History of the early airplane By jwiltzen 1903 The first airplane The Wright brothers invent and fly the first airplane Link text 1939 The first jet aircraft The German Heinkel He 178 was the first jet aircraft Link 1947 The first aircraft the exceed the speed of sound The Bell X-1 was the first aircraft to exceed the speed of sound Link text 1952 The first jet airliner The de Havilland Comet was the first jet airliner Link 1958 The first widely successful commercial jet The boeing 707 was the first successful commercial jet in commercial service for more than 50 years form 1958 to 2013 Link text