noteday=new Array(365) noteday[1]="1958: Record-breaking flight by the Bristol Britannia - Mexico City to New York in 5 hours 8 minutes non-stop; 1983: another record-breaking flight - A BA Concorde makes the fastest Trans-Atlantic crossing from west to east, New York to London was made by Concorde in 2 hrs 56 mins" //January 1st noteday[2]="" noteday[3]="1952: First flight of the Bristol Type 173 tandem rotor helicopter, at Filton; 2002: Fifty years later, the prototype 173 is delivered to the Bristol Aero Collection for preservation." noteday[4]="" noteday[5]="" noteday[6]="" noteday[7]="" noteday[8]="1958: Another record-breaking flight by the Bristol Britannia - New York to London in 7 hours, 44 minutes" noteday[9]="" noteday[10]="" noteday[11]="" noteday[12]="" noteday[13]="" noteday[14]="1976: British Airways receive their first Concorde, 206 G-BOAA" noteday[15]="" noteday[16]="" noteday[17]="" noteday[18]="2005: The Airbus A.380 is unveiled at a ceremony in Toulouse" noteday[19]="" noteday[20]="1936: First flight of Bristol Type 143 eight passenger airliner, at Filton" noteday[21]="1976: British Airways begin a London to Bahrain service using Concorde 206, G-BOAA" noteday[22]="" noteday[23]="1917: Samuel White becomes Chairman of British and Colonial" noteday[24]="" noteday[25]="" noteday[26]="" noteday[27]="" noteday[28]="" noteday[29]="" noteday[30]="" noteday[31]="1958: Another record-breaking flight by the Bristol Britannia - New York to Paris in 8 hours, 47 minutes" noteday[32]="1957: The Bristol Britannia enters service with BOAC; 1990: British Aerospace signs a contract to convert a batch of 5 ex British Airways VC-10's to tankers for the RAF" //February 1st noteday[33]="" noteday[34]="1957: F/O John Greenwood Crossley flys his Filton-based Vampire under the Clifton Suspension Bridge - an manoeuvre which is strictly forbidden. He was killed instantly when the aircraft hit the Avon Gorge cliffs." noteday[35]="1919: First Flight of Bristol F.2C Badger; 1943: First flight of Bristol Type 163 Buckingham; 1954: Second Brtiannia prototype force lands on the Severn mudflats after an engine fire." noteday[36]="1940: A Bristol Blenheim is the first aircraft ever to perform a radar-controlled interception" noteday[37]="1988: Concorde 206, G-BOAA, makes a record flight from New York to Heathrow in 2 hours 55 minutes 15 seconds" noteday[38]="1996: Concorde sets a new record time from New York to London - 2 hours, 52 minutes, 59 seconds" noteday[39]="" noteday[40]="" noteday[41]="" noteday[42]="" noteday[43]="" noteday[44]="1974: Concorde 202 G-BBDG, the second production Concorde, makes its first flight at Filton On the 1hr 45 mins flight to Fairford it reached supersonic speeds" noteday[45]="" noteday[46]="" noteday[47]="" noteday[48]="" noteday[49]="" noteday[50]="1910: British and Colonial Aeroplane Company incorporated in Bristol. 2010: Easyjet Airbus named Sir George White in ceremony at Filton." noteday[51]="" noteday[52]="" noteday[53]="" noteday[54]="1942: A Bristol Blenheim is the first RAF aircraft to sink a Japanese submarine" noteday[55]="1941: First flight of the Bristol Type 160 Blenheim Mark V; 1958: Another record-breaking flight by the Bristol Britannia - Vancouver to London in 13 hours 57 minutes non-stop" noteday[56]="" noteday[57]="" noteday[58]="1975: The first British full production Concorde, 204 G-BOAC, makes its first flight at Filton" noteday[59]="2006: HRH Duke of York opens the Airbus Fuel Systems Test Facility at Filton" noteday[60]="" //March 1st noteday[61]="" noteday[62]="" noteday[63]="1976: The first British