1902 in aviation - Definition and Overview

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1902:

January

• January 17 - Gustave Whitehead reportedly flies a flying boat rebuilt from his Whitehead Aeroplane No. 21 of the previous year on an 11 km (7 mile) flight and lands safely.

February

• February 4 - First balloon flight in Antarctica when Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton ascend to 244 metres in a tethered hydrogen balloon to take the first Antarctic aerial photographs.

March

• Professor Erich von Drygalski's 1901-1903 German Antarctic Expedition uses a balloon to survey the Antarctic coast of Wilhelm II Land.

April

• April 30 - The St Louis Aeronautical Exposition opens in Missouri. A highlight is Octave Chanute launching a replica of his 1896 glider.

Events

• The Wright brothers fly their No. 3 Glider on over 1,000 flights, results lead directly to the construction of the Flyer.