Aviation has been a part of Norwegian society since the early twentieth century.

Early attempts

In the early days of Norwegian aviation the Norwegian enthusiasts lacked an engine and were therefore unable to perform real flights. The first engine powered aircraft was ordered during the world's first air show in

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

and came to

Kristiania Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022, an ...

in December 1909. It was purchased by Wilhelm Henie and was a

Voisin Voisin (French for "neighbour") may refer to: Companies *Avions Voisin, the French automobile company :* Voisin Laboratoire, a car manufactured by Avions Voisin * Voisin (aircraft), the French aircraft manufacturer * Voisin, a Lyon-based chocol ...

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

. The plane was however so damaged by a snowstorm that it would never fly. In 1910 engineer Einar Lilloe Gran constructed the first motorised aircraft in Norway. It had a wing span of 10 meters and cost to build. There were made several attempts to make the aircraft airborne, but without any significant results. 1925 Route Map of Scandinavia and the Baltic States

1925 Route Map of Scandinavia and the Baltic States

Norwegian aviator

Tryggve Gran Jens Tryggve Herman Gran (20 January 1888 – 8 January 1980) was a Norwegian aviator, polar explorer and author. He was the skiing expert on the 1910–13 Scott Antarctic Expedition and was the first person to fly across the North Sea from ...

(1889–1980) became a skilled pilot at

Louis Blériot Louis Charles Joseph Blériot ( , also , ; 1 July 1872 – 1 August 1936) was a French aviator, inventor, and engineer. He developed the first practical headlamp for cars and established a profitable business manufacturing them, using much of t ...

's aviation school in Paris, and on 30 July 1914, became the first pilot in history to cross the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

. He took off from

Cruden Bay Cruden Bay is a small village in Scotland, on the north coast of the Bay of Cruden in Aberdeenshire, north of Aberdeen. Just west of Slains Castle, Cruden Bay is said to have been the site of a battle in which the Scots under King Malcolm II ...

, Scotland, and landed about 4½ hours later at Jæren, Norway, flying a Blériot XI-2

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

. The first confirmed flight was by the Swedish baron

Carl Cederström Friherre Carl Gustav Alexander Cederström (5 March 1867 – 29 June 1918) was a pioneering Swedish aviator, known as "the flying Baron". Biography He was born on 5 March 1867 to the Baron Anders Cederström and the Baroness Maria Cecilia W ...

on 14 October 1910. A 23-minute flight over Oslo with a top speed of 52 knots. The first motorized flight was made by Hans Dons in the HNoMS Start on 1 June 1912 from Horten to Øra close to Fredrikstad. Einar Sem-Jacobsen entered the first flight in a military mission at Elverum 1 September 1912 with Ganger Rolf, one of two Farman Longhorn that initiated the Army Air Forces the same year. Ganger Rolf and Njaal were both built in France and based at

Kjeller airport Kjeller Airfield (; ) is a military and general aviation aerodrome located in Kjeller in Lillestrøm in Akershus, Akershus county, Norway. Situated on the outskirts of Lillestrøm, it is east northeast of Oslo, making it the aerodrome closest to ...

- Norway oldest and one of the world oldest aerodromes.

and Norwegian military airpower celebrated in 2012 100 years of flying in Norway with successful airshows at Kjevik (Kristiansand),

Sola Sola may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Albums * ''Saints of Los Angeles'', a 2008 album by Mötley Crüe * ''Sola'', an album by Olga Tañón * ''Sola'', an album by Zayda y los Culpables Songs * Sola (Becky G song), "Sola" (Becky G song ...

(

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

), Bodø,

Andøya , , or is the northernmost island in the Vesterålen archipelago, situated about inside the Arctic Circle. Andøya is located in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The main population centres on the island include the villages of ...

and the main impressive event in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

1 September - along with several smaller events.

Organized aviation

The public agency of civil aviation in Norway is

Avinor Avinor AS is a state-owned aksjeselskap, limited company that operates most of the civil airports in Norway. The Norwegian state, via the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications, controls 100 percent of the share capital. Avinor wa ...