Concorde, 002 G-BSST, is retired to the Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton" noteday[64]="" noteday[65]="" noteday[66]="" noteday[67]="1951: Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret get a guided tour of the Brabazon at Filton" noteday[68]="" noteday[69]="1957: No. 501 (County of Gloucester) Squadron disbands at Filton. The last type used was the Vampire" noteday[70]="1940: A Bristol Blenheim becomes the first RAF aircraft to sink a German U-Boat" noteday[71]="" noteday[72]="1986: Filton-build space vehicle Giotto achieves its mission - a close flyby of Halley Comet." noteday[73]="1911: The war office orders its first Boxkites" noteday[74]="1973: Concorde 01, G-AXDN, leaves Filton after modifications to near production standard" noteday[75]="" noteday[76]="1937: First delivery of a Bristol Blenheim to the RAF - to 114 Squadron at Wyton.... It was written off on landing at Wyton." noteday[77]="1919: No. 101 Squadron RAF returns from France, and moves to Filton" noteday[78]="" noteday[79]="" noteday[80]="" noteday[81]="" noteday[82]="" noteday[83]="2001: Brian Trubshaw CBE, Concorde test pilot, General Manager at Filton, and a founder of the Bristol Aero Colection, dies aged 77" noteday[84]="1970: Concorde 002 (first UK prototype, G-BSST) reaches Mach 1 for the first time" noteday[85]="" noteday[86]="2007: An Airbus A.380 visits Filton for the first time" noteday[87]="1854: Sir George White, founder of the Bristol Aeroplane Company, was born" noteday[88]="" noteday[89]="" noteday[90]="1953: First Bristol 170 Mark 32 Superfreighter delivered to Silver City Airways" noteday[91]="" //April 1st noteday[92]="" noteday[93]="1933: First ever flight over Mount Everest, in an aircraft powered by a Bristol Pegasus engine" noteday[94]="" noteday[95]="1917: First offensive reconnaissance by Bristol F.2A Fighter, over Arras. 4 of the 6 were shot down" noteday[96]="" noteday[97]="" noteday[98]="" noteday[99]="1969: First flight of the first British Concorde, 002, from Filton. It landed at Fairford for further flight tests" noteday[100]="2003: British Airways and Air France announce they are to retire their Concorde fleets within 6 months, ending 27 years of commericial supersonic flight" noteday[101]="2007: The first set of wings for the Airbus A400M are delivered from Filton to Seville" noteday[102]="1935: First flight of the Bristol Type 142 'Britain First', forerunner of the Blenheim" noteday[103]="" noteday[104]="1962: First flight of the Bristol Type 188 high speed research aircraft" noteday[105]="" noteday[106]="" noteday[107]="" noteday[108]="" noteday[109]="" noteday[110]="1979: The last production Concorde, 216, makes its first flight at Filton, going supersonic in the same flight" noteday[111]="1978: The penultimate British Concorde, 214 G-BFKW, makes its maiden flight at Filton" noteday[112]="" noteday[113]="" noteday[114]="" noteday[115]="1949: The second Bristol Sycamore prototype becomes first british helicopter to recieve a certificate of airworthiness" noteday[116]="" noteday[117]="1994: First K Mark 4 tanker conversion of the VC-10 delivered to the Royal Air Force. 