World Aviation in 1907

Development work begins on the Gnome rotary aero engine.

5 April
Louis Blériot makes a brief flight in his Type V monoplane.

1 July
An Aeronautical Division is established within the
office of the Chief Signal Officer of the United States Army and becomes the first 'heavier-than-air' military unit. Under the command of Captain Charles de Forest Chandler, the unit's strength was one officer, one non-commissioned officer and one enlisted man. A contract was placed with the Wright brothers for an aircraft and flight tests began in August.

August
The first aerodrome with hangars, opens at Issy-les-Moulineaux in France.

29 September
The Bréguet-Richet helicopter lifts off but has to be steadied by ground crew using poles.

12-13 October
A.F. Gaudron and two crew members make the first crossing of the North Sea by air in the Mammoth balloon. They travel from Crystal Palace in London to Lake Vänern in Sweden.

26 October
Henry Farman sets the official distance record of 771 metres (2,530 feet) in a Voisin-Farman I.

10 November
Louis Blériot makes his first flight in a Type VII monoplane. This is the ancestor of modern tractor monoplanes.

13 November
The first brief vertical take-off and free flight of a 'heavier-than-air' machine is recorded by Frenchman Paul Cornu's helicopter.

30 November
Glenn Curtiss forms the first aeroplane company in the United States.

23 December
The United States Army makes a request for tenders after the first specification for a military aeroplane is issued for commercial tender.