1958 in aviation - Definition and Overview

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1958:

Events

• Gulfstream Aerospace founded in Savannah, Georgia, USA.
• London Gatwick Airport opens after two years of extensive reconstruction. It is the first multimodal airport in the world, with direct rail connections from the main terminal to London and Brighton.

January

• January 14 - QANTAS becomes the first foreign airline permitted to fly across the United States

February

• February 13 - the British Ministry of Defence White Paper makes Britain's nuclear weapons programme public knowledge.

March

• March 17 - Air Inter commences operations

May

• May 16 - Cpt W. W. Irwin sets a new airspeed record of 1,404 mph (2,259 km/h) in a F-104 Starfighter, the first record over 2,000 km/h
• May 17 - four F3H Demons and four F8U Crusaders make a non-stop crossing of the Atlantic
• May 23 - the Short S.C.1 VTOL aircraft makes its first hovering flight

September

• September 30 - Britain's last flying boat airliners are put out of service when Aquila Airways terminates it Southampton-Madeira route.

First flights

March

• March 5 - Yakovlev Yak-28
• Aerfer Ariete

April

• April 30 - Blackburn Buccaneer XK 486

May

• May 12 - Dassault Mirage III
• May 27 - McDonnell XF4H-1

July

• July 30 - de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou CF-KTK-X

August

• August 31 - North American A3J-1 Vigilante

November

• Adams-Wilson Hobbycopter

Entered service

January

• F-104 Starfighter with the 83rd Fighter Interceptor Squadron USAF at Hamilton AFB

April

• April 9 - Handley Page Victor with No. 10 Squadron RAF at RAF Cottesmore
• April 21 - Vertol Model 44 with New York Airways

May

• May 26 - Republic F-105B Thunderchief with the 335th Tactical Fighter Squadron USAF at Eglin AFB

August

• Boeing 707 with Pan Am

November

• de Havilland Sea Vixen to No. 700 Squadron FAA

December

• Lockheed L-188 Electra with American Airlines