In 1910, Eugene Ely took off from a ship. On January 18, 1911, he tried to land on one...

Fly into history with a x3 first-win XP bonus on every plane in your Hangar, and discounts on later aircraft inspired by Ely's feat!

Discounts and Bonuses | Missions | Bundles | History

Starts January 15 03:20 PT / 06:20 ET
Ends January 18 03:20 PT / 06:20 ET 

Missions
Mission	Restrictions	Reward(s)
Pilots at Sea Win a battle and place in your team's top 10 XP earners.	Random battles only Repeatable Must be flying on "marine" maps: Lighthouse, Pacific Ocean, Bay and Harbor	x3Crew XP
Landing Gear Deployed! Win a battle and destroy three (3) or more enemy aircraft.	Random battles only Repeatable Must be flying in one of the following aircraft: Skua, F3F, A5M, F2A, P-36, A6M1, F4F, P-40, A6M2, F4U-1, A6M5, F4U-4, A7M	1x Auto. Fire Extinguisher

Stock up on your choice of Gold, Credits or Premium time to maximize your battle earnings!

Flying Flashback

Eugene Burton Ely (1886-1911) developed an interest in flying at a very young age. A self-taught pilot from Iowa, Ely transitioned from driving to flying and made a career out of daring aerial acrobatics. After attempting the ‘Thousand Mile Flight’ from Chicago to New York and crashing several times due to engine failure, Ely didn't give up. On November 14, 1910, he managed the first successful unassisted airplane take-off in history from the wooden-covered deck of the U.S.S. Birmingham. His aircraft dipped so low that its wheels briefly touched the water; obscuring Ely’s vision and forcing him to make a risky landing on a nearby beach.

That wasn't enough for Eugene Ely -- on January 18, 1911, he approached the U.S.S Pennsylvania, a heavy cruiser equipped with a landing deck and a mechanism to decelerate an aircraft after touchdown. Ely landed flawlessly before taking off again from the Pennsylvania and landing his plane at a nearby airfield across San Francisco Bay!

While he perished in an exhibition flight shortly after his triumph, Ely's legacy lived on long after his passing -- he had successfully taken off from and landed on the small deck of a ship and received widespread acclaim from both military officials keen on naval aviation and the public at large. 

Eugene Ely taking off, landing and flying in his Curtiss Pusher aircraft.

Through sheer guts, Eugene Ely showed the possibilities of aircraft use on ships, earning him a permanent spot as an aviation legend, the pioneer of a legacy that would shape military tactics and history itself for years to come.