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Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19661017: Effective this date, FAA required pilots to have a helicopter instrument rating to operate a helicopter under Instrument Flight Rules conditions.
19711017: Opening of the first officially designated STOLport solely for short takeoff and landing aircraft took place at Disney World, near Orlando, Fla. (The term “STOLport” had previously been applied to that portion of an airport reserved for STOL aircraft, and not to the entire facility.) The facility was the first such site in a projected intrastate STOL transportation system. (See August 5, 1968, and July 26, 1972.)

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19641016: The regulation of air cushion vehicles, or hovercraft, fell within the Federal Maritime Commission’s jurisdiction — not FAA’s or CAB’s — according to a statement issued by seven Federal agencies and bureaus. (See November 1967.)
19901016: The Department of State announced that it had raised to $4 million the maximum reward for information helping to catch terrorists, due to $1 million donations from both the Air Transport Association and the Air Line Pilots Association. The rewards program had begun in 1984 with a maximum payment of $500,000, but Congress increased that limit to $2 million after the bombing of Pan American Flight 103 (see December 21, 1988).
20001016: A Cessna 335, carrying Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan, his aide, and piloted by his son, crashed ten miles northwest of Hillsboro, Missouri. All three persons on the aircraft died in the crash.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19341015: The National Airline System, later known as National Airlines, began operations as a Florida intrastate carrier. National’s transformation into a trunk airline began in 1944, when the Civil Aeronautics Board awarded it authority to serve the New York/Florida market.
19591015: FAA adopted an amendment to Civil Air Regulations Part 29 that clarified the physical and mental conditions disqualifying an airman from holding a medical certificate.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19471014: Maj. Charles E. Yeager, USAF, piloting the Bell X-l rocket-propelled research aircraft at Muroc, Calif., became the first pilot to exceed the speed of sound in level flight.
19681014: A new Part 123 of the Federal Aviation Regulations went into effect, upgrading safety requirements for air travel clubs using large aircraft (over 12,500 pounds). This new part was intended to raise the clubs’ maintenance and operating standards to the safety level of airlines and commercial operators certificated under Part 121 (see December 31, 1964), but without imposing onerous or inappropriate requirements. The affected clubs were required to cease operations after December 1 unless they applied for a certificate under the new Part 123.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19551013: The aviation industry learned that Pan American World Airways had placed the first order for jet airliners to be produced in the United States, ordering both the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8. (See October 20, 1952.)
19611013: FAA commissioned a CONSOLAN long-range navigation aid for service at Miami, Fla. The new station reduced the gap in radio navigation facilities covering the North and South Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean, in addition to strengthening coverage of the U.S. east coast.
20011013: Joint teams comprised of officials from FAA and Department of Transportation Inspector General began auditing background checks of Argenbright Security, Inc., employees at 13 U.S. airports.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19621012: At the Administrator’s direction, the Office of the General Counsel assumed sole responsibility for drafting of FAA safety rules. This action ended a situation in which the Office of the General Counsel had shared rule drafting responsibility with other major FAA components.
19701012: FAA announced adoption of a three-bar version of the visual approach slope indicator (VASI) system. VASI had been adopted as the U.S. national standard in 1961 and became the international standard shortly thereafter. The bicolor (red-white) light box system was located alongside the runway at its touchdown or aiming point.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19471011: Trans-Texas Airways began operations as a local service carrier. The airline at first served routes within Texas, reached outside the state in 1953, and acquired routes to Mexico in 1966. It adopted the name Texas International Airlines following a change of ownership in 1968.
19471011: Representatives of 42 nations signed a convention in Washington, D.C., establishing the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which superseded the International Meteorological Organization. A focal point for international efforts toward such goals as common technical standards and a worldwide meteorological network, WMO became a specialized agency of the United Nations in December 1951.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19291010: The Aeronautics Branch inaugurated position-reporting service for planes flying the Federal airways.
19511010: The President approved the Mutual Security Act of 1951 to maintain security and promote foreign policy by furnishing military, economic, and technical assistance to friendly nations in the interest of international peace and security. The plan included a number of aviation assistance programs.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19401009: In the first appropriation made directly to CAA for airport development, Congress appropriated $40 million for the construction, improvement, and repair of up to 250 public airports determined to be necessary for national defense. Under this Development of Landing Areas for National Defense (DLAND) program, the Administrator of Civil Aeronautics had responsibility for qualifying airports with the approval of a board composed of the Secretaries of War, Navy, and Commerce.
19601009: FAA commissioned the Oakland air traffic control center’s new building, followed by the Atlanta center’s new building on October 15.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19461008: CAA announced the opening of 44 new district offices for the administration of the Federal-aid airport program (FAAP). Of these, 43 were located within the United States and one in Puerto Rico. CAA also established Airport branches in its regional offices at Honolulu and Anchorage. (See May 13, 1946 and January 9, 1947.)
19471008: New air traffic rules resulting from a revision of Part 60 of the Civil Air Regulations went into effect. Besides substantially altering visual flight rules, the new regulations made some changes in instrument flight rules operations. One section of the regulation set up rules for water operation of aircraft and others applied specifically to helicopter flight rules.