This is a list of aviation-related events from 1925.
Events In the United Kingdom, the first Royal Auxiliary Air Force squadrons are formed. The Eberhart Steel Products Company of Buffalo, New York, forms an aircraft design and manufacturing subsidiary, the Eberhart Aeroplane and Motor Company. Summer 1925 – Two Breguet 19 G.R. aircraft owned by the Japanese Asahi Shimbun newspaper group fly from Tokyo, Japan, to Paris, France.
January January 1 – The French airline CIDNA is formed.
February February 3–4 – In a Breguet 19 G.R., the French aviators Henri Lemaître and Ludovic Arrachart set a world distance record, flying from Étampes, Paris, France, to Villa Cisneros, Spanish Sahara. February 12 – Sabena establishes the first airline connection between Belgium and the Belgian Congo, pioneering a long-haul route to Léopoldville. February 24 – Joseph Leonard Maries White, a Canadian World War I flying ace credited with 22 victories, dies in a crash following a mid-air collision with another aircraft at Camp Borden, Ontario, Canada.
March March 1 – T. Claude Ryan and Benjamin Franklin "Frank" Mahoney establish a scheduled air service — Los Angeles-San Diego Air Line — between San Diego and Los Angeles, California. (originally published in Aviation History. It is the first scheduled passenger air service operated wholly over the contiguous United States and throughout the year. March 2 – Huff Daland Dusters is established in Macon, Georgia, in the United States as the world's first aerial crop dusting company. It will become Delta Air Service in 1928, then Delta Air Corporation in 1930, and then Delta Air Lines in 1945. March 22 – A Junkers F 13 flying in the Soviet Union from Tiflis to Sukhumi catches fire in mid-air and crashes, killing all five people aboard. The dead include the high-ranking Soviet security officials Georgi Atarbekov, Alexander Miasnikian, and Solomon Mogilevsky. Eyewitnesses report seeing people jump to their deaths to escape the burning plane.
April April The first in-flight movie is shown on a scheduled flight: First National's The Lost World on Imperial Airways service from London to the Continent. The Prix Solex, a competition in France offering a prize of 55,000 FF requiring a flight of about from Paris to Rouen using less than of gasoline and oil, takes place. Maurice Drouhin wins in a Salmson 3 Ad-powered Farman Aviette. April 13 - The first scheduled air freight service begins in the United States. April 15 - Ukvozdukhput/Ukrainian Airways begins services in Ukraine. April 19 – T. Claude Ryan and Benjamin Franklin "Frank" Mahoney found Ryan Airline Company at Dutch Flats Airport in San Diego, California. April 21 – Italian aviator Francesco de Pinedo and his mechanic Ernesto Campanelli depart Rome on a 201-day flight in the SIAI S.16ter flying boat Gennariello that will take them to Australia and Japan before they return to Rome in November.
May May 1 - The Imperial Japanese Army Air Corps is established under the command of Lieutenant General Kinichi Yasumitsu. It has 3,700 personnel and about 500 aircraft. May 4 – Italian legislation sets the peacetime strength of the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force) at 182 squadrons, with 78 of them assigned directly to the air force, 69 to the Italian Royal Army, and 35 to the Regia Marina (Italian Royal Navy). The army and navy are given temporary command of the squadrons assigned to them for the length of time it takes to train them for wartime operations.Gooch, John, Mussolini and His Generals: The Armed Forces and Fascist Foreign Policy, 1922-1940, Cambridge, U.K: Cambridge University Press, 2007, , p. 58. May 12 – Hans-Georg von der Marwitz, a German World War I flying ace credited with 15 aerial victories, dies in a plane crash. May 23 – Rudolf Rienau, a German World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories, dies in a flying accident at Staaken, Germany.
June June 10 – Italian aviator Francesco de Pinedo and his mechanic, Ernesto Campanelli, arrive at Melbourne, Australia, after a 50-day flight from Rome in the SIAI S.16ter flying boat Gennariello during which they have made 27 intermediate stops without serious mishaps. They will remain in Melbourne for 36 days before continuing their journey through Australia and to Japan. June 13 – French Navy aviation pioneer Capitaine de frégate (Frigate Captain) Paul Teste and Lieutenant de vaisseau (Ship-of-the-Line Lieutenant) Amanrich attempt a familiarization flight in the Amiot 120 prototype bomber they plan to use in a future Paris-to-Karachi flight, taking off from Villacoublay airfield at Villacoublay, France. Their plane strikes a tree just after takeoff, crashes, and bursts into flames. Amanrich is unharmed, but Teste suffers horrible burns and dies in agony at a hospital in Versailles a few hours later. June 20 – Off New England, a United States Coast Guard Vought UO-1 becomes the first aircraft to pursue a rum-runner. June 24 – Off New England, a U.S. Coast Guard Vought UO-1 becomes the first aircraft to assist in the capture of a rum-runner.
July July 1 – The United States Post Office Department inaugurates 24-hour transcontinental air mail service. Previously, mailplanes had not flown at night and trains had carried the mail during the hours of darkness, but the completion of a coast-to-coast system of lighted beacons has allowed night flying to become practical along the entire route. The day-and-night flying allows the transcontinental air mail service to deliver mail notably faster than train-only service for the first time.Jensen, Richard, "The Suicide Club," Aviation History, May 2017, pp. 63, 64, 65. July 13 - Western Air Express, the future Western Airlines, is founded. It will begin flight operations in April 1926. July 16 – Italian aviator Francesco de Pinedo and his mechanic Ernesto Campanelli resume their flight from Italy to East Asia and the Western Pacific, flying from Melbourne to Sydney, Australia, in the SIAI S.16ter flying boat Gennariello after a 36-day stay in Melbourne. They had left Rome 86 days earlier and made 28 intermediate stops before arriving in Sydney. They will remain in Sydney for 21 days before continuing their journey through Australia and to Japan.
