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George Cayley set forth the concept of the modern airplane as a fixed-wing flying machine with separate systems for lift, propulsion, and control.
Cayley was building and flying models of fixed-wing aircraft as early as 1803, and he built a successful passenger-carrying glider in 1853. -
Frenchman Jean-Marie Le Bris made the first powered flight, by having his glider "L'Albatros artificiel" pulled by a horse on a beach.
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The American John J. Montgomery made a controlled flight in a glider.
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Sir Hiram Maxim built a plane that was not controllable.
He built a craft that weighed 3.5 tons, with a 110-foot (34-meter) wingspan that was powered by two 360-horsepower (270-kW) steam engines driving two propellers. In 1894, his machine was tested with overhead rails to prevent it from rising. The test showed that it had enough lift to take off. The craft was uncontrollable, which Maxim, it is presumed, realized, because he subsequently abandoned work on it. -
The Wright brothers made the first successful airplane.
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The Wright Brothers built a plane that was capable of stable flight for substantial periods
The Wright Flyer III was capable of fully controllable, stable flight for substantial periods. The Wright brothers credited Otto Lilienthal as a major inspiration for their decision to pursue manned flight. -
Alberto Santos Dumont made the first airplane to launch without help of a catapult.
He set the first world record recognized by the Aéro-Club de France by flying 220 meters (720 ft) in less than 22 seconds. -
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World War 1
They used airplanes as weapons in World War 1. -
Alcock and Brown crossed the Atlantic non-stop for the first time in 1919.
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The first 'operational' jet aircraft was the German Heinkel He 178, which was tested in 1939.
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The first jet airliner, the de Havilland Comet, was introduced.
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The Boeing 707, the first widely successful commercial jet, was in commercial