The Boeing 747 Makes Its First Flight

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• Aerospace09/15/2026@BuildDesk

  Boeing Delivers Its First 747-8 Freighter to Cargolux

  Boeing Everett Factory, Everett, Washington, USABoeing·…

  

  Starts 10/12/2011CONFIRMED78% CONFIDENCE14.9 years agoBoeing's own October 12, 2011 press release announced the delivery of the first 747-8 Freighter to Cargolux.^[1]

  Boeing handed over the first 747-8 Freighter to launch customer Cargolux at its Everett, Washington widebody plant, putting the largest version of the 747 into commercial cargo service.

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• Aerospace09/15/2026@BuildDesk

  Boeing Completes the Maiden Flight of Its Model 314 Clipper

  Elliott Bay, Seattle, Washington, USABoeing·…

  

  Starts 06/07/1938CONFIRMED85% CONFIDENCE88.3 years agoHistoryLink.org^[3] and the Museum of Flight both date the maiden flight to June 7, 1938.

  Boeing's Model 314 Clipper flying boat made its 38-minute first flight over Puget Sound, piloted by test pilot Eddie Allen. The giant flying boat went on to open Pan Am's first non-stop transatlantic passenger service.

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• Aerospace09/21/2026@BuildDesk

  The de Havilland Comet Opens the World’s First Jet Airliner Service

  London Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdomde Havilland

  

  Starts 05/02/1952CONFIRMED87% CONFIDENCE74.4 years agoHappened as dated, per en.wikipedia.org^[1]: "On 2 May 1952, as part of BOAC’s route-proving trials, G-ALYP took off on the world’s first jetliner flight with fare-paying passengers and inaugurated scheduled service from London to Johannesburg."

  BOAC’s G-ALYP took off from London for Johannesburg with fare-paying passengers, the first scheduled jetliner service in the world. Comet flights were about twice as fast as advanced piston airliners and cut London–Johannesburg to 21 hours 20 minutes.

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• Aerospace09/21/2026@BuildDesk

  The Boeing 787 Dreamliner Makes Its Maiden Flight

  Paine Field, Everett, Washington, USABoeing Commercial Airplanes·…

  

  Starts 12/15/2009 6:27PMCONFIRMED2.5 years late82% CONFIDENCE16.8 years agoHappened as dated, per en.wikipedia.org^[1]: "On December 15, 2009, Boeing conducted the 787-8 maiden flight from Paine Field in Everett, Washington, at 10:27 am PST."

  N787BA lifted off from Paine Field at 10:27 am PST and landed three hours later at Boeing Field, reaching 180 knots and 13,200 feet. The first airliner with a primarily composite airframe flew more than two years later than Boeing first promised.

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• Aerospace09/15/2026@BuildDesk

  Lufthansa Takes Delivery of Its First Airbus A380

  Hamburg-Finkenwerder, Hamburg, GermanyAirbus

  

  Starts 05/19/2010CONFIRMED80% CONFIDENCE16.3 years agoBusiness Traveller^[6] and Aviation International News both report Lufthansa took delivery of its first A380 on 19 May 2010.

  Lufthansa received its first Airbus A380 at Hamburg on 19 May 2010, putting the double-decker superjumbo into European airline service weeks later.

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• Aerospace09/21/2026@BuildDesk

  The Wright Flyer Makes the First Powered Aeroplane Flight

  Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, USAWright Cycle Company

  

  Starts 12/17/1903CONFIRMED90% CONFIDENCE122.8 years agoHappened as dated, per en.wikipedia.org^[1]: the Flyer "made the first sustained flight by a manned heavier-than-air powered and controlled aircraft on December 17, 1903."

  Orville Wright flew 120 feet in 12 seconds over the sand at Kill Devil Hills, the first sustained flight by a manned, powered, controlled heavier-than-air aircraft. The brothers flew four times that day; Wilbur’s fourth and last covered 852 feet in 59 seconds.

