The maiden flight of an aircraft is the first occasion on which an aircraft leaves the ground of its own accord. This is similar to a ship's maiden voyage.

The first flight of a new aircraft type is always a historic occasion for the type. It is also one of the most dangerous, because the exact handling characteristics of the aircraft are generally unknown. The first flight of a new type is almost invariably flown by a highly experienced test pilot. First flights are usually accompanied by a chase plane, to verify items like altitude, airspeed, and general airworthiness.

A first flight is only one stage in the development of an aircraft type. Unless the type is a pure research aircraft (such as the X-15), the aircraft must be tested extensively to ensure that it delivers the desired performance with an acceptable margin of safety. In the case of civilian aircraft, a new type must be certified by a governing agency (such as the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States) before it can enter operation.

Notable first flights[link]

Airbus A380 on April 27, 2005

Boeing 787 on December 15, 2009

An incomplete list of first flights of notable aircraft types, organized by date, follows.

• June, 1875 – Thomas Moy's Aerial Steamer, London, England (no pilot and attache)^[1]
• October 9, 1890 – Clément Ader From Gretz-Armainvilliers, Ouest of Paris, France
• August 14, 1901 – Gustave Whitehead From Leutershausen, Bavaria
• May 15, 1902 – Lyman Gilmore From Grass Valley, California
• March 31, 1903 – Richard Pearse From Waitohi Flat, Temuka, South Island, New Zealand
• December 17, 1903 – Wright brothers Wright Flyer.
• March 18, 1906 – Traian Vuia, a Romanian engineer, flew in Montesson near Paris.
• October 23, 1906 – Alberto Santos Dumont 14-bis flight.
• July 4, 1908 - Glenn Curtiss flew the first pre-announced public flight of a heavier-than-air flying machine. He flew 5,080 feet, to win the Scientific American Trophy and its $2,500 purse. Curtiss later received U.S. Pilot's license #1 from the Aero Club of America.
• July 28, 1935 – Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress.
• December 17, 1935 – Douglas DC-3.
• December 29, 1939 – Consolidated B-24.
• November 2, 1947 – Hughes H-4 Hercules. The only flight of this oversized flying boat.
• July 27, 1949 – de Havilland Comet. First jet airliner.
• August 23, 1954 – Lockheed C-130 Hercules. Military transport.
• May 27, 1955 – Sud Aviation Caravelle, first jet airliner with engines mounted in the tail.
• April 25, 1962 – Lockheed A-12 Blackbird. Supersonic spyplane.
• June 29, 1962 -Vickers VC10. First airliner with 4 engines mounted in the tail.
• April 9, 1967 – Boeing 737. Medium-range airliner.
• October 4, 1968 – Tupolev 154. Soviet/Russian airliner, still in operation.
• December 31, 1968 – Tupolev Tu-144. Soviet supersonic airliner.
• February 9, 1969 – Boeing 747. First widebody airliner.
• March 2, 1969 – Anglo-French Concorde. Supersonic airliner.
• September 19, 1969 – Mil Mi-24 Russian/Soviet-made helicopter used by many countries to this day.
• February 22, 1987 – Airbus A320 airliner, the first civil aircraft to have an all-digital fly-by-wire system.
• December 21, 1988 – Antonov An-225 Mriya. The jet with the longest fuselage and wingspan and overall heaviest aircraft.
• June 12, 1994 – Boeing 777. Long-range airliner with the most powerful jet engines ever made.
• April 27, 2005 – Airbus A380. Doubledecker jetairliner, currently largest capacity in the world.
• December 15, 2006 – F-35 Lightning II – fifth-generation, stealth multirole fighter.
• December 11, 2009 – Airbus A400M Airbus first propeller plane.
• December 15, 2009 – Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the first major widebody airliner to use non-metal composite materials for most of its construction.
• January 29, 2010 – Sukhoi PAK FA, first Russian fifth generation fighter aircraft.
• February 8, 2010 – 747-8 first flight of freighter version of the stretched version of the Boeing 747.
• January 11, 2011 – Chengdu J-20, first flight of Chinese 5th generation fighter aircraft.
• March 20, 2011– 747-8, first flight of the intercontinental version of the stretched version of the Boeing 747.

