31 March 1914

On March 31, 1914, the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line (the world's first scheduled airline) flew its last trip, having arrived at the end of its three month contract. Pilots Tony and Roger Jannus left St. Petersburg and the employment of the Benoist Company. Tony Jannus would go on to serve as a test pilot for Curtiss Aeroplane Co.

30 March 1914

On March 30, 1914 Alexander Graham Bell hosted a meeting at his home of those interested in rebuilding Langley’s Aerodrome. They hoped to restore Langley’s tarnished reputation and undermine the Wright patent claims. Among those attending were Glenn Curtiss and Smithsonian Secretary, Dr. Charles D. Walcott. The group gave Curtiss $2,000 of Smithsonian funds to reconstruct and test the Langley Aerodrome.

29 March 1914

The German airship Z VIII reportedly ascended on March 29, 1914 to a height of 10,000 feet (3,048 meters). Also known as LZ.23, this airship had first flown in February and would fall victim to French ground fire in August.

28 March 1914

28 March 1914 was the opening day of Sheffield's Aviation Week, organized by the Sheffield Independent. Among the featured activities were demonstrations by Harold Blackburn of the new Blackburn Improved Type I monoplane.

27 March 1914

Don Mueang (International) Airport (Old Bangkok International Airport) (Thai: ท่าอากาศยานกรุงเทพ) officially opened as a Royal Thai Air Force base on March 27, 1914, although it had been in use earlier. Although no longer the primary airport for Bangkok, it is still active a century later.

26 March 1914

The first aircraft operation at Værnes, Norway (near Trondheim) involved a military Farman MF.7 Longhorn, which took off on 26 March 1914. It was part of the plan to establish the Norwegian Army Air Service, for which Værnes was chosen as the initial station for Central Norway.

25 March 1914

On March 25, 1914, DeLloyd 'Dutch' Thompson became the second American to fly a loop, at Griffith Park, Los Angeles, in a Day tractor biplane with Gyro 80 engine. Lincoln Beachey had accomplished the feat the previous November.

24 March 1914

Noted engineer Cyril F. Lan-Davis (author of Telephotography) was granted his Aviator's Certificate at Brooklands in his Avro 500 powered by a 50 hp Gnome (which aircraft was subsequently impressed into the RFC, valued at 50Gn or about £3,350 in modern terms).

23 March 1914

On 23 March 1914, the Royal Siamese Aeronautical service was renamed Royal Siamese Flying Corps and placed under control of the Royal Siamese Engineers Corps.

22 March 1914

Frank McClean, a wealthy Irish aviator, sponsored the 1914 flight of the Short Bros. S.80 hydroaeroplane from Cairo to Khartoum. Departing on 3 January, they reached their destination, some 1,500 miles south, on 22 March 1914. Doubtless daunted by the prospect of a three-month return trip, they decided to dismantle the plane and ship it back to England.

21 March 1914

A third attempt to cross the Andes by aeroplane -- after the failures of Figueroa and Newbery -- was made by the Argentine aviator Alberto Macias. Macias departed from Uspallata on 21 March 1914. He reached an elevation of 2,800 meters (9,185 feet) when his machine was caught by a treacherous wind and he was forced to descend precipitously, suffering bruises on landing. His machine was also somewhat damaged. Following this accident Macias stated that he would make no further attempts.

20 March 1914

On March 20, 1914, German aviator Robert Thelen took off from Johannisthal with three passengers and climbed to a record height (for that loading) of 3,700 meters (12,140 feet). The previous record of 3,300 meters (10,825 feet) set by French pilot Victorin Garaix on March 2, 1914 was broken.

19 March 1914

Capt M.F. Sueter and Lt D.H. Hyde-Thomson's Specification for "A Torpedo Carrying Seaplane" was issued 19 March 1914. A profile line drawing of a large heavily braced two-seat twin float machine was submitted with the specification, along with views of the methods for carrying the torpedo between the floats. Subsequently, the ungainly Sopwith Special Seaplane resembled the illustrated machine in Capt Sueter and Lt Hyde Thomson’s specification. The Special Seaplane was a disappointment, barely capable of lifting itself into the air. It never got airborne with its intended warload.

18 March 1914

Alexander Graham Bell wrote, on 18 March 1914 to Mr. E.L. Laur of Toronto, endorsing Laur's notion for powering a helicopter. Bell said, "...I think you have the correct principle for making a successful helicopter, viz:- applying the power to the rim instead of the axis."

17 March 1914

Frenchman Victor Garaix continued to set altitude records using the variable incidence biplane designed by Paul Schmitt. On 17 March 1914 set a new record for altitude with pilot and seven passengers of 1,650 meters (5,400 feet).

16 March 1914

Belgian aviator Elie Hanouille died 16 March 1914 while flying over the bay of Saint-Sébastien in Spain. At the end of a loop, the rudder of his Bleriot failed and he fell into the sea at high speed.

