Airplane timeline

First powered airplane

1903

Orville and Wilbur Wright make the first powered and controlled airplane.

First solo trans-Atlantic flight

1927

Charles A. Lindbergh is the first person to ever complete a solo, non-stop, trans-Atlantic flight. Going from Long Island, New York to Paris, France.

First jet engine

1930

British inventor Frank Whittle creates the first-ever jet engine.

First jet propelled aircraft

1939

The Heinkel He 178 was the first ever jet-propelled aircraft to fly. German pilot Erich Warsitz flew it in 1939.

Sound barrier is broken

1947

U.S. Air force pilot Charles "Chuck" Yeager is the first person to ever break the sound barrier in an aircraft.

First Boeing 747 is flown

1969

Boeing conducts the first flight of a wide-bodied, commercial airliner, the Boeing 747, one of the most successful aircraft ever produced.

First non-stop flight around the world

1986

Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager fly the first non-stop flight around the world, going from California to California.

First solo non-stop flight around the world

2005

Steve Fossett is the first person to ever fly across the world, non-stop, solo.

First fully electric airplane

2019

The world's first fully electric aircraft for commercial flight completes tests in Canada.