2005: First flight of the Airbus A.380 from Toulouse" noteday[118]="" noteday[119]="1963: First flight of the second Bristol Type 188 high speed research aircraft, XF926, now at Cosford" noteday[120]="" noteday[121]="" //May 1st noteday[122]="" noteday[123]="1955: Bristol test pilot Walter Gibb sets a world altitude record (63,668ft) in a Bristol Olympus powered Canberra" noteday[124]="" noteday[125]="1967: A Bristol 170 Freighter of Wardair is the first wheeled aircraft to land at the geographic North Pole, piloted by Don Braun" noteday[126]="" noteday[127]="" noteday[128]="" noteday[129]="1958: Another record-breaking flight by the Bristol Britannia - San Francisco to London in 17 hours 6 minutes, with a stop at New York" noteday[130]="1940: The first RAF sortie against Italy, by 26 Blenheim Mk.I's and Mk.IV's; 1946: 501 Squadron reforms at Filton" noteday[131]="1936: First flight of the Bristol Type 138A high altitude aircraft, which set two world altitude records" noteday[132]="" noteday[133]="" noteday[134]="" noteday[135]="" noteday[136]="" noteday[137]="1927: First flight of the Bristol Bulldog biplane" noteday[138]="" noteday[139]="" noteday[140]="" noteday[141]="" noteday[142]="" noteday[143]="" noteday[144]="" noteday[145]="" noteday[146]="" noteday[147]="" noteday[148]="1910: Bristols first aircraft - a French built Zodiac biplane with a guarantee to fly - makes its first and only 'flight' at Brooklands, a short hop" noteday[149]="1958: Another record-breaking flight by the Bristol Britannia - San Francisco to London in 17 hours 6 minutes, with a stop at New York" noteday[150]="" noteday[151]="" noteday[152]="" //June 1st noteday[153]="" noteday[154]="" noteday[155]="" noteday[156]="" noteday[157]="" noteday[158]="" noteday[159]="" noteday[160]="" noteday[161]="" noteday[162]="" noteday[163]="" noteday[164]="1929: No. 501 Squadron forms at Filton as a special reserve unit" noteday[165]="" noteday[166]="1935: Bristol Aeroplane Company reorganised as a public liability company. 1954: Britains first scheduled passenger helicopter service starts, with three Bristol Sycamores" noteday[167]="" noteday[168]="" noteday[169]="" noteday[170]="" noteday[171]="" noteday[172]="" noteday[173]="1982: First flight of the K Mark 2 tanker conversion of the VC-10 for the Royal Air Force" noteday[174]="1946: First flight of second prototype Bristol 170, G-AGVC" noteday[175]="1996: First visit of a Beluga to Filton. The Beluga is heavily modified Airbus A.300, designed to carry aircraft wings and other out-sized cargo" noteday[176]="1936: First flight of the Bristol Type 142M Blenheim Mark I" noteday[177]="" noteday[178]="" noteday[179]="" noteday[180]="1957: A Bristol Britannia makes the first ever non-stop flight from London to the Pacific coast of Canada" noteday[181]="1937: Bristol Type 138A sets world altitude record of 51,364 feet" noteday[182]="" //July 1st noteday[183]="1985: The Filton-built space vehicle Giotto was launched from French Guiana in an Ariane 1 rocket." noteday[184]="" noteday[185]="1984: First flight of the K Mark 3 tanker conversion of the VC-10 for the Royal Air Force" noteday[186]="1958: First flight of the Bristol Type 192, later named the Belvedere, at Weston-super-Mare" noteday[187]="" noteday[188]="" noteday[189]="" noteday[190]="" noteday[191]="" noteday[192]="" noteday[193]="" noteday[194]="" noteday[195]="1916: First Flight of Bristol M.1A monoplane" noteday[196]="" noteday[197]="1958: Another record-breaking flight by the Bristol Britannia - Amsterdam to Vancouver in 13 hours 53 minutes" noteday[198]="1939: First flight of Bristol Beaufighter" noteday[199]="1996: Bristol Freighter C-FDFC crashes on take-off at Enstone, on a charter to Filton, with minor injuries to the passengers" noteday[200]="" noteday[201]="" noteday[202]="1958: Another record-breaking flight by the Bristol Britannia - London to Montreal in 8 hours 57 minutes" noteday[203]="" noteday[204]="1940: A Blenheim has the first ever successful interception using air-to-air radar" noteday[205]="" noteday[206]="2000: