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First successful airplane
Wilbur and Orville Wright (aka The Wright Brothers) invented and created the first successful human controlled airplane. At best, they covered 852 feet in 59 seconds. -
Ludwig Prandtl presents paper
Ludwig Prandtl, a German professor, presents an extremely important paper about the history of aerodynamics. In his paper, he mentioned the "boundary layer", which is the molecular layer of air on the surface of the airplane wing. This greatly affected the airplane because aerodynamics plays a huge role in aviation. -
The first automatic pilot
Lawrence Sperry demonstrates an automatic gyrostabilizer in New York. A gyroscope had sensors that kept the aircraft level and traveled in a straight line without aid from a human pilot. -
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World War I
During World War I, newer technology was discovered which allowed higher speed, higher altitude, and greater maneurability. This allowed for great improvements in aerodynamics, structure and design of the airplane. -
The Junker J4 was introduced
Hugo Junkers, a German professor, introduced the Junkers J4, an all metal airplane built from a lightweight aluminum alloy known as duralumin. -
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Introduction of lightweight, air-cooled engines
The new generation of these lightweight and air-cooled engines made the creation of bigger and faster planes possible. -
First practical radar
A British scientist, Sir Robert Watson, made the first radar for meterological purposes. In World War II, it was used to detect opposing planes and to intercept bombers. -
First transpacific mail service
Pan American uses the first transpacific mail service between San Francisco and Manila on November 22. -
Jet engines designed
Britain’s Frank Whittle and Germany’s Hans von Ohain created independent designed jet engines. They also went through test runs and later used in aircrafts such as Heinkel HE 178 -
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World War II
Just like it did in the previous World War, World War II spurred innovation, including the creation of new aircrafts. -
The first jet-powered commerical aircraft introduced
The Comet makes its first flight on July 27. 3 years later, the Comet made regular passenger service from London to South Africa. -
Boeing 747
Boeing constructs the first flight of a wide body and turbofan powered airliner which allowed it to be one of the most successful aircrafts in the world. -
Voyager circumnavigates the globe
Burt Rutan, an aircraft designer, constructs Voyager and flew 26,000 miles nonstop in 9 days. It had 2 centerline engines and weighed less than 2000 pounds. -
The Airplane and Space Travel.
In the future, the Airplane could be used for space travel, such as trips for people who would like to feel zero-gravity and people who would like to go to space and come back.
