orders not to attack unless the aircraft was about to come down on a town. 4 July 1992 The aircraft carrier USS George Washington entered service. 4 July 1997 The Mars Pathfinder landed on the surface of Mars after its 6-month journey from Earth.

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