1978 in aviation

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1978:

Events

January

January 1 - British Aircraft Corporation, Hawker Siddeley, and Scottish Aviation are absorbed into British Aerospace
January 1 - Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747, crashes into ocean near Bombay, killing 213.

April

April 1 - The Canadian Snowbirds aerobatic team officially becomes the 431 Air Demonstration Squadron.
April 18 - the Vickers Viscount becomes the first turboprop airliner to see 25 years in service
April 20 - a Korean Airlines Boeing 707 makes a crash landing after being attacked by Soviet fighters over the Kola Peninsula. Two passengers are killed.
April 26 - VP-23 Crashes into the water, possibly due to engine trouble, near NAF Lajes, Azores, Portugal (BUNO:152724) Killing LTJG. Michael Dziubak, with six other members of his VP-23 flight AP6Q in a P3 plane.

May

May 20 - McDonnell Douglas delivers its 5,000th F-4 Phantom aircraft, twenty years after the first flight of the prototype.

July

July 1-19 - Frank Haile Jr and William Wisner fly two Beechcraft Bonanzas around the world in formation.
July 11 - the UK government agrees to fund development of the BAe 146
July 14 - after receiving orders from United Airlines, Boeing begins full-scale development of the Boeing 767

August

August 12-17 - Ben Abruzzo and crew make the first transatlantic crossing by balloon, taking 5 days 17 hours to travel from Presque Island, Maine USA to Evreux, France in the Double Eagle II

September

September 3 - an Air Rhodesia Vickers Viscount is shot down by members of Joshua Nkomo's Patriotic Front using a SA-7 surface-to-air missile. The ten passengers who survived the crash are shot dead.
September 25 - Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182, a Boeing 727 airliner, collides with a Cessna 172 over San Diego, California. There were no survivors on either plane, and with the seven fatalities on the ground the total number of lives lost was 144, making it the worst air disaster in California history to date.

October

October 30 - the Indian government approves the purchase of the SEPECAT Jaguar for the Indian Air Force

November

November 20 - the US Air Force orders development of the KC-10 Extender

December

December 28 - United Airlines Flight 173 crashes in Portland, Oregon. Aircraft ran out of fuel while crew trouble shooted landing gear indicator problems.
December 29 - Freddie To makes the first flight of a solar-powered aircraft, the Solar One

First flights

January

January 11 - American Jet Industries Hustler N400AJ

February

February 14 - Cessna 303

March

March 10 - Dassault Mirage 2000 2000-01

April

April 10 - Sikorsky S-72 NASA545 (2nd aircraft)

June

June 30 - Rutan Defiant

July

July 6 - NASA QSRA NASA715

August

August 12 - Pilatus PC-7 HB-HAO
August 20 - Aerospatiale Fouga 90 F-WZJB
August 20 - British Aerospace Sea Harrier XZ450

September

September 13 - Aérospatiale Super Puma F-WZJA

November

November 8 - Canadair CL-600 Challenger C-GCGR-X
November 9 - AV-8B Harrier II
November 18 - McDonnell Douglas YF-18A Hornet 160775

December

December 19 - Beriev A-50
December 30 - General Avia Canguro I-KANG

Entered service

January

January 26 - Westland Lynx with No. 702 Squadron FAA

April

HU-25 Guardian with United States Coast Guard

June

June 28 - Dassault Super x‰tendard with the Aéronavale

August

August 20 - BAe Sea Harrier

1978 in Aviation Pictures

More aircraft.

Source: WikiPedia