On this day in aviation history…
October 18, 2027
|Recurring Event (See all)
An event every year that begins at 12:00 am on day 18 of October, happening 20 times
18 October 1922: At Selfridge Field, near Mount Clemens, Michigan, Assistant Chief of the Air Service Brigadier General William Mitchell set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Absolute Speed Record flying a Curtiss R-6 biplane, Air Service serial number A.S. 68564, over a 1 kilometer course at a speed of 358.84 kilometers per hour (222.973 miles per hour).
Brigadier General William Mitchell stands in the cockpit of a Thomas Morse pursuit
Curtiss R-6, serial number A.S. 68564, at Selfridge Field, 14 October 1922. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives)