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The first machine to carry a person into the air was a hot-air balloon. It was built by the Montgolfier Brothers in 1783. -
The first successful airship was built in 1852. Airships were pushed forward by propellers and they were a popular means of transport in the early 20th century. -
The first aircraft with wings were gliders. Otto Lilienthal made many short glider flights in the 1890s. -
In 1903, the Wright Brothers, American bicycle makers, built the first powered aeroplane. Their plane was driven by a very light petrol engine that they designed and built themselves because the other engines that were available were too heavy. -
The first true helicopters were invented by the Russian Igor Sikorsky. They lifted vertically, and had two blades that turned in opposite directions. They were first used in 1939. -
However, jet power was developed in the 1930s. Jet engines suck air in at the front and eject it at the back at a very high speed and as the air goes backwards, the engine and the aircraft are thrust forwards. The Comet was the world’s first jet airliner and it flew for the first time in 1949.
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In 1969, the first supersonic airliner (Concorde) flew for the first time at twice the speed of sound, reaching a speed of 1600 km/h and crossing the Atlantic from New York to London in less than three hours.
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The Airbus 380 is currently the world’s largest passenger plane. It can carry 555 passengers on 2 decks.