Archived The first ever landing of a plane on an aircraft; the cruiser USS Pennsylvania. San Francisco Harbor. 1911 (upload.wikimedia.org)
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Archived The first ever landing of a plane on an aircraft; the cruiser USS Pennsylvania. San Francisco Harbor. 1911 (upload.wikimedia.org)
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[–] someguyfromcanada [S] 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
On January 18, 1911, Eugene Ely landed his Curtiss pusher airplane on a platform mounted on the armored cruiser USS Pennsylvania which was anchored in San Francisco Bay. Ely flew from the Tanforan Racetrack in San Bruno, California and landed on the Pennsylvania; the first successful shipboard landing of an aircraft. This flight was also the first ever using a tailhook system, designed and built by circus performer and aviator Hugh Robinson. The plane was then turned around and took off.
Ely requested employment with the Navy but he was temporarily turned down as naval aviation was not yet organized. Ely thus continued flying in exhibitions while the Navy asked him to cut out the sensational features for his safety. When asked about retiring, Ely reportedly said: "I guess I will be like the rest of them, keep at it until I am killed." On October 19, 1911, while flying at an exhibition in Macon, Georgia, his plane was late pulling out of a dive and crashed. Ely jumped clear of the wrecked aircraft, but his neck was broken, and he died a few minutes later.
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