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Zeppelin LZ-1
Germany: The Zeppelin LZ-1 project was initiated in June 1898 and completed in July 1900. It was executed by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin. Construction of the LZ-1 took place in Southern Germany for the purpose of military use to be adopted by the army and navy. -
Wright Brothers Flyer III
USA: The Flyer III project took place between December 1904 and June 1905. It was executed by the Wright Brothers, Wilbur and Orville Wright. The Flyer III was rebuilt from Flyers I and II using design improvements that were made after the failures on Flyers I and II. The third attempt achieved much greater flight performance and formed the basis for aerodynamic principles required for future flight. -
Hindenburg LZ-129
Germany: The Hindenburg LZ-129 project commenced in 1930 and was completed by 1936. It was executed by the Zeppelin Company after the success of the Graf Zeppelin airship. The Hindenburg LZ-129 was built for the purpose of intercontinental commercial air travel crossing the North Atlantic and was the first to do so. It serviced round trips between Germany and the United States. -
Electronic Flight Instrumentation System (EFIS): Aritificial Intelligence
Switzerland: The project was executed between 1936 and 1943 by Revue Thommen, founder of Thommen Aircraft Equipment, Switzerland. It developed electronic instrumentation for Swiss Army aircraft for more accurate information on flight speed, altitude and heading information. This allowed aircraft to fly in poor visibility and formed the basis for flight instrumentation on commercial aircraft in future. -
Messerschmitt Me 262
Germany: The Me 262 project ran between 1939 and 1944. The project was executed by the Messerschmitt and Heinkel Aircraft companies together. It was designed to be the first bomber powered by jet propulsion and was capable of a ground speed of 850 km/hr, with the objective of saving Germany in World War II. The engine design paved the way for jet propulsion in commercial aviation. -
de Havilland Comet
England: Initiated and executed by the de Havilland Aircraft Company, UK between 1943 and 1952. Designed by Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, it was the first jet airliner, and the first aircraft to introduce commercial aviation powered by jet propulsion. It was also the first aircraft to use a pressurization system for high altitude flight. It was funded additionally by the British Government to stay ahead of the world in aviation. -
Concorde
England & France: The Concorde project ran between 1956 and 1976 and was executed by both the British Aircraft Corporation (GB) and Aerospatiale (France). Additionally, it was jointly funded by the British and French Governments. The aim of the project was to create a commercial passenger aircraft that was capable of sustained supersonic flight. Concorde and enabled trans Atlantic crossings in just over 3 hours. The aircraft was in service from 1976 to 2001. -
Fly By Wire (FBW): Artificial Intelligence
USA: This project was executed during the 1960's and 1970's by NASA. The Fly by Wire technology was developed using Neil Armstrong's design that was implemented on space craft at the time. Control surfaces on the exterior of the plane no longer needed linking by physical cables, reducing space requirements for components with increased passenger comfort when horizontally deployed in the commercial aviation industry. -
Airbus A380: Artificial Intelligence
France: The project was initiated in 2001 and was completed by 2006. It was executed by Airbus and was first introduced by Singapore Airlines in 2007. The Airbus A380 was the first commercial aircraft to use Integrated Modular Avionics (IMS), a system used only in the military prior to this. IMS includes advanced flight management systems that incorporates the entire functions of the aircraft and is monitored and controlled electronically. These systems are now common in all modern aircraft. -
Solar Impluse II
USA: The project began in 2011 and ended in 2014. It was executed by the Solar Impulse Foundation. It was the first solar powered aircraft to fly around the world - 40,000 kilometres without using a single drop of fuel. It was based on the Solar Impulse 1, but had major design improvements over the Solar Impulse 1. -
Airbus E Fan - X
UK, France & Germany: This project was initiated in 2017 and is expected to be completed by 2020. The execution is a collaborative effort by Airbus, Siemens and Rolls Royce, the Airbus E Fax - X is a joint effort in order to create the world's first hybrid passenger aircraft. It will be planned around the existing British Aerospace RJ100 aircraft. -
Boeing Electric Freighter: Artificial Intelligence
USA: Initiated in 2017, this project will be executed by Boeing who aims to design and produce a cargo carrying aircraft that is significantly smaller than existing cargo aircraft today. It will also be lighter, allowing it to be flown with electric propulsion combined with unmanned operating capability,
