events
Aviator Eugene Burton Ely performs the first takeoff from a ship in Hampton Roads, Virginia, taking off from a makeshift deck on the USS Birmingham in a Curtiss pusher.
Related Wikipedia articles
Aircraft pilot
Person controlling an aircraft in flight
An aircraft pilot, or aviator, is an individual who controls an aircraft's flight by operating its directional controls. Other aircrew members, such as navigators and flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they assist in operating the aircraft’s navigation and…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Eugene Burton Ely
American aviation pioneer (1886–1911)
Eugene Burton Ely was an American aviation pioneer, credited with the first shipboard aircraft takeoff and landing.Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Takeoff
Phase of flight in which a vehicle leaves the land or water surface
Takeoff is the phase of flight in which an aerospace vehicle leaves the ground and becomes airborne. For aircraft traveling vertically, this is known as liftoff.Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Hampton Roads
Body of water and area on the US east coast
Hampton Roads is a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James, Nansemond, and Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point near the point at which Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlantic Ocean. It also gave its name to the…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Virginia
U.S. state
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The state's capital is Richmond and its most populous city is Virginia Beach. Its most…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
USS Birmingham (CL-2)
Chester-class scout cruiser of the US Navy, in service from 1908 to 1923
USS Birmingham (CS-2/CL-2), named for the city of Birmingham, Alabama, was a Chester-class scout cruiser, reclassified a light cruiser in 1920. Entering service in 1908, the ship became known for the first airplane takeoff from a ship in history in 1910. During World War I,…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Curtiss Model D
American early aircraft model introduced in 1911
The 1911 Curtiss Model D is an early United States pusher aircraft with the engine and propeller behind the pilot's seat. It was among the first aircraft in the world to be built in any quantity, during an era of trial-and-error development and equally important parallel…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)