1928 in aviation

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1928:

Events

January

January 6-8 – Lt Christian Schilt makes ten flights in an O2U Corsair to evacuate wounded marines from the besieged village of Quilali, Nicaragua. He is awarded the Medal of Honor.

February

February 7 – Bert Hinkler leaves Croydon in an Avro Avian, attempting the first solo flight from England to Australia. He will arrive in Darwin on February 22.
February 12 – Lady Mary Hearth leaves Cape Town in an Avro Avian in an attempt to make the first solo flight by a woman from South Africa to England. She will arrive in Croydon on May 17.

March

March 30 – Mario di Bernardi sets a new airspeed record – the first over 300 mph (483 km/h). He flies a Macchi M.52bis.

April

April 13 – the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic from East to West is made by Hermann Köhl, Baron Gunther von Hunefeld, and Major James Fitzmaurice in a Junkers W.33 named the Bremen.

May

May 15 – Rev John Flynn founds the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia at Cloncurry, Queensland, using a de Havilland DH.50. The service takes medical services to remote parts of the Australian bush.
May 23 – Umberto Nobile commands the Italian airship Italia on an ill-fated flight over the North Pole. The airship crashes on its way back, and Roald Amundsen is killed trying to rescue survivors.

June

June 17 – Amelia Earhart becomes first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean.
June 9 – Charles Kingsford Smith and his crew make the first flight across the Pacific Ocean in the Fokker F.VIIb-3m Southern Cross. They left Oakland, California on May 31 and reach Brisbane via Honolulu and Fiji. The flight takes 83 hours.
June 11 – At the Wasserkuppe, Alexander Lippisch's Ente becomes the first aircraft to fly under rocket power.
July 12 – Emilio Carranza crashes in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey while returning from New York City to Mexico City on a historic goodwill flight.

August

The Daily Mail newspaper fits out a de Havilland DH.61 to use as a mobile press office. It carries its own darkroom and a motorcycle.

September

September 18 – Don Juan de la Cierva flies a Cierva C.8 autogiro from Croydon, England, to Le Bourget, France, making the first crossing of the English Channel in a rotary wing aircraft.

October