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Full FAA Chronology at this link.

19310220: The Senate ratified the Havana Convention in which 21 Western Hemisphere nations guaranteed the right of innocent passage of aircraft without discrimination. The Convention formulated the rules for international air navigation between the contracting states relating to the marking of aircraft, landing facilities, prohibited transport, competency of airmen, and the right of each country to prescribe the route to be flown over its territory. The Convention had been prepared at the Pan American Convention on Civil Aviation at Havana, Cuba, in February 1928.
19520220: President Truman established a temporary Airport Commission under the chairmanship of James H. Doolittle, with CAA Administrator C. F. Horne and J. C. Hunsaker of NACA as members. The action responded to a series of crashes, due to varied causes, in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.

19750219: FAA announced that it had ordered air taxi operators using business-type jets to equip these aircraft with Cockpit Voice Recorders and Flight Data Recorders by May 15, 1975. (See August 5, 1957, June 26, 1964, and March 25, 1987.)
19820219: The Boeing 757 first flew. On December 21, 1982, FAA certificated the first version of the Boeing 757, a narrow-body jet capable of carrying up to 219 passengers in short/medium range flights and designed to replace the Boeing 727, the single most popular jetliner model produced to date, but obsolescent in terms of noise, fuel efficiency, and flight crew productivity.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.

19660218: The National Committee for Clear Air Turbulence was established to determine operational needs for the detection and prediction of this hazard, known as CAT. Formed at the instigation of the Defense Department, the committee was composed of representatives from the National Science Foundation and seven Federal agencies, including FAA. In a December 1966 report, the committee called for a coordinated national effort to understand and remedy the CAT problem. The report’s recommendations included a national data collection project to gather information needed to achieve CAT detection and forecasting. On March 29, 1967, the CAT hazard was illustrated by the death of an unbelted passenger when a United Airlines jet reportedly plunged 8,000 feet after encountering turbulence. Subsequent FAA actions regarding CAT included participation in joint research on forecasting methods.
19700218: FAA’s first IBM 9020 computer and its associated software program became operational at the Los Angeles ARTCC

Full FAA Chronology at this link.

19480217: The Executive Committee of the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) accepted a special committee report on air traffic control (see June 12, 1947). Prepared by top government-industry representatives and technicians in the field of aeronautical telecommunications, the report outlined “interim” and “target” requirements for a common military-civil air traffic control system. In its recommendations for the transition period, the special committee recommended implementation of very high frequency omnidirectional ranges (VORs) and distance measuring equipment (DME). The plan called for the ultimate development of reliable all-weather navigation and landing aids, integrated into an ultramodern airways traffic control system. The report’s recommendations were accepted by Congress and all major users of the airspace. The RTCA received the 1949 Collier Trophy for these efforts. (See December 1949.)
19620217: The Director of the Bureau of the Budget proposed appointment of a joint Bureau of the Budget/Department of Defense/Federal Aviation Agency Steering Committee to study outstanding problems and recommend further action in the matter of the proposed mass transfer of military air navigation facilities to FAA

Full FAA Chronology at this link.

19400216: Radio station WSY, the Civil Aeronautics Authority’s first overseas and foreign airways communications station (OFACS) began regular operations. Capable of two-way radio communications with aircraft flying the Atlantic Ocean, the powerful facility could also communicate with various points in Europe, Bermuda, and Newfoundland. The station’s high-frequency transmitting equipment, located at Bayville, Long Island, initially included four 4-kilowatt transmitters and two 400-watt transmitters. The receiving equipment was spread over 600 acres at Barnegat Light, N.J. A CAA office at La Guardia Field operated both receivers and transmitters by remote control. During World War II, the station proved extremely valuable to U.S. ferrying operations over the North Atlantic. WSY set the pattern for the establishment during the war years of similar overseas communications stations at San Franciso, Seattle, Miami, New Orleans, Anchorage, Honolulu, San Juan, and Balboa, Canal Zone.
19900216: Representatives of FAA and the Soviet aviation ministry signed a memorandum promoting cooperation on air navigation

Full FAA Chronology at this link.

19300215: The Aeronautics Branch announced that it had issued the first rating under the Airport Rating Regulations to the municipal airport at Pontiac, Mich. The airport received the highest possible rating, A-1-A. The designation system enabled pilots to know at a glance what facilities to expect at any of the rated airports, which the Branch inspected in response to voluntary applications by airport operators. The program was part of the Aeronautics Branch’s efforts to encourage airport development through promotional activites, disseminating technical and statistical information, and giving expert advice to municipalities.
19460215: The Lockheed L-049 Constellation went into U.S. domestic passenger service. Designed for a three-man crew, the Constellation had a separate panel and side-facing seat for a flight engineer.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.

19420214: The Douglas DC-4 Skymaster made its initial flight, thereafter becoming prominent in a generation of four-engine U.S. transports that advanced long-haul air travel. The plane was a scaled-down version of a prototype developed in 1939. The DC-4 carried a crew of six and up to forty-two passengers. Unlike the Boeing 307 and 307B, it did not have a pressurized cabin. The DC-4 entered military transport service with the military designation of C-54.
19630214: The Civil Aeronautics Board disapproved agreements reached by the International Air Transport Association at its Chandler, Ariz., conference the previous fall to increase certain passenger fares on North Atlantic and Pacific routes. The CAB stand for lower fares resulted in a major controversy among international air carriers and their governments.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.

19570213: CAA held ground-breaking ceremonies for construction of an expanded Aeronautical Center at Oklahoma City. Financed by the city with a $10,665,000 bond issue, the new buildings replaced temporary construction, mostly World War II metal barracks. CAA ultimately concentrated the shop and warehousing activities of the four continental regions and many of its new training programs at the enlarged facility. (See March 15, 1946.)
19580213: The Civil Aeronautics Board issued an amendment to the Civil Air Regulations that reaffirmed and clarified the authority and responsibility of the Civil Aeronautics Administration’s Administrator in the designation and use of restricted airspace areas.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.

19310212: The Department of Commerce placed the radio range beacon at Medicine Bow, Wyo., into continuous operation, completing the directional radio marking of the entire route from San Francisco to New York.
19310212: An amendment to existing regulations covering interstate airline operations required a copilot on all aircraft flying a schedule of five or more hours with eight or more passengers. (See October 1, 1931.)
19350212: The U.S. Navy’s rigid airship Macon crashed at sea off the California coast. This crash, coupled with the loss of the Macon’s sister ship, the Akron, two years earlier, ended U.S. interest in rigid airship development.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.

19460211: The United States and Great Britain signed the Bermuda Agreement, an Air Service Agreement for the operation of commercial air services, which set a pattern for the conclusion of subsequent bilateral civil aviation treaties by the United States. (See July 23, 1977.)
19570211: The Senate confirmed James T. Pyle as Administrator of Civil Aeronautics. He succeeded Charles J. Lowen, who died September 5, 1956 (see entry for December 8, 1955). Pyle had been Deputy Administrator under Lowen.