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Jan 1, 1500
First drawings of flying machines
1500 Leonardo da Vinci made drawings of flying machines with flapping wings. -
First free lighter-than-air ascent.
1783 Two Frenchmen - Jean F. Pilatre de Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlandes - made the first free lighter-than-air ascent. They made the ascent in a hot-air balloon. -
first successful model glider.
1804 Sir George Cayley of Great Britain flew the first successful model glider. -
Plans for an airplane are patented
1843 William S. Henson, a British inventor, patented plans for a steam-driven airplane that had many of the basic parts of a modern plane. -
John Stingfellow built a small model based on Henson's plane.
1848 John Stingfellow of Great Britain built a small model based on Henson's plane. It was launched but remained in the air only briefly. -
Otto Lilienthal became the first person to pilot gliders in flight.
1891 Otto Lilienthal, a German, became the first person to successfully pilot gliders in flight. -
Samuel P. Langley flew a steam-powered model plane.
1896 Samuel P. Langley of the United States flew a steam-powered model plane. -
Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first engine-powered, heavier-than-air flight
1903 Orville and Wilbur Wright of the United States made the first engine-powered, heavier-than-air flights, near Kitty Hawk, N.C. Their first flight went 120 feet (37 meters) and lasted only about 12 seconds. -
Trajan Vuia built the first full-sized monoplane
1906 Trajan Vuia, a Romanian inventor, built the first full-sized monoplane, but it could not fly. -
Henri Farman made the first official circular flight of 1 kilometer
1908 Henri Farman of France made the first official circular flight of 1 kilometer. He also flew 16 ¾ miles (27.0 kilometers) in the first cross-country flight. -
Glenn H. Curtiss made the first official public flight of more than 1 kilometer
1908 Glenn H. Curtiss made the first official public flight of more than 1 kilometer in the United States. -
Louis Bleriot became the first person to fly across the English Channel.
1909 Louis Bleriot of France became the first person to fly across the English Channel. -
Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin organized the first commercial airline.
1910 Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin of Germany organized the first commercial airline. It used airships and carried 35,000 passengers its first three years. -
first transcontinental flight
1911 Calbraith P. Rodgers made the first transcontinental flight across the United States. He flew from Sheepshead Bay, N.Y., to Long Beach, Calif., in a series of short flights that took 84 days. -
Building and flying of the first four-engine plane
1913 Igor I. Sikorsky, a Russian inventor, built and flew the first four-engine plane. -
First regularly scheduled airline service
1914 The first regularly scheduled airline service in the United states began when Tony Jannus piloted a flying boat between St. Petersburg and Tampa, Florida. -
First flight of an all-metal, cantilever-wing plane
1915 The first flight of an all-metal, cantilever-wing plane, the Junkers J-1, took place in German. -
First nonstop transanlantic flight
1919 Two British fliers, John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown, made the first nonstop transatlantic flight. They flew 1,950 miles from St. John's Nfld., to Clifden, Ireland. -
First regular international airmail
1919 Aircraft Transport and Travel, Ltd., flew the first regular international airmail between London and Paris. -
First round-the-world flight
1924 Two U.S. Army planes made the first round-the-world flight. They took nearly six months to complete the 26,345-mile journey. -
First all-metal, trimotor transport
1924 The first all-metal, trimotor transport, the Junkers G-23, was test-flown in German. -
First airplane flight over the North Pole
1926 Richard E. Byrd and Floyd Bennett of the United States made the first airplane flight over the North Pole. -
First solo nonstop transatlantic flight
1927 Charles A. Linbergh, a U.S. pilot, made the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight. He flew 3.610 miles from Garden City, N.Y., to Paris in 33 ½ hours. -
First flight across the pacific
1928 Charles Kingsford Smith and his crew made the first flight across the Pacific. They flew from Oakland, Calif., to Brisbane, Australia, with stops at Honolulu, Hawaii, and Suva, Fiji. 1929 Richard E. Byrd of the United States and his crew made the first flight over the South Pole. -
First flight over the South Pole
1929 Richard E. Byrd of the United States and his crew made the first flight over the South Pole. -
First transcontinental airline service
1930 Trans World Airlines started the first transcontinental airline service. The trip took 36 hours with an overnight stop in Kansas City. -
First nonstop flight across the Pacific
1931 Two U.S. pilots, Clyde Pangborn and Hugh Herndon, made the first nonstop airplane flight across the Pacific. They flew from Tokyo to Wenatchee, Washington. -
First woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean alone
1932 Amelia Earhart of the United States was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean alone. She flew from Harbour Grace, Nfld., to Londonderry, Ireland, in 15 hours 18 minutes. -
First solo round-the-world flight
1933 Wiley Post, a U.S. pilot, made the first solo round-the-world flight, covering 23,452 miles in 3 days 22 hours 1 minute. -
First transpacific passenger service
1936 Pan American World Airways inaugurated the first transpacific passenger service. -
The Civil Aeronautics Board are established
1938 The U.S. Congress established the Civil Aeronautics Board to regulate airline fares, routes, and schedules. -
First successful flight of a jet-engine airplane
1939 The first successful flight of a jet-engine airplane took place in Germany. -
First regular transatlantic passeger service
1939 Pan American World Airways established the first regular transatlantic passenger service from New York City to Southampton, England. -
Around-the-world passenger flying service established
1946 Airlines established flights for around-the-world passenger service. -
First supersonic flight
1947 Charles Yeager, a U.S. Air Force captain, made the first supersonic flight, in a Bell X-1 rocket plane. -
first large commercial jetliners
1952 De Havilland Comets, the world's first large commercial jetliners, began service. -
First regularly schedule service with jet airliners
1953 British Overseas Airways began the first regularly scheduled service with jet airliners. -
First turboprop transport, began regular airline service
1953 The first turboprop transport, the Vickers Viscount, began regular airline service. -
First supersonic flight by a jet plane
1953 The North American F-100 Super Sabre jet fighter made the first level supersonic flight by a jet plane. -
First airliners capable of carrying over 200 passengers
1967 United Airlines put into service the first airliners capable of carrying over 200 passengers. -
First supersonic transport plane
1968 Russian pilots test-flew the world's first supersonic transport plane, the Tu-144. -
First jumbo jet
1970 The first jumbo jet, the Boeing 747, entered airline service. -
First supersonic airliners into passenger service
1976 Air France and British Airways put the first supersonic airliners into passenger service. -
Airline Deregulation Act
1978 The U.S. Congress passed the Airline Deregulation Act. -
Around the world flight in 45h 32m 53s
1984 Brooke Knapp, a U.S. pilot, flew around the world in a record time of 45 hours 32 minutes 53 seconds. -
Civil Aeronautics Board dissolved
1984 The Civil Aeronautics Board was dissolved. -
First nonstop flight around the world without refueling
1986 Richard Rutan and Jeana Yeager, two U.S. pilots, made the first nonstop flight around the world without refueling. The flight began and ended at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.