Milestones

In aviation history, July and August are best remembered for
many historic milestones that greatly shaped the industry that
spilled over to the growth of the global air cargo sector.
It was in July 1901 when brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright
made the first of a series of test glides at Kill Devil Hills near
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. In August of 1908, Wilbur made his
first test flight in Europe.



The two, as we all know, are best known for inventing, building
and flying the world’s first successful airplane in 1903.
On July 2, 1937 Amelia Earhart, the pioneering American female
pilot, and navigator Fred Noonan, were lost over the South
Pacific while flying near Howland Island. They were never
found and their disappearance remains a mystery.



It was also 35 years ago in July when the first solar-powered
aircraft across the English Channel named “Solar Challenger”
successfully crossed the distance powered by some 16,128
solar cells.



In August of 1945, the world was stunned when a military plane
dropped the first atomic bomb in Hiroshima, Japan, that forced
the Japanese to surrender, causing an end to World War II.
Fast-forward to this year, the UAE and the rest of the world will
forever remember July as the time when the world’s first sunpowered
aircraft successfully circumnavigated the world, day
and night, without a single drop of fuel.



The success of Solar Impulse 2, which began and ended its
journey in Abu Dhabi, will have a profound impact on the future
of aviation and air cargo industries.



Air Cargo Update also traces back in this issue Turkish Cargo’s
growth and its increasing influence in exporting and importing
goods from and to the Middle East, to anywhere in the world,
even transporting Batman’s ultra-modern and high-powered
Batmobile.



In The Lounge, we take a glimpse on how billionaire Fred Smith
who started FedEx—a pioneering cargo enterprise which has
evolved into a global name, raking billions of dollars on an
annual basis and giving jobs to more than 400,000 people
around the world—spends his free time and his hobbies.
Finally, we have laid down in this issue the latest news, insights
and trends in the aviation, airline and cargo industries.
The jet age is about transformation, changes and new
discoveries.



More milestones ahead!



Gemma Casas


Editor