1959 in aviation

Events

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 round-the-world westbound service from London (UK) via New York City, San Francisco, Honolulu to Tokyo (Japan) and onward to London (UK)

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.

September
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 8 - Wassmer WA-40

June 17 - Dassault Mirage IV

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

September
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.