Airplanes

First successful flying model propelled by an internal combustion engine

1901

Samuel Langley builds a gasoline-powered version of his tandem-winged "Aerodromes." This was the first successful flying model to be propelled by an internal combustion engine.

First sustained flight with a powered, controlled airplane

1903

Wilbur and Orville Wright complete the first successful flight with a powered, controlled(piloted) airplane. Wilbur covered 852 feet over the ground in 59 seconds.

First shipboard aircraft take off and landing.

1910

Eugene Ely was an aviation pioneer, successfully completing the first shipboard aircraft take off and landing.

Dramatic improvements in structures and control systems.

Period: 1914 to 1918

During World War I, the requirements of higher speed, higher altitude, and greater maneuverability influenced dramatic improvements in aerodynamics, structures, and control of propulsion system designs.

First Automatic Pilot

1916

Lawrence Sperry creates an automatic gyrostabilizer and adds a steering gyroscope, leading to the worlds first "automatic pilot".

An all-metal airplane is introduced

1917

Hugo Junkers introduces an all-metal airplane built mostly from a relatively lightweight aluminum alloy called duralumin.

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 modern commercial airliner

1933

Boeing introduces a twin-engine, 10-passenger monoplane that is the first modern commercial airliner. With variable-pitch propellers, it has an economical cruising speed and excellent takeoff. Retractable landing gear reduces drag during flight.

Radar System Created

1935

Robert Watson-Watt creates the first practical radar system(for radio detection and ranging) which is successfully used to detect incoming aircraft.

Jet Engines Designed

1937

First jet aircraft, the Heinkel HE 178, takes off, powered by the worlds first jet engine.

Sound barrior broken

1947

Charles Yeager becomes the fastest man alive when he pilots the Bell X-1, which became the first aircraft to travel faster than sound.

First jet-powered commercial aircraft

1949

First regular passenger service begins as the first jet-powered commercial aircraft is invented, flying between London and South Africa.

First small jet aircraft to enter mass production

1963

Being able to carry seven passengers (including two pilots) in a fully pressurized cabin, the first small jet aircraft enters mass production, with more than 100 sold by the end of 1965.

First wide-body commercial airliner

1969

Boeing conducts the first flight of a wide-body, turbofan-powered commercial airliner, the 747, one of the most successful aircrafts ever produced.

Commercial airlines: More passengers

1976

Concorde SST is introduced into commercial airline service, carrying a hundred passengers at 55,000 feet and twice the speed of sound, making the London to New York run in 3.5 hours—half the time of subsonic carriers.

Voyager circumnavigates the globe (26,000 miles) nonstop in 9 days.

1986

Burt Rutan crafts the Voyager using a carbon-composite material, enabling the craft to fly around the world nonstop on a single load of fuel. It was piloted by Jeana Yeager and Burt’s brother Dick Rutan, who circumnavigate the globe (26,000 miles) nonstop in 9 days.

First aircraft produced through computer-aided design and engineering

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.