See also[link]

• Flight test
• Maiden voyage

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Maiden flights

1. ^ http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Prehistory/late_1800s/PH4G7.htm

"Run to the Hills" was Iron Maiden's sixth single and the first from their 1982 album The Number of the Beast. It was written by Steve Harris, the band's bassist and founding member, and remains one of their most popular songs, with VH1 ranking it No. 27 on their list of the 40 Greatest Metal Songs^[1] and No. 14 on their list of the Greatest Hard Rock Songs.^[2] The guitar solo is played by Dave Murray.

Themes[link]

The song documents the conflict that occurred between European settlers in the New World and Native American tribes during the days of colonisation and later westward expansion.^[3][4] The song is written from both perspectives,^[5] covering the Natives' viewpoint in the first verse and the Europeans in the rest of the song.^[6]

Original 1982 release[link]

The song was released as a single on 12 February 1982 as a prelude to the album,^[7] making it Iron Maiden's debut release with new vocalist Bruce Dickinson. "Total Eclipse" was selected as the single's B-side over the song "Gangland", which in turn would appear on the initial version of the album.^[8] The band later regretted this decision, with Steve Harris commenting, "We chose the wrong track as the B-side. I think if "Total Eclipse" had been on the album instead of "Gangland", it would have been far better."^[8] The song was added to the The Number of the Beast album when it was remastered in 1998.

It is the second of three single covers featuring Derek Riggs' depiction of Satan, which debuted on "Purgatory" and later appeared on "The Number of the Beast" covers. According to Riggs, the idea behind the original "Run to the Hills" cover was based around the idea of a "power struggle in hell", in which the band's mascot, Eddie, battles Satan with a tomahawk (referencing the song's subject matter).^[9]

Other releases[link]

In 1985, a live version of "Run to the Hills", taken from Live After Death, was released as the band's thirteenth single, along with live versions of "Phantom of the Opera" and "Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)" as its the B-sides. According to Riggs, he was asked to paint a cover illustration both "Run to the Hills" and "Phantom of the Opera" and so the artwork depicts Eddie as the phantom in a hilly landscape.^[10]

Following former drummer Clive Burr's announcement that he was suffering from multiple sclerosis, "Run to the Hills" was released again in 2002 to raise money for the newly established Clive Burr MS Trust Fund.^[11] Two variations were issued, the original studio version and a live version taken from the Rock in Rio concert, with different B-sides.^[12]

Appearances in media[link]

An all-star cover version of the song is found on the tribute album Numbers from the Beast, featuring Robin McAuley on vocals, Michael Schenker and Pete Fletcher on guitars, Tony Franklin on bass and Brian Tichy (Derek Sherinian, B'z) on drums.^[13][14] The all-female tribute band The Iron Maidens recorded the song on their self-titled debut album.^[15] Former Babes in Toyland singer and guitarist Kat Bjelland's Katastrophy Wife covered the song in their Heart On EP in 2007.^[16] The song was covered in 2008 by Sign on the tribute CD Maiden Heaven: A Tribute to Iron Maiden released by Kerrang! magazine.^[17] The Swedish lounge metal band Hellsongs included a cover version on their 2008 album Hymns in the Key of 666.^[18] In 2009, the eventual Swedish Idol 2009 series winner Erik Grönwall sang it during the live shows and released it as a single in the same year, peaking at No. 23 in the Swedish Singles Chart.^[19] Progressive metal band Dream Theater covered a live version of the song, along with the entire The Number Of The Beast album, as an "official bootleg".^[20]