Air France Concorde F-BTSC crashes on take-off from Paris-Charles de Gaulle, killing all 100 passengers and 9 crew, and 4 on the ground" noteday[207]="" noteday[208]="1947: First flight of the Bristol Type 171 helicopter, later named the Sycamore" noteday[209]="1949: BOAC places the launch order for the Bristol Britannias, for 25; 1972 BOAC places order for five Concordes" noteday[210]="" noteday[211]="1910: First flight of the Bristol Boxkite, at Larkhill, by Edmond; 1993: First flight of K Mark 4 VC-10 tanker conversion" noteday[212]="1956: First flight of the stretched Bristol Britannia Series 300" noteday[213]="" //August 1st noteday[214]="1938: Frank Barnwell, designer of the Bristol Scout, F2B, Bulldog, Bombay, 'Britain First', Blenheim and Beaufort, is killed when his own aircraft crashes at Whitchurch" noteday[215]="" noteday[216]="" noteday[217]="1949: 1000th car carried from Lympne to Le Touquet by a Silver City Bristol 170 Freighter" noteday[218]="" noteday[219]="" noteday[220]="" noteday[221]="" noteday[222]="1972: Concorde 01, G-AXDN, returns to Filton for a ground programme to bring it up to near production standard, notably the installation of the Olympus 593 Mk 602 engines" noteday[223]="" noteday[224]="" noteday[225]="1918: First flight of the Bristol Braemar four-engined bomber" noteday[226]="1989: Andy Sephton (now of the Shuttleworth Collection) and H. Frick set three 'time-to-climb' VTOL world records at Filton, in a Harrier GR5" noteday[227]="" noteday[228]="1952: First flight of the Bristol Type 175 Britannia four-engined airliner" noteday[229]="" noteday[230]="" noteday[231]="" noteday[232]="1977: The first pre-production Concorde, 01 G-AXDN, is retired to the Imperial War Museum at Duxford" noteday[233]="" noteday[234]="" noteday[235]="" noteday[236]="" noteday[237]="" noteday[238]="1963: First flight of the BAC.111 at Hurn: the rear fuselage and tail assembly were built at Filton" noteday[239]="" noteday[240]="" noteday[241]="1955: Bristol test pilot Walter Gibb sets a second world altitude record (65,890ft) in a Bristol Olympus powered Canberra" noteday[242]="" noteday[243]="" noteday[244]="1939: The Bristol Blenheim becomes first aircraft to reach 1,000 deliveries under pre-war RAF expansion scheme" //September 1st noteday[245]="" noteday[246]="1939: A Bristol Blenheim of 139 Squadron is the first British sortie of the Second World War against Germany; 1949: First flight of Mk.2 version of Sycamore helicopter" noteday[247]="1939: Five Bristol Blenheims operate the first bombing mission of the Second World War; 1949: First flight of the Bristol Type 167 Brabazon" noteday[248]="1954: Maiden flight of first production Bristol Britannia airliner, G-ANBA" noteday[249]="" noteday[250]="" noteday[251]="1920: A Bristol M1C, known as the Red Devil, wins the first Australian Aerial Derby" noteday[252]="1916: First flight of the Bristol Fighter. 1966: First flight (from Filton) of Vulcan XA903 as a testbed for the Olympus 593, the engine used on Concorde" noteday[253]="" noteday[254]="" noteday[255]="" noteday[256]="" noteday[257]="" noteday[258]="1946: First flight of fourth prototype Bristol 170 Freighter (G-AGUT)" noteday[259]="1932: Bristols test pilot Cyril Uwins achieves world altitude record of 43,976ft in a Vickers Vespa flown from Filton" noteday[260]="" noteday[261]="" noteday[262]="1971: The first pre-production Concorde, G-AXDN, rolled out at Filton" noteday[263]="1958: Another record-breaking flight by the Bristol Britannia - Tokyo to Vancouver in 11 hours 44 minutes non-stop" noteday[264]="1910: The first students of the first Bristol Flying School enroll at Brooklands" noteday[265]="" noteday[266]="1986: Princess Anne opens the Airbus Single Aisle Winge Centre at Filton" noteday[267]="1910: A Boxkite takes part in the Autumn Manoeuvres on Salisbury Plain - the first military use in Britain of an aircraft. 