15 March 1914

The 15 March 1914 issue of Mixer & Server reported: “Paris has a new drink called the Pegoud cocktail, which is the first cocktail officially claimed by France, all other cocktails being known only at American bars. The Pegoud cocktail is reported to be a fierce affair, supposed not only to create a brainstorm, but to ‘loop the loop’ after imbibed.” (Adolph Pegoud was the first aviator to successfully 'loop-the-loop.')

14 March 1914

The records of the Sopwith Aviation Company reveal that on 14 March 1914 the firm added a War Office order for three more Sopwith “SS” Single-Seat Scout versions of the Tabloid (bringing the total on order for the RFC to twelve), and the factory completed two Anzani-engined pusher floatplanes (Nos 123 and 124) for the Admiralty.

13 March 1914

On 13 March 1914 The Times of London published a statement by the First Lord of Admiralty (Mr. W.S. Churchill) that said, "The practical utility of aeroplanes and seaplanes for war purposes is increasingly evident and the experiments in connection with bomb dropping, wireless telegraphy and gunnery have been continuous."

12 March 1914

The Curtiss Model J was a tractor aircraft designed by Englishman Benjamin D. Thomas (formerly with Sopwith) that became the basis for the Curtiss Jenny series. The first prototype was rolled out on 12 March 1914. It was delivered to the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps on 28 July. At the time the entire United States military air fleet consisted of 23 aircraft.

11 March 1914

Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.4 numbered 204 crashed on Salisbury Plain on 11 March 1914 when its rudder failed, killing its crew of two. The subsequent enquiry suggested that the rudder shaft had become crystallized and had snapped, one of the first suggestions of metal fatigue. This raised sufficient doubt regarding the safety of the B.E.3/4 rudder for a new unit to be developed and fitted to the remaining machines with commendable rapidity.

10 March 1914

The B.E.8 was a British two-seat single-engine general purpose biplane designed by John Kenworthy at the Royal Aircraft Factory in 1913. The first production machine was delivered for inspection on 10 March 1914 and was retained at the Royal Aircraft Factory. Records indicate that it was eventually tested to destruction.

9 March 1914

The phrase ”More lost than Lieutenant Bello” (“Más perdido que el Teniente Bello”) is a part of Chile’s linguistic heritage and refers to someone who loses their way quite badly. The saying pays homage to Lt. Alejandro Bello Silva, one of Chile’s first military pilots. On March 9, 1914, Lt. Bello took off in his Sánchez-Besa 1914 biplane into the fog and clouds on his final flight to qualify for his military aviator wings — and simply disappeared.

8 March 1914

On March 8, 1914, Lt. Col. Phraya Chalerm Arkas, Commander of the Army Aviation Division of Siam made the first flight at Don Muang Airfield at Bangkok of a Nieuport 11N monoplane.

7 March 1914

Harry Hawker flew the first plane over Albury, N.S.W., a Sopwith Tabloid biplane on March 7, 1914. Flying from the Albury Racecourse and watched by 5,000 people, Hawker set an Australian altitude record of 7,800 feet, but his second flight crash-landed. He escaped unhurt.

6 March 1914

J.W.H. "Will" Scotland took off from Fraser Park, Timaru, on 6 March 1914 in his 45 hp Caudron biplane for an attempt on the New Zealand long distance flying record. The aviator arrived before an enthusiastic crowd at the Addington Showgrounds in Christchurch. The distance of approximately 160 kms was flown in 2 hours, 5 minutes, actual flying time - an average speed of 78 kms per hour!

5 March 1914

Lt. Fazil Bey of the Ottoman Air Force made headlines in Turkey when on the 5th of March 1914 he performed the first aircraft acrobatics in the country, taking the Deperdussin “Osmanli” into a series of rolls.

4 March 1914

On March 4 1914 the Royal Aero Club held its Annual Dinner at London's Savoy Hotel. The principal guest, First Sea Lord Winston Churchill, called in his speech for the establishment of emergency landing fields "if not all over the country, at any rate along certain marked aerial routes."

3 March 1914

March 3, 1914 marked the triumphant return of Marc Bonnier to Paris after a long journey from Paris, via old Europe, Beirut and Jerusalem and finally to Cairo. He was congratulated by, among many, M. Deutsch de la Meurthe, president of the Aero Club and representatives of the Ministries of Public Works, War and Navy. Bonnier, with his mechanic Joseph Barnier, began the journey in a Nieuport VI-G monoplane on 10 November at Villacoublay, arriving in Cairo 1 January.

2 March 1914

Frenchman Victor Garaix continued to set altitude records using the variable incidence biplane designed by Paul Schmitt. On 2 March 1914 he carried three passengers to 3,300 meters (10,825 feet) in a 55 minute flight. A temperature of -22°C (-8°F) was recorded and the aircraft was covered with frost during the descent.

1 March 1914

Lt. Eric Harrison made Australia's first military flight in a Bristol Boxkite on Sunday, 1 March 1914, followed by a second in the same aircraft with Lt. Henry Petre as passenger, then a third by himself in a Deperdussin. The flights were made from the Central Flying School at Point Cook, Victoria, the oldest continuously operating military aerodrome in the world.