August The Italian government's Commission for Aeronautics is replaced by a new Ministry of Aeronautics. The Regia Aeronautica (Royal Air Force), formerly subordinate to the commission, is subordinated to the new ministry.Gardiner, Robert, ed., Conway′s All the World′s Fighting Ships 1906-1921, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1985, , p. 252. August 6 – Italian aviator Francesco de Pinedo and his mechanic Ernesto Campanelli resume their flight from Italy to East Asia and the Western Pacific, departing Sydney, Australia, in the SIAI S.16ter flying boat Gennariello on their way to Tokyo. August 7–9 – Flying in France on the route Chartres–Étampes–Toussus-le-Noble–Chartres, the French aviators Jules Landry and Maurice Drouhin set a closed-circuit distance record of in 45 hours 11 minutes 59 seconds in a Farman F.62. August 31 – Two United States Navy Naval Aircraft Factory PN-9 flying boats take off from San Francisco, California, in an attempt to make the first transpacific flight from North America to the Hawaiian Islands, planning to arrive on September 1 after an overnight flight expected to last about 26 hours. The first PN-9 to depart loses oil pressure and is forced down from San Francisco; the destroyer rescues its crew and tows it back to port. The second plane to depart, piloted by Commander John Rodgers, is forced down in the Pacific Ocean on September 1 after flying nonstop. Rodgers and his three crewmen then sail the aircraft as a boat farther toward Hawaii before the U.S. Navy submarine picks them up north of Kauai on September 10. Although unsuccessful, their flight sets a world nonstop distance record for Class C seaplanes which will stand until 1930."Flight to Hawaiian Islands," in James Langland (ed.), The Chicago Daily News Almanac and Year-Book for 1926. Chicago: Chicago Daily News Company, 1925; pg. 629.
September The Czechoslovak Avia BH-21R racer wins the Czechoslovak national air races, covering the course at an average speed of . September 1 – After modifications, the aircraft carrier returns to service with the Royal Navy as the first ship ever to be equipped with a round-down Located at the after end of her flight deck, the round-down, which improves air flow and gives pilots landing aboard Furious greater confidence, will become standard on aircraft carriers. September 2 – The U.S. Navy dirigible breaks up in a storm and crashes near Caldwell, Ohio, killing 14 of her crew. Twenty-nine crew members survive. September 3 – The Spanish Navy aviation ship Dédalo, the only ship ever built capable of operating airships, balloons, and seaplanes, accompanies a Spanish fleet to Morocco to participate in the Rif War. Her aircraft and one of the airships she operates support the Spanish campaign to capture Ajir, which falls on October 2. She is the only European aviation ship to see combat between the end of the Russian Civil War and the beginning of World War II. September 15 – The Bolivian airline Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano is founded. September 23 – The Bolivian airline Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano begins flight operations, flying a Junkers F.13 which takes off from Cochabamba, Bolivia. September 26 – Italian aviator Francesco de Pinedo and his mechanic Ernesto Campanelli arrive in Tokyo in the SIAI S.16ter flying boat Gennariello after a 58-day flight from Sydney, Australia, during which they have made 19 intermediate stops. They had departed Rome 158 days earlier and made 48 intermediate stops, including lengthy stays in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia, on their way to Tokyo, all without an engine change or any serious mishaps. September 28 – The first Ford National Reliability Air Tour begins. Of the 20 entrants, 17 start, taking off from Ford Airport in Dearborn, Michigan, to fly a course with stops in 10 cities.Flight – The Aircraft Engineer and Airships, "The Ford Reliability Tour" November 26, 1925 The participants include Walter Beech and Earl Rowland. The tour cross-markets Ford Motor Company and its Stout Metal Airplane Division and showcases Henry Ford's new interest in aviation. On September 27, The New York Times had reported, "The object of the tour is to 'sell' aviation by proving that airplanes can carry freight and passengers long distances safely and quickly."
October October 3 or 30 – The Royal Navy cruiser Vindictive launches a Fairey IIID floatplane by catapult. It is the first catapult launch of a standard British naval aircraft from a ship at sea. October 4 – The first Ford National Reliability Air Tour concludes with its return to Ford Airport in Dearborn, Michigan. Entrants have flown a in ten legs, with stops in Chicago and Moline, Illinois; Des Moines, Iowa; Omaha, Nebraska; St. Joseph, Kansas City, and Missouri; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio. Eleven entrants — including Walter Beech and Earl Rowland — receive perfect scores. The tour cross-markets Ford Motor Company and its Stout Metal Airplane Division, showcases Henry Ford's new interest in aviation, and demonstrates that airplanes can carry cargo and passengers safely and quickly over long distances. October 15 – The British airship R.33 successfully launches a de Havilland DH.53 Humming Bird piloted by Flying Officer Campbell MacKenzie-Richards and Flying Officer Riggs in flight. October 16 – The Air Union Farman F.60 Goliath F-HMFU Île de France crashes at Wadhurst, East Sussex, England, during a scheduled passenger flight from England to Paris, France. Three of the six people aboard die and two suffer injuries.