May 14 - Charles Furnas becomes the first passenger in an aeroplane in the United States, piloted by Wilbur Wright. Wilbur Wright flew Charles W. Furnas for 22 seconds in the Wright 1905 Flyer, modified with seats for pilot and passenger. Shortly after, Orville Wright flew Furnas for four minutes.
Henri Farman is reported1 to have flown with a Mlle P. Van Pottelsberghe in Ghent Belgium in late May. If correct she would be the first ever woman passenger in an aeroplane.
July 8 - Thérèse Peltier officially becomes the first woman to fly in an aeroplane. She is a passenger on a flight made by Léon Delagrange at Turin. However, this flight may not have been fully controlled.2 See also May and October.
August
August 8 - Wilbur Wright makes his first flights at the Hunaudieres racetrack at Le Mans, France. The Wright Flyer used for this and later flights had been shipped to Le Havre by Orville the previous year. It had been seriously damaged by custom officials when it arrived in France and uncrated. Wilbur spent the whole summer of 1908 rebuilding the machine and getting it into flying condition. Wilbur's flights in this machine will have a profound effect on European aviation during the following months.
August 21 - Wilbur Wright moves to Camp d'Auvours, 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) east of Le Mans, where all his flights for the remainder of the year will be based.3
September
September 9 - Orville Wright flies 1 hour 3 minutes and 15 seconds.
September 17 - Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge becomes the first person killed in a powered airplane and the first military aviation casualty when Orville Wright crashes his two-passenger plane during military tests at Fort Myer in Virginia. Orville Wright is severely injured.
Thérèse Peltier makes a flight of 200 metres at a height of approximately 2.5 meters at the Military Square in Turin, Italy. Photos of Peltier with the aeroplane are published on 27 September.1 This is the first unofficial flight by a female aviator.
October 7 - Wilbur Wright flies with Mrs. Hart O. Berg 4 as passenger at Camp d'Auvours.3 This is the first fully controlled flight with a woman passenger.24
October 14 - Henry Farman makes the first cross-country flight in a power-driven aeroplane, from Bouy to Reims 27 kilometres (17 mi) in 20 minutes.
December 18 - Wilbur Wright at Camp d'Auvours, 11 kilometres east of Le Mans. flies 99.8 kilometres (62.0 mi) in 1 hour 54 minutes 2/5 sec. rising to 110 m (360 ft) - a new world record.3
December 31 - Wilbur Wright wins a prize of FF 20,000 from Michelin for the longest flight of the year (a world record) - 123.2 kilometres (76.6 mi) in 2 hours 18 minutes and 33 1/5 seconds from Camp d'Auvours.3
First flights
March
March 12 - AEA Red Wing, flying from the surface of Keuka Lake near Hammondsport, New York. Flight distance is 97.2 metres (319 ft) but ends with the aircraft collapsing to the ground, leaving the pilot slightly bruised. This is the first public demonstration of a powered aircraft flight in the United States.
