Flight Records Timeline

By cocunut

  • First Hot-air Balloon

    On November 21st, 1873, human flight was accomplished. A Montolfier hot-air balloon flew 8km across Paris. The balloon was made of linen bags. Hot air coming from a fire beneath the balloon inflated it.

  • Star Of The East

    The Star Of The East was the first recorded flight in Canada at Saint John, New Brunswick.

  • First Glider To Carry An Adult

    As a child, Cayley built and flew model gliders. Forty years later he made a model big enough to carry a small boy several metres above the ground. Then in 1853 he made the first glider to carry an adult. Not much is known about the flight as no records were kept.

  • The First Powered Flight

    Building their own motor and propelleor, the Wright brothers (Orville and Wilbur) of the United States became the first humans to truly fly. The flyer 1 had two 12m wings on each side of the fuselage. The first flight lasted 12 seconds with a distance of 36.5m.

  • First Free-Flying Helicopter

    The first free-flying helicopter was invented in 1907. It was made by Paul Cornu. It was able to hold up it's own weight as well as 13.5 kilograms. It had very little protection and couldn't fly for very long.

  • Elizabeth "Elsie" MacGill

    The first woman aircraft designer in the world. Her Maple Leaf Trainer was the first plane to be completely designed by a woman. It was tested on October 31st.

  • Plane Breaks Sound Barrier

    Not Chuck Noriss, not Chuck Taylors, but yes it is Chuck Yeager. Chuck yeager broke the sound barrier with his plane, the "Bell X-1." He did this shortly after being in a horse racing accident. He still wasn't fully healed, he had broken ribs, arms, legs, and fingers because of his horse. Yet he still broke the sound barrier.

  • First Sputnik Into Space

    Sputnik was the first artificial satelite to be launched into space. It was launched by the Soviet Union on October 4th. It was an 84 kilogram metal sphere that contained a battery and radio transmitter.

  • Alouette 1

    Canda's first scientific satellite launched.

  • American Spacecraft Lands On Moon

    For the first time in history, a human landed on the moon. That human was Neil Armstrong of the United States. He stepped off of the Apollo 11 and stated "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." Another famous quote by him is "Houston, the eagle has landed."

  • American Spacecraft Gets Launched

    Only 259 kilograms in mass, Pioneer 10 took pictures of Jupiter and did scientific expirements. Perhaps it is best known as one of the few human-made objects to leave our solar system. In 1983 Pioneer 10 passed the farthest known planet of out solar system and is still travelling.

  • Gossamer Series Of A Human-Powered Aircraft

    Inventor Paul Mcready had wood, cardboard, plastic and wire to construct a plane with a 29m wingspan and a mass of only 32kg. It was powered by one pedal-driven propeller and was steered by twisting the wing tips. The aircraft was called Gossamer Condor. It made history by flying the 1.6km, figure 8 route at an altitude of about 3m and a speed of 10km per hour. This was the first time this had been done. The next year, a similar craft called the Gossamer Albatross flew across the English Channel

  • American Space Shuttle Columbia Was Launched

    The space shuttle became the first spacecraft to be reusable. After launching, the shuttle can orbit earth and return to land. It can then be prepared for another mission.

  • Methods To Control Glider Flights

    From a hill in Germany, Otto Lilienthal launched a glider whose flight could be controlled. Perhaps the best way to imagine this flight was to imagine his glider like today's hang glider. To control how the glider flew, Lilienthal had to adjust his weight. This is like leaning slightly to turn a corner on a bicycle, except that he was doing the leaning in the air.