. It was organized as a directorate from 1947, but this was preceded by an office organized under the

Norwegian Ministry of Defence The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Defence () is a Norwegian government ministry in charge of the formation and implementation of national security and defence policy, and for the overall management and control of the activities of subordinate age ...

, created in 1920.

Widerøe Widerøes Flyveselskap AS, trading as Widerøe, is a Norwegian airline, and the largest regional airline operating in the Nordic countries. The airline's fleet of 48 aircraft includes 45 De Havilland Dash 8 turboprops as well as 3 Embraer 1 ...

(Widerøe's Flyveselskap) is among the older existing aviation companies in Norway, established in 1934. It had its roots in two smaller companies that were active in the early 1930s. Pioneers during this time include

Viggo Widerøe Viggo Widerøe (13 August 1904 – 8 January 2002) was a Norwegian aviator and entrepreneur. He founded Widerøe's Flyveselskap, Norway's third largest airline, in 1934. The airline is still in operation today. Personal life Viggo Widerøe was ...

, Halvor Bjørneby,

Helge Skappel Helge Sommerfelt Skappel (5 September 1907 – 17 October 2001) was a Norwegian aviator, photographer and cartographer. He was among the early aviation company owners in Norway, and later became known as a photographer in Widerøe from 1934 to 1 ...

, Leiv Brun, Ditlef Smith and Erik Engnæs. Both

Scandinavian Airlines System The Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), commonly known as Scandinavian Airlines, is the Flag carrier, national airline of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It is part of SAS Group and is headquartered in Solna Municipality, Solna, Sweden. Including ...

and

Braathens Braathens may refer to: Airlines Active * Braathens Regional Airlines, Swedish virtual airline operating wet lease flights primarily for Scandinavian Airlines * Braathens Regional Airways, Swedish ACMI operator for its sister company Braathe ...

were established in 1946. Braathens no longer exists, having been merged with SAS as

SAS Braathens SAS Braathens was the name of Norway's largest airline, created by a merger between Scandinavian Airlines' Norwegian division and Braathens ASA, Braathens in 2004. On 1 June 2007, the airline was integrated into mainline SAS, and changed its nam ...

. A newer, large company is

Norwegian Air Shuttle Norwegian Air Shuttle Aksjeselskap, ASA, trading as Norwegian, is a Norway, Norwegian Low-cost carrier, low-cost airline and Scandinavia's second-largest airline, behind Scandinavian Airlines. It is the fourth largest low-cost carrier in Europe ...

Current

The main airport in Norway is

Oslo Airport, Gardermoen Oslo Airport () , alternatively referred to as Oslo Gardermoen Airport or simply Gardermoen, is an international airport serving Oslo, the capital and most populous city of Norway. The airport is the second largest in Scandinavia and the Nord ...

. It replaced

Oslo Airport, Fornebu Oslo Airport, Fornebu was the primary international airport serving Oslo and Eastern Norway from 1 June 1939 to 7 October 1998. It was then replaced by Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, and the area has since been redeveloped. The airport was located at ...

, which was the main airport from 1 June 1939 to 7 October 1998. The longest domestic non-stop flight is

Scandinavian Airlines The Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), commonly known as Scandinavian Airlines, is the national airline of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It is part of SAS Group and is headquartered in Solna, Sweden. Including its subsidiaries SAS Link and ...

Longyearbyen Longyearbyen (, , "Longyear Town") is the world's northernmost settlements, northernmost settlement with a population greater than 1,000, and the capital and the largest inhabited area of Svalbard. It stretches along the foot of the left bank ( ...

service, well over 2000 kilometres. SAS Scandinavian Airlines, based in Norway,

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, has a network that reaches many countries across the world. Another major Norwegian airline is

References

External links

Royal Norwegian Air Force historyNorwegian Aviation Museum
{{World topic, Aviation in, title=

Aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

around the World, noredlinks=yes