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• Aerospace09/21/2026@BuildDesk

  The Airbus A350F Makes Its First Flight

  Toulouse–Blagnac Airport, Toulouse, FranceAirbus

  

  Starts 09/24/2026ESTIMATED76% CONFIDENCEin 1 dayA reported target rather than a fixed date, per aircargonews.net^[1][4] quoting Reuters: the airframer "is hopeful the first flight will take place on around 24 September, although there is always the chance that technical issues or inclement weather could push that date back into October"; Airbus^[2][5] itself would say only that "the maiden flight is expected later in 2026".

  Airbus’ first clean-sheet large freighter is expected to fly from Toulouse around 24 September, opening a roughly 400-hour, nine-month certification campaign flown by MSN700 and MSN701 ahead of a first delivery in the second half of 2027.

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• Aerospace09/21/2026@BuildDesk

  The Airbus A300 Prototype Makes Its Maiden Flight

  Toulouse–Blagnac Airport, Toulouse, FranceAirbus

  

  Starts 10/28/1972CONFIRMED90% CONFIDENCE53.9 years agoHappened as dated, per en.wikipedia.org^[1]: the first prototype "conducted its maiden flight from Toulouse–Blagnac International Airport on 28 October that year."

  Airbus’ first aircraft and the world’s first twin-engine wide-body airliner flew from Toulouse–Blagnac a month ahead of schedule, for one hour and 25 minutes, with Max Fischl as captain and Bernard Ziegler as first officer.

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• Aerospace09/21/2026@BuildDesk

  The Bell X-1 Breaks the Sound Barrier Over the Mojave

  Muroc Army Air Field, Mojave Desert, California, USABell Aircraft

  

  Starts 10/14/1947CONFIRMED87% CONFIDENCE78.9 years agoHappened as dated, per en.wikipedia.org^[1]: "The first manned supersonic flight occurred on 14 October 1947, over the Mojave Desert in California."

  Captain Chuck Yeager, drop-launched from a B-29 over the Mojave Desert, took X-1 #46-062 "Glamorous Glennis" to Mach 1.06 – the first piloted aeroplane to exceed the speed of sound in level flight. It was XS-1 flight number 50.

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• Aerospace09/15/2026@BuildDesk

  DLR's HY4 Completes Its First Hydrogen Fuel Cell Flight

  Stuttgart Airport, Stuttgart, GermanyGerman Aerospace Center (DLR)

  

  Starts 09/29/2016CONFIRMED85% CONFIDENCE10.0 years agoDLR's^[3] own press release and the EAA both date HY4's first official flight to September 29, 2016.

  The German Aerospace Center's HY4, the world's first four-seat aircraft powered solely by a hydrogen fuel cell, made its first flight from Stuttgart Airport on September 29, 2016. The Future of Flight features it as a real prototype for zero-emission aviation.

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• Aerospace09/15/2026@BuildDesk

  Antonov An-124 Ruslan Makes Its First Flight

  Kyiv, UkraineAntonov

  

  Starts 12/26/1982CONFIRMED87% CONFIDENCE43.7 years agoWikipedia's^[3] Antonov An-124 Ruslan article states the prototype's first flight took place on 26 December 1982.

  The Antonov An-124 Ruslan, still one of the largest cargo aircraft ever built, first flew over Kyiv on 26 December 1982, years before it entered airline service.

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• Aerospace09/21/2026@BuildDesk

  The Airbus A380 Makes Its First Flight

  Toulouse–Blagnac Airport, Toulouse, FranceAirbus

  

  Starts 04/27/2005CONFIRMED90% CONFIDENCE21.4 years agoHappened as dated, per en.wikipedia.org^[1]: the first prototype was "unveiled in Toulouse, France on 18 January 2005, commencing its first flight on 27 April 2005."

  F-WWOW, the first of the only full-length double-deck jet airliner ever built, flew from Toulouse–Blagnac with a crew of six under chief test pilot Jacques Rosay, who said handling it was "like handling a bicycle".

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