Unknown

History of Aviation

By Matt 908
  • 1000 BCE

    First kites

    First kites
    Kites are invented in China.
  • Period: 1000 BCE to

    History of Aviation

  • 852

    A king tries to fly

    A king tries to fly
    The English King Bladud is apparently killed attempting to fly.
  • 1485

    Da Vinci designs planes

    Da Vinci designs planes
    Leonardo da Vinci designs flying machines.
    Leonardo da Vinci made many drawings of wings and flying machines in the late 1400s. He kept them hidden, and they weren’t discovered until 400 years after his death.

  • Model glider design

    Model glider design
    Bartolomeu Laurenço de Gusmao designs a model glider.

  • Hot air balloon flight

    Hot air balloon flight
    The first untethered manned hot air balloon flight was on 21 November 1783 in Paris, France in a balloon created by the Montgolfier brothers.

  • Biplane design

    Biplane design
    George Cayley’s biplane design is published.

  • Biplane gliders

    Biplane gliders
    Otto Lilienthal flies biplane gliders.

  • First powered flight

    First powered flight
    Orville and Wilbur Wright make the first recorded powered, sustained and controlled flight in a heavier-than-air flying machine.

  • First powered flight in New Zealand

    First powered flight in New Zealand
    Richard Pearse from New Zealand makes his first recorded powered flight of more than a few seconds, though witnesses contend his first flight may have been just before the Wright brothers.

  • First powered flight in Europe

    First powered flight in Europe
    Alberto Santos-Dumont makes the first successful powered flight in Europe.

  • New Zealander launches glider

    New Zealander launches glider
    Kiwi aviator George Bolt’s flying career began in the South Island in 1911. Aged just 18, he launched a glider that he had designed and built himself from the Cashmere Hills above Christchurch. In 1911 Bolt took New Zealand’s first aerial photographs. In 1916 he began work as an apprentice mechanic at the Walsh brothers’ New Zealand Flying School in Auckland.

  • A pilot licence first

    A pilot licence first
    Bessie Coleman became the first African-American to gain a pilot’s license.

  • First trans-Atlantic flight

    First trans-Atlantic flight
    Charles Lindbergh completes the first solo non-stop trans-Atlantic flight.

  • Jet engine invented

    Jet engine invented
    British inventor Frank Whittle invents the jet engine.

  • Record-breaking flights

    Record-breaking flights
    New Zealander Jean Batten makes record-breaking flights around the world.

  • First woman flies across Atlantic

    First woman flies across Atlantic
    Amelia Earhart is the first woman to fly a solo non-stop trans-Atlantic flight.

  • First jet-propelled aircraft

    First jet-propelled aircraft
    Germany’s Heinkel 178 is the first fully jet-propelled aircraft to fly.

  • Germany’s Heinkel 178 is the first fully jet-propelled aircraft to fly

    Germany’s Heinkel 178 is the first fully jet-propelled aircraft to fly
    Seed sowing, top dressing and crop dusting are developed in New Zealand with ex-WW2 pilots and planes. Ossie James, in particular, is noted for his role in this.

  • Aircraft exceeds speed of sound

    Aircraft exceeds speed of sound
    Charles Yeager pilots the first aircraft to exceed the speed of sound in level flight.

  • First supersonic transport flight

    First supersonic transport flight
    First flights of supersonic transport – Soviet TU-144 and Anglo-French Concorde.

  • First Boeing 747 commercial flight

    First Boeing 747 commercial flight
    Boeing 747 makes the first commercial flight

  • Longest human-powered flight

    Longest human-powered flight
    Bryan Allen pedals the Gossamer Albatross across the English Channel, breaking the distance record for human-powered flight.

  • First non-stop flight around world

    First non-stop flight around world
    Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager fly the US ultralight Voyager around the world in a 9-day non-stop flight from California to California.

  • First non-stop world solo flights

    First non-stop world solo flights
    Steve Fossett makes the first non-stop solo flight around the world (2005) and in 2006 lands in England after flying around the world once and crossing the Atlantic twice – a distance of 26,389.3 miles (42,469.46 kilometres).

  • New glider record

    New glider record
    New Zealand pilot Terry Delore breaks the world gliding record by 100 kilometres, travelling a total of 2,400 kilometres within New Zealand.

  • World’s first flying car

    World’s first flying car
    The Transition® by Terrafugia is a roadable aircraft – an aeroplane that can take off and land at any airport and, with the push of a button, fold up its wings and drive down the road.

  • Martin jetpack

    Martin jetpack
    In an unmanned test, the Martin jetpack reaches an altitude of 5,000 feet (1,524 metres). The jetpack, invented by New Zealander, Glenn Martin, is a small flying device for one person. It was named one of the world’s top 10 inventions in 2010.

  • Solar flight around the world

    Solar flight around the world
    Solar Impulse 2 is the first plane powered by a renewable energy source to tour the globe. The Solar Impulse website has further information.

  • Electric aircraft

    Electric aircraft
    In December the world’s first fully-electric aircraft for commercial flight completed a test in Canada.