The song is also featured in the soundtracks of several video games, including SSX On Tour as the title's main theme,^[21] and GTA IV: The Lost and Damned.^[22] In addition, a cover version is featured in Rock Band, in which it received an 'Impossible' difficulty rating,^[23] while the original version was made available via download in June 2009.^[24]

Track listing[link]

1982 7" single (UK: EMI 5263, UK: EMIP 5263 [picture disc], Germany: EMI 1A 006-07604, Netherlands: EMI 1A 006-07604)

1. "Run to the Hills" (Steve Harris) – 3:50
2. "Total Eclipse" (Clive Burr, Harris, Dave Murray) – 4:28

1982 12" maxi (Europe: EMI 1C K 052-07 604 Z)

1. "Run to the Hills" (Harris) – 3:51
2. "Total Eclipse" (Burr, Harris, Murray) – 4:24

1985 7" single (UK: EMI EMI 5542)

1. "Run to the Hills" (live - Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, California 14-17 March 1985) (Harris) – 3:54
2. "Phantom of the Opera" (live - Hammersmith Odeon, London 8-12 October 1984) (Harris) – 7:20

1985 12" single (UK: EMI 12EMI 5542, UK: 12EMIP 5542 [picture disc])

1. "Run to the Hills" (live - Long Beach Arena, L.A. 14-17 March 1985) (Harris) – 3:54
2. "Phantom of the Opera" (live - Hammersmith Odeon, London 8-12 October 1984) (Harris) – 7:20
3. "Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)" (live - Hammersmith Odeon, London 8-12 October 1984) (Harris) – 4:14

2002 7" limited single (Europe: EMI EM 612)

1. "Run to the Hills" (Harris) – 3:50
2. "Total Eclipse" (live - Hammersmith Odeon, London 20 March 1982) (Burr, Harris, Murray) – 4:28

2002 CD single

Part I (UK: EMI CDEM 612/7243 5 50623 0 7)

This version contains the studio version of the song "Run to the Hills", while the B-sides were recorded live at the Reading Festival on 28 August 1982. It also includes the Camp Chaos version of the "Run to the Hills" music video.^[12]

1. "Run to the Hills" (Harris) – 3:50
2. "22 Acacia Avenue" (live - Reading Festival, Little Johns Farm, England 28 August 1982) (Harris, Adrian Smith) – 6:33
3. "The Prisoner" (live - Reading Festival, Little Johns Farm, England 28 August 1982) (Harris, Smith) – 5:55
4. "Run to the Hills" (Camp Chaos video) (Harris)

Part II (UK: EMI CDEM 612/7243 5 50623 0 7)

This version contains a live version of the song taken from the Rock in Rio live album, while the B-sides were recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon, London on 20 March 1982. The live video is also from the Rock in Rio concert.^[12]

1. "Run to the Hills" (live - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 19 January 2001) (Harris) – 4:59
2. "Children of the Damned" (live - Hammersmith Odeon, London 20 March 1982) (Smith, Harris) – 4:32
3. "Total Eclipse" (live - Hammersmith Odeon, London 20 March 1982) (Burr, Harris, Murray) – 3:57
4. "Run to the Hills" (live video)

Personnel[link]

1982 studio and live recordings

• Bruce Dickinson – lead vocals
• Steve Harris – bass, backing vocals
• Dave Murray – lead & rhythm guitar
• Adrian Smith – lead & rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Clive Burr – drums

1985 live recordings

• Bruce Dickinson – lead vocals
• Steve Harris – bass, backing vocals
• Dave Murray – lead & rhythm guitar
• Adrian Smith – lead & rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Nicko McBrain - drums

2001 live recording

• Bruce Dickinson – lead vocals
• Steve Harris – bass, backing vocals
• Dave Murray – lead & rhythm guitar
• Adrian Smith – lead & rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Janick Gers - lead & rhythm guitar
• Nicko McBrain - drums

Chart performance[link]

Notes[link]

1. ^ Re-release of all four singles as part of The First Ten Years box set. Exceeded the length limit of the UK Singles chart.

Notes[link]