-
1485
Da Vinci's machine
Leonardo Da Vinci, a renaissance man, begins to study the flight of birds and conceptualizes flight machines. This was the year he drew the plans for said machine. It is significant because it was the first real studies of flight. It contributed to the idea that a human could take to the skies -
First Air Balloon
The Montgolfier brothers of France create the worlds first air balloon. A sheep, a rooster, and a duck took flight and traveled 6,000 feet in the air. After successful testing, the first manned flight took place in this year. It contributed to the heights of human flights. -
Creation of the Glider
A man by the name of George Cayley invents gliders. He added a tail for extra stability, and experimented with a biplane design for extra strength. His additions and improvements to gliders contribute heavily to modern planes, such as how he made wings that had air flow properly over them. -
First Manned Glider
A German engineer, Otto Lilienthal studied aerodynamics and was able to produce the first manned glider that could fly long distances (long distances at this time was less than one thousand feet!). He would write a book in 1889 that would inspire the Wright brothers first aeronautical tests. His studies of aerodynamics and flight contributed greatly to moving aviation forward. -
First Powered Unmanned Aircraft
Samuel Langley discovers the importance of power in an aircraft. He created a model aircraft that utilized power which flew 3/4ths of a mile before it crashed. Later attempts at building full scale models failed, but the idea of power contributed greatly to flight. -
The Wright Brothers
Wilbur and Orville Wright produce the worlds first fully-functional, powered aircraft. Their flight lasted just under a minute, but was successfully sustained and controlled. They would go on to invent flight controls which allowed movement of the aircraft to maintain stable flight. This is the most significant part of aviation history as it opened up the way to the first aircraft of the world. -
Conceptualization of the Jet Engine
Frank Whittle creates the prototype to the jet engine. His idea was a turbojet that would use turbines to produce thrust, instead of internal combustion engines. This is hugely significant as jet engines were much faster and much more efficient in flight and its contribution is still felt today. -
First Jet Airceaft
German scientists produce the first aircraft with jet power. The Heinkel 178 is the predecessor to jet powered aircraft produced in Germany, and was a big step in jet engines. It contributed to jet-aided flight. -
The X-15
The X-15 is produced by the US Air Force and NASA and achieves hyper sonic speed, which is 5 times the speed of sound. It set speed and altitude records. It contributed to the study of rockets and the effects of high-altitude flight and re-entry on a man. -
Advancements in Commercial Aircraft
Joseph Frederick Sutter develops the Boeing 747. Arguably the most important commercial aircraft ever built. The 747 is a large, 4 engine aircraft that is capable of carrying a large number of passengers at an impressive range. It is significant because it showed how efficient air travel could get. -
Supersonic Travel
The Concorde was created by British aircraft manufacturers. This is a passenger aircraft that was built to fly at 2 times the speed of sound. It flew for 27 years and could fly from New York to London in 3 hours and 15 minutes, but was too expensive to be commercially viable. It is significant because it is the most unique commercial aircraft ever built, able to reach places in incredible speeds, and showed what commercial travel was capable of. -
Suborbital Travel
The VSS Unity is a ship that has been developed by Virgin Galactic that is suited to take passengers on a Suborbital, Supersonic plane. The Aircraft flies high in the atmosphere at extremely fast speeds, and is seemingly the next major advancement of commercial travel. Flights are expected to take place this year at $250,000 per ticket.
