Pilot timeline

first airplane

Dec 17, 1903

Wilbur and Orville Wright, the Wright brothers had invented the first successful airplane

First Take off from a Ship

1910

Eugene Ely pilots a Curtiss Biplane on the first takeoff from a ship the ship was anchored down off the coast of california.

First war with Planes

1911

Powered aircraft were first used in war in 1911, by the Italians against the Turks near Tripoli, but it was not until the Great War of 1914–18 that their use became widespread.

First metal airplane

1917

German professor of mechanics makes the Junkers J4, an all-metal airplane built largely of a relatively lightweight aluminum.

First Airplane Crossing of the North Atlantic

1919

U.S. Navy aviators in Curtiss NC-4 flying boats, led Lt. Cdr. Albert C. Read, make the first airplane crossing of the North Atlantic, flying from Newfoundland to London with stops in the Azores and Lisbon.

Passenger service across the English Channel introduced

1919

Britain and France introduce passenger service across the English Channel, flying between London and Paris. 1919 the first nonstop transatlantic flight from Newfoundland to Ireland.

Introduction of lightweight, air-cooled radial engines

1925

The introduction of a new generation of lightweight, air-cooled radial engines revolutionizes aeronautics, making bigger, faster planes possible.

First nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic

1927

On May 21, Charles Lindbergh completes the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic, traveling 3,600 miles from New York to Paris in a Ryan Monoplane

First US international airport

1928

In the United States, Douglas Municipal Airport in Arizona became the first international airport of the Americas in 1928. The precursors to international

Douglas introduces the 12-passenger twinengine

1933

Douglas introduces the 12-passenger twin-engine DC-1, designed by engineer Arthur Raymond a key requirement is that the plane can take off, fully loaded, if one engine goes out.

First transpacific mail service

1935

Pan American makes the first transpacific mail service, between San Francisco and Manila, on November 22, and the first transpacific passenger service in October the following year.

First jet engine

1937

Jet engines designed independently by Britain’s Frank Whittle and Germany’s Hans von Ohain make their first test runs. Two years later, on August 27, the first jet aircraft, the Heinkel HE 178, takes off, powered by von Ohain’s HE S-3 engine.

First practical singlerotor helicopters

1939

Russian emigre Igor Sikorsky develops the VS-300 helicopter for the U.S. Army

Airplane Radar

1939

The British develop airplane-detecting radar just in time for the Battle of Britain. To know where other planes are.

First jet-powered commercial aircraft

1949

The prototype De Havilland Comet makes first flight on July 27. Three years later the Comet starts regular passenger service as the first jet-powered commercial aircraft, flying between London and South Africa.

B-52 bomber

1950

Boeing makes the B-52 bomber. It has eight turbojet engines, intercontinental range, and a capacity of 500,000 pounds making it a really strong plane.

Boeing 747

1969

Boeing conducts the first flight of a wide-body, turbofan-powered commercial airliner, the 747, one of the most successful aircraft ever produced and is still used today with many airlines.

Biggest airport in the US

1980

Renamed for former Atlanta mayor William B. Hartsfield, who did much to promote air travel, the airport reopened on September 21, 1980, on-time and under budget. It was designed to accommodate up to 55 million passengers per year and covered 2.5 million square feet.

When did flying become popular

1990

at the end of the 1950s, America's airlines were bringing a new level of speed, comfort, and efficiency to the traveling public.

First aircraft produced through computer-aided

1995

Boeing debuts the twin-engine 777, the biggest two-engine jet ever to fly and the first aircraft produced through computer-aided design and engineering.