Category: TDiFH

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19690604: FAA and the Central American Corporation for Air Navigation Services (COCESNA) signed a contract under which FAA would provide technical assistance for air navigation and traffic control services to COCESNA, a five-nation governmental group whose members were Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. FAA had traditionally provided technical assistance to Latin American countries under the sponsorship of the State Department’s Agency for International Development; however, this was the first time FAA provided such services to these countries under a direct reimbursable contract.
19710604: FAA issued the first supplemental type certificate approving installation of a nitrogen fuel-tank inerting system in a civil aircraft to protect against accidental ignition of fuel vapors.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19260603: Amended legislation introduced a more workable method of paying airlines for carrying mail. The Air Mail Act of February 2, 1925, commonly known as the Kelly Act, had provided for transportation of mail on the basis of contracts between the Post Office Department and individual air carriers, a system that was to prove a great boon to America’s fledgling airlines. Under the original Kelly Act, however, the carrier’s compensation was computed as a percentage of the actual postage affixed to the mail carried. Since this computation proved cumbersome, the 1926 amendment substituted a procedure under which the airlines were paid by the pound for mail carried. (See May 17, 1928.)
19590603: FAA announced that the agency had commissioned UNIVAC file computers for use in air traffic control at its New York and Washington air route traffic control centers (ARTCCs).

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19490602: Administrator D. W. Rentzel announced completion of a CAA reorganization begun in May 15, 1945 (see that date). The change was intended to centralize policy control to assure uniformity, while allowing technical supervision of programs to continue in the field. The Administrator was now assisted by two deputies, one charged with general supervision of personnel, budget, and management functions. The other deputy coordinated the activities of Washington offices in planning all programs and evaluating their implementation in the field. Additional steps to insure a closely knit organization included establishment of a staff school where technical personnel would receive uniform training in administrative procedures, and placement of Washington representatives on regional boards for approving new types of aircraft.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19450601: Effective this date, CAA permitted the physical examination for private and student pilots to be made by any registered physician. (See February 28, 1927, and June 15, 1960.)
19450601: Ending a monopoly by Pan American Airways, CAB granted three U.S. airlines the authority to serve North Atlantic routes to Europe. The three were Pan American, Transcontinental & Western Air (TWA), and American Export Airlines. On the same day, CAB approved American Airlines’ acquisition of the control of American Export. (See June 28, 1939, and October 24, 1945.)
19480601: Delos W. Rentzel became CAA Administrator. He succeeded Theodore P. Wright (see September 23, 1944), who had submitted his resignation on January 11.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19460531: CAA announced that production certificates would be handled by the regional offices rather than from Washington to speed issuance to aircraft manufacturers.
19490531: Earl F. Ward died at age 56. An American Airlines executive, Ward organized the nation’s first air traffic control center (see December 1, 1935). In March 1936, he joined the Commerce Department as Supervisor, Airway Traffic Control, and during the next year became head of the new Airways Operations Division. Ward played an important part in conceiving and organizing the early en route traffic control system. At the time of his death, he was assisting in aviation planning in Chicago on behalf of the Civil Aeronautics Administration.
19510531: Roosevelt Field, on Long Island, N.Y., closed. The facility had opened 40 years previously and had subsequently been named for Quentin Roosevelt, a son of Theodore Roosevelt killed in World War I.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19580530: The Douglas DC-8 first flew. On August 31, 1959, FAA type-certificated this four-engine long-range jet airliner with a maximum capacity for 189 passengers. The plane entered scheduled airline service with Delta on September 18, 1959.
19740530: FAA certificated the Airbus A-300, the first of a series of wide-body transport aircraft produced by Airbus Industrie, an international consortium established in December 1970 with French, West German, British, Spanish, Dutch, and Belgian partner companies. The emergence of Airbus Industrie signaled greater competition for U.S. aircraft manufacturers. (See April 6, 1978.)
19910530: DOT announced a $5 million grant to Stewart International Airport, Newburgh, N.Y., the first award under the Military Airports Program mandated by the Aviation Safety and Capacity Expansion Act of 1990 (see November 5, 1990).

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19390529: CAA’s Indianapolis Experimental Station opened with the mission of seeking improvements in ultra-high-frequency radio ranges, transmitters, receivers, instrument landing systems, airport lighting methods, and other air navigation aids. Located on a landing area contiguous with the municipal airport, the station was made available by the city of Indianapolis through a long-term lease arrangement. Its facilities included a hangar, laboratory, and shop building constructed in accordance with the Authority’s specifications.
19740529: FAA announced a new advisory circular on safety parameters for hang gliding, which included recommendations not to fly: over 500 feet above general terrain; in clouds; in controlled airspace, or within five miles of an uncontrolled airport without proper notification; in restricted or controlled areas without prior permission; over or within 100 feet horizontally of buildings, populated areas, or crowds.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19370528: National Aviation Day occurred for the first time, on a one-time basis, pursuant to a Presidential proclamation issued in accordance with Public Resolution No. 32, 75th Congress, approved May 25, 1937. May 28 was selected because it marked the 20th anniversary of the decision to design what later became known as the Liberty engine, the principal U.S. contribution to aeronautics during World War I. (See August 19, 1939.)
19480528: The President approved legislation directing CAA to construct and operate public airports at or near Anchorage and Fairbanks “adequate for the needs of air-transportation services and air commerce of the United States serving the territory of Alaska and foreign countries by way of points within the territory of Alaska.” The act also authorized the Administrator to provide for facilities, roads, and services necessary to the operation of the airports.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19460527: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Causby v. United States that flights over private land represent the taking of an air easement if they are “so low and so frequent as to be a direct and immediate interference with the enjoyment and use of the land.” Causby owned a small chicken farm near a municipal airport used by military aircraft that passed over his property at an altitude below 100 feet. The noise from these flights frightened the chickens, caused a drop in production, and eventually forced Causby to close down his chicken-raising operation. The Court found that the United States had taken an air easement over Causby’s property that interfered with its normal use. Causby’s Fifth Amendment rights had been violated, it held, because his property had been put to public use without just compensation. (See December 13, 1956, and March 5, 1962.)
19560527: The Sud-Aviation SE 210 Caravelle made its first flight.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19610526: FAA Administrator Halaby disclosed his intention to decentralize the agency’s operational responsibilities and broaden the authority of regional executives. He selected FAA’s Region One, with Headquarters in New York, for the pilot program, and chose Oscar Bakke, head of the Bureau of Flight Standards, to develop the program and to submit a transition plan which would be used as a model for reorganization of the other regions. Bakke assumed the title of Assistant Administrator for the Eastern Region, effective July 1 (see that date).
19650526: In the U.S. Army’s closely contested light observation helicopter competition, the Hughes Model 369 (YOH-6A) was announced the winner over two other entries, the Bell 206 (OH-4A) and the Fairchild-Hiller 1100 (OH-5A1).