1937: First Flight of the Mark IV 'long nose' version of the Blenheim" noteday[268]="1940: Lufwaffe Heinkel He111's drop 100 tons of high exposives and 40 tons of oil bombs on the Filton factory, killing or injuring up to 250 people. This is the largest raid on Filton" noteday[269]="1940: Hurricanes of No. 504 Squadron RAF arrive at Filton, following the massive Luftwaffe attack on the factory on the previous day" noteday[270]="" noteday[271]="1936: The Bristol Type 138A achieves world altitude record on a flight from Farnborough" noteday[272]="" noteday[273]="" noteday[274]="1969: Concorde 001 breaks the sound barrier for the first time" //October 1st noteday[275]="" noteday[276]="" noteday[277]="" noteday[278]="" noteday[279]="" noteday[280]="" noteday[281]="1941: The Bristol Aero Collections Bolingbroke (9048) is taken on charge by the Royal Canadian Air Force" noteday[282]="" noteday[283]="" noteday[284]="1919: No 101 Squadron moves out to Eastleigh" noteday[285]="" noteday[286]="1958: First flight of the military variant of the Britannia, the model 253, registered G-APPE" noteday[287]="1997: The last ever flight of a Britannia - EL-WXA (XM496) arrives at its new home at Kemble, flying from Lansera in South Africa" noteday[288]="1938: First flight of the Bristol Beaufort" noteday[289]="" noteday[290]="" noteday[291]="" noteday[292]="" noteday[293]="" noteday[294]="" noteday[295]="2001: Capt. Les Brodie flies Concorde 216 G-BOAF to New York on the first transatlantic flight after modifications following the Gonesse crash" noteday[296]="" noteday[297]="1935: RAF places its first order for the Bristol Blenheim; 2003: Last ever commercial Concorde flight - BA002 from New York to London" noteday[298]="2007: First Airbus A.380 commercial service, from Singpore to Sydney, with Singapore Airlines" noteday[299]="1996: First visit of an Airbus A.319 to Filton" noteday[300]="" noteday[301]="" noteday[302]="" noteday[303]="" noteday[304]="" noteday[305]="" //November 1st noteday[306]="" noteday[307]="1915: A Bristol Scout C becomes the first aicraft ever to take off from a ship" noteday[308]="1970: Concorde 001, the first French prototype, reaches Mach 2 for the first time" noteday[309]="" noteday[310]="1957: Britannia G-ANCA crashes at Downend, Bristol, during a test flight, killing all 15 crew and technicians on board." noteday[311]="2001: Concorde resumes passenger services from London and Paris to New York, following a series of modifications after the Paris accident" noteday[312]="" noteday[313]="" noteday[314]="" noteday[315]="" noteday[316]="1910: Leslie Macdonald becomes first pupil of Bristol Flying School at Brooklands to attain Royal Aero Club certification. 1970: Concorde 002, the first British prototype, reaches Mach 2 for the first time" noteday[317]="" noteday[318]="" noteday[319]="1910: On a breezy Saturday afternoon at Durdham Down, the people of Bristol got their first taste of aviation, with a series of demonstration flights by a Boxkite. Joy rides were given for £5 a flight" noteday[320]="1910: An order for six Boxkites for Russia is announced - the first export order for a British aircraft" noteday[321]="" noteday[322]="1918: a Filton-built Bristol F.2B reaches 29,000 ft over Dayton, Ohio and unofficially breaks the world altitude