Air canada

Famous Firsts in FLIGHT!

By MissM
  • 400

    400 BC

    400 BC
    The Chinese invented the first kite, as our introduction to flight. It has been used for over 3000 years in Asia. Kites use the power of the wind to keep it up. The wind goes against the pull of the string and supports the kite in the air.
  • Jan 1, 1480

    1480s CE

    1480s CE
    Leonardo da Vinci first begins to draw designs for flying machines. Many of his inventions were close, but none were actually succesful for human flight.
    To learn more about Leonardo da Vinci visit this site:
    Leonardo da Vinci

  • 1783

    1783
    The first successful human flight was made possible in a hot air balloon. In 1783, two French brothers, Joseph and Jacues Montgolfier created a giant linen and paper balloon. In November of that year, they filled it with hot air and sent two friends into the sky above Paris. The balloon is reported to have traveled 5 miles.

  • 1849

    1849
    George Cayley builds the first glider to successfully carry a person in flight. George was a prolific English engineer and one of the most important people in the history of flight. Many consider him the first true scientific aerial investigator and the first person to understand the underlying principles of air and forces of flight.

  • 1903

    1903
    Orville and Wilbur Wright, two brothers, became the first people to successfully fly an engine-powered airplane. Two years afterwards, the brothers developed their flying machine into the first practical fixed-wing aircraft. Although not the first to build and fly experimental aircraft, the Wright brothers were the first to invent aitcraft controls that made flight possible.

  • 1907

    1907
    Paul Cornu flies the first helicopter.

  • 1908

    1908
    Therese Peltier makes the first solo airplane flight by a woman.

  • 1921

    1921
    Bessie Coleman becomes the first African American to earn a pilot's license.

  • 1927

    1927
    Charles Lindbergh makes the first solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic.

  • 1932

    1932
    Amelia Earhart is the first woman to cross the Atlantic on a non-stop solo flight.

  • 1961

    1961
    Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to fly to space.

  • 1963

    1963
    Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman to fly into space.

  • 1969

    1969
    Apollo 11 makes the first moon landing.

  • 1971

    1971
    Salyut 1, the world's first space station, is launched into orbit.

  • 1984

    1984
    Marc Garneau becomes the first Canadian in space.

  • 1999

    1999
    Eileen Collins is the first woman to be commander of a NASA Space Shuttle mission.

  • 2005

    2005
    Airbus A380, the world's largest commercial aircraft, capable of carrying up to 853 passengers, completes its first flight.