1959 in aviation

yearbox
in?=in aviation
cp=19th Century
c=20th century
cf=21st century
yp1=1956
yp2=1957
yp3=1958
year=1959
ya1=1960
ya2=1961
ya3=1962
dp3=1920s
dp2=1930s
dp1=1940s
d=1950s
dn1=1960s
dn2=1970s
dn3=1980s

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1959:

Events

Unknown

* The Canadian Golden Hawks aerobatic team is formed.

February

* February 3 - Rock stars Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper die when the Beechcraft Bonanza they are traveling in crashes during a snow storm in Iowa.
* February 20 - The Canadian government cancels the Avro CF-105 Arrow.

March

* March 31 - BOAC commences its first scheduled around-the-world service

June

* June 4 - Max Conrad flies a Piper Comanche from Casablanca to New York, setting a new lightplane distance record of 7,683 miles (12,365 km).
* June 8 - The USS "Barbero" and United States Postal Service attempt the delivery of mail via Missile Mail.
* June 16 - a US Navy P4M Mercator is attacked by North Korean Air Force Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17s off the North Korean coast. The Mercator's crew returned the aircraft safely to Japan.

July

* July 9 - a Royal Air Force Vickers Valiant makes the first non-stop flight from England to Cape Town
* July 14 - Maj V Ilyushin sets a new altitude record of 28,852 m (94,659 ft) in the Sukhoi T-431
* July 29 - Qantas introduces the Boeing 707 on its Sydney-San Francisco route, the first transpacific service flown by jet.

eptember

* September 23 - The USAF officially cancels the North American Aviation XF-108 Rapier.

October

* October 31 - Colonel G. Mosolov sets a new airspeed record of 2,387 km/h (1,483 mph) in the Mikoyan-Gurevich Ye-66

December

* December 14 - Cdr L Flint sets a new altitude record of 103,389 ft (31,513 m) in a F-104 Starfighter
* December 15 - Maj J W Roberts sets a new airspeed record of 1,526 mph (2,456 km/h) in a F-106 Delta Dart

First flights

January

* January 8 - Armstrong Whitworth AW.650 Argosy "G-AOZZ"
* January 20 - Vickers Vanguard "G-AOYW"

February

* February 3 - Agusta-Bell AB.102
* February 28 - Aérospatiale Alouette III

March

* March 12 - Aero Boero AB-95

April

* April 5 - Aero L-29 Delfin

May

* May 4 - Pilatus PC-6

June

* June 8 - North American X-15 (unpowered)
* June 17 - Dassault Mirage IV

July

* July 14 - Sukhoi T-431, prototype of the Sukhoi Su-9

eptember

* September 17 - North American X-15 (powered)

October

* Agusta A.103
* October 27 - Myasishchev M-50

November

* November 23 - Boeing 720

December

* December 13 - Aviamilano Scricciolo "I-MAGY"

Entered service

March
* March 26 - Breguet Alizé with the Aéronavale.

April
* April 20 - Ilyushin Il-18 with Aeroflot.

May
* F-106 Delta Dart with the 498th Fighter Interceptor Squadron USAF at Geiger Field.

June
* June 12 - C-130 Hercules with the 463rd Troop Carrier Wing USAF.

July
* de Havilland Sea Vixen with the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm.
* July 22 - Sud-Aviation Caravelle with Air France.
* July 22 - Antonov An-10 with Aeroflot.

September
* September 18 - Douglas DC-8 with Delta Air Lines and United Air Lines.

December
* GAM-77 Hound Dog cruise missile with USAF Strategic Air Command B-52s.