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The History of Aviation

By 24acheek

  • First Manned Hot Air Balloon Flight

    First Manned Hot Air Balloon Flight
    The first 'aerostatic' flight in history was an experiment carried out by the Montgolfier brothers at Versailles in 1783. At long last, man could leave the surface of the earth below. 19 September 1783 is a key date in the history of humanity.

  • First Long Distance Hot Air Balloon Flight

    The first long-distance balloon flight, covering 500 miles.

  • First Airship

    First Airship
    The first successful airship was constructed by Henri Giffard of France in 1852. Giffard built a 160-kilogram (350-pound) steam engine capable of developing 3 horsepower, sufficient to turn a large propeller at 110 revolutions per minute.

  • Invention of the Zepplin

    Invention of the Zepplin
    The first Zeppelin airship was designed by Ferdinand, Graf von Zeppelin, a retired German army officer, and made its initial flight from a floating hangar on Lake Constance, near Friedrichshafen, Germany, on July 2, 1900.

  • Wright Brother's First Flight

    Wright Brother's First Flight
    The Wright Flyer made the first sustained flight by a manned heavier-than-air powered and controlled aircraft—an airplane—on December 17, 1903. Invented and flown by brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright, it marked the beginning of the pioneer era of aviation.

  • Charles Lindbergh's Trans-Atlantic Flight

    Charles Lindbergh's Trans-Atlantic Flight
    Lindbergh completed the first solo, nonstop transatlantic flight in history, flying his Spirit of St. Louis from Long Island, New York, to Paris, France.

  • Invention of the Jet Engine

    Invention of the Jet Engine
    British engineer Sir Frank Whittle patented his pioneering design in 1932.

  • American Astronauts Walk on the Moon

    American Astronauts Walk on the Moon
    Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin were the first of 12 human beings to walk on the Moon.

  • Boeing 747

    Boeing 747
    The first flight took place on February 9, 1969, and the 747 was certified in December of that year. It entered service with Pan Am on January 22, 1970. The 747 was the first airplane called a "Jumbo Jet" as the first wide-body airliner.

  • First Space Station Launch

    First Space Station Launch
    The first space station, Soviet Salyut 1, was launched.

  • First commercial flight of the Concorde

    First commercial flight of the Concorde
    In 1976, the Concorde made its first commercial flight. The Concorde flew twice as fast as the speed of sound (1,354 mph at cruise altitude), twice as fast as a normal airliner.

  • First Electric Flight

    First Electric Flight
    In the Canadian city of Richmond, the airline Harbor Air made a complete electrically powered flight at the end of 2019. A seaplane with room for six people made a three-minute flight. This was in the harbor of Richmond, making it the first commercial aircraft ever to run on electricity.