1933 in aviation

January
January 16 - Jean Mermoz and crew make a non-stop flight from Senegal to Brazil, across South Atlantic, in 17 hours 27 minutes.

February
February 6-8 - Gayford and Nicholetts make the first non-stop flight from England to South Africa in a Fairey Long-Range Monoplane. The 5,309 mile (8,544 km) flight is a new distance record. They take 57 hours 25 minutes.

February 6-9 - Jim Mollison flies a de Havilland Puss Moth from the United Kingdom to Brazil, via Senegal, across South Atlantic. He becomes the first person to fly solo across the North and South Atlantics.

February 25 - USS Ranger, the US Navy's first ship designed from the outset as an aircraft carrier, is launched.

April
April 1 - the Indian Air Force is formed

April 3 - two British aircraft, the Westland PV-3 and Westland PV-6 piloted by Squadron Leader the Marquess of Clydesdale and Flight Lt. David MacIntyre make the first flight over Mount Everest

April 4 - US Navy airship USS Akron crashes during a storm, killing 76 of its 79 crew.

April 10 - Francesco Agello sets a new airspeed record in the Italian seaplane the Macchi M.C.72, of 682 km/h (424 mph).

April 29 - the Reichsluftfahrtministerium ("Reich Aviation Ministry") is formed by the Nazi government.

May
May 7-8 - Stanislaw Skarzynski flies the South Atlantic from Senegal to Brazil in a small single-seater tourist airplane RWD-5bis, in 20 hours 30 minutes, over a distance of 3,582 km (2,238 miles). The RWD-5bis was the smallest plane to have ever flown the Atlantic - empty weight below 450 kg (990 lb), loaded 1100 kg. It is a part of 17,885 km Warsaw - Rio de Janeiro flight from April 27 to June 24.
Turkish Airlines is formed under the name "State Airlines".

July
July 14-22, Wiley Post, flying a Lockheed Vega, makes the first around the world solo flight. His flight begins and ends at Floyd Bennett Field in New York, with stops at Berlin, Moscow, Irkutsk and Alaska - a total distance of 25,099 km (15,596 miles).

July 15-17, Lithuanians Steponas Darius and Stasys Girenas were supposed to make a non-stop flight from New York City to Kaunas, Lithuania in Bellanca aeroplane, but fatally crashed in Germany after 37 hours, 11 minutes, covering distance of 6411 km, only 650 km short of their final destination.

August
August 5-7 - Maurice Rossi and Paul Codes fly a Blériot 110 from New York to Rayal, Syria, establishing a new distance record of 9,104 km (5,657 miles).

September
September 7-8 - six US Navy Consolidated P2Y flying boats make a non-stop formation flight from Norfolk, Virginia to the Panama Canal, covering 2,059 miles (3,314 km) in 25 hours 20 minutes.

September 28 - Lemoine sets a new altitude record of 13,661 m (44,820 ft) in a Potez 50

October
October 4-11 - Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, in a Percival Gull, sets a new solo flight record between England and Australia of 7 days 4 hours 44 minutes.

October 10 - A United Airlines Boeing 247 was destroyed by a bomb over Chesterton, Indiana, killing 10, in the first proven case of air sabotage.

October 15 - the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine is started for the first time.

October 31 - Air France is founded.

November
November 4 - Brazilian airline VASP is established.

December
December 1 - Indian National Airways commences the first daily service in India, between Calcutta and Dacca.

First flights

February
February 8 - Boeing 247
February 10 - Hawker Demon
February 19 - Vultee V-1

April
April 10 - Airspeed Courier G-ABXN
April 21 - USS Macon

May
Northrop Delta
May 27 - De Havilland Leopard Moth

June
June 21 - Supermarine Walrus

July
Bloch MB.200
Curtiss XF12C

July 1 - Douglas DC-1

August
Short Scion
August 14 - Tupolev ANT-14
August 24 - Blackburn Shark

October
October 11 - Blackburn Perth

December
December 31 - Polikarpov I-16