record" noteday[323]="" noteday[324]="" noteday[325]="" noteday[326]="1916: Sir George White, founder of the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, dies" noteday[327]="" noteday[328]="" noteday[329]="" noteday[330]="2003: Final flight of Concorde. G-BOAF, flown by Capt. Les Brodie, lands at Filton after a flypast over Bristol" noteday[331]="" noteday[332]="1962: British and French agree to colaborate on building a supersonic airliner" noteday[333]="1976: Concorde flight test base at Fairford closes" noteday[334]="1960: The last Britannia to leave Filton, first prototype G-ALBO, flies out to Saint Athan to become an instructional airframe" noteday[335]="" //December 1st noteday[336]="1945: First flight of the Bristol Type 170 Freighter" noteday[337]="1962: Vulcan XA894 explodes on the ramp at Filton. It was the testbed for the Olympus 320, which would have been used on the TSR-2. There were no injuries, but a prize-winning fire engine was engulfed in flames" noteday[338]="1944: First flight of the Bristol Brigand" noteday[339]="1975: Concorde receives its British Certificate of Airworthiness" noteday[340]="" noteday[341]="" noteday[342]="" noteday[343]="" noteday[344]="" noteday[345]="1967: Concorde 001 is rolled out at Toulouse, and Tony Benn announces that the UK will use the 'e' at the end of Concorde" noteday[346]="1918: First flight across the Andes, made by a Filton-built Bristol M.1C" noteday[347]="" noteday[348]="" noteday[349]="" noteday[350]="" noteday[351]="1910: First flight of the Bristol Glider, from Keynsham; 1971: The first flight of first pre-production Concorde, G-AXDN" noteday[352]="" noteday[353]="1957: A Bristol Britannia makes the first non-stop flight from New York to Tel Aviv, setting a civil aircraft distance record of 6,100 miles. On the same day, BOAC introduced the Britannia on the London-New York route" noteday[354]="" noteday[355]="" noteday[356]="" noteday[357]="" noteday[358]="" noteday[359]="" noteday[360]="" noteday[361]="" noteday[362]="1963: The Bristol name finally goes, becoming British Aircraft Corporation (Filton Dvision)" noteday[363]="1958: First flight of Bristol Britania model 253, the variant ordered by the RAF, with designation C Mk.1" noteday[364]="" noteday[365]="" function dodate() { today = new Date() daynum = new Date("December 31, 2009 00:00:01") daysGone = (today.getTime() - daynum.getTime()) / 86400000 daysGone = Math.floor(daysGone) if (daysGone>365){daysGone=daysGone%365}; thatday=noteday[daysGone] if (thatday!=""){document.write(thatday+"
")} else {document.write("nothing known
")}; } function writeDate() { var months = new Array('January','February','March','April','May','June','July','August','September','October','November','December'); today = new Date() var tMonth = today.getMonth(); var tDay = today.getDate(); var tYear = today.getYear(); var ThNdRd = 'th' //variable that is set for subscript value if (tDay == 1 || tDay == 21 || tDay == 31) ThNdRd = 'st'; if (tDay == 2 || tDay == 22) ThNdRd = 'nd'; if (tDay == 3 || tDay == 23) ThNdRd = 'rd'; document.writeln(tDay + ' ' + months[tMonth] + ' ' + tYear); } function writeDayMonth() { var months = new Array('January','February','March','April','May','June','July','August','September','October','November','December'); today = new Date() var tMonth = today.getMonth(); var tDay = today.getDate(); var ThNdRd = 'th' //variable that is set for subscript value if (tDay == 1 || tDay == 21 || tDay == 31) ThNdRd = 'st'; if (tDay == 2 || tDay == 22) ThNdRd = 'nd'; if (tDay == 3 || tDay == 23) ThNdRd = 'rd'; document.writeln(tDay + ' ' + months[tMonth]); }