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Invention of the Kite
the Chinese General Han Hsin of the Han Dynasty flew a kite over the walls of a city he was attacking to measure how far his army would have to tunnel to reach past the defenses. -
Octave Chanute
Octave Chanute first became interested in aviation during a visit to Europe in 1875. -
The Wright brothers
The Wright brothers first flight was in Kitty Hawk, Arizona. -
Edward Vernon Rickenbacker
Eddie Rikenbacker shot down 26 german planes! -
Charles Lindbergh
Lindbergh made the world's first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic. Early on May 20, 1927, he took off in The Spirit of St. Louis, traveling 3,610 miles from Long Island, N.Y., to Paris, France. He landed 33.5 hours later to a mob of 100,000 ecstatic Parisians. “Lucky Lindy” instantly became an international hero for his daring flight.Charles' son also got kiddnapedwhen he was 4 -
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart was the first female to fly the Atlantic solo. -
Chuck Yeager
Chuck Yeager became the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound. His successful attempt to break the sound barrier required enormous courage. -
Hovercrafts
Hovercrafts can drive, float, and fly! -
First (Russian) Man in Space
Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space. He was sent by the Russians on the Vostok 1 space craft. He became the soviet hero and this advanced the Russians in the space race. -
Neil Armstrong
Neil A. Armstrong joined NACA as a search pilot at the Louis Laboratory in Cleveland and later transferred to the NACA High Speed Flight Station at Edwards AFB, California. He was a project pilot on many pioneering high speed Aircraft, including the 4,000 M.P.H. X-15. He has flown over 200 different modules of aircraft, including jets, rockets, helicopters, and gliders. In 1962 to astronaut status. In 1969, Armstrong was commander of Apollo 11, the first manned lunar mission, and gained the dist -
Olive Ann Beech
In 1980, Olive received the prestigious Wright Brother's Memorial Trophy and was recognized as the first "Lady of General Aviation" for her 31 years of leadership at Beech Aircraft. She was inducted into the Aviation Hall of Fame in 1981 -
invention of the B2 bomber
The first B2 bomber was first publicly displayed on November 22, 1988, when it was rolled out of its hangar at Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale, California. In 1989, the B-2 was successfully flown, performing favorably. Although the aircraft had a wingspan of nearly half a football field, its radar signal was as negligible as that of a bird. The B-2 also successfully evaded infrared, sound detectors, and the visible eye. -
invention of the fighter jet
Mikhail Simonov, designer of the iconic fighter jets Su-27 and Su-30, has been at the forefront of aircraft design for more than 50 years. To celebrate his 80th birthday this month, we hear from the man who gave Russia the edge in aerial combat -
Phyllis Fleet
Phyllis Fleet was the daughter of prominent aircraft builder Major R.H. Fleet. Her introduction to flight was in 1927 by Barney Oldfield in Texas, who showed her every known stunt and Phyllis was hooked. She returned to Buffalo, New York where the Fleet Airplanes were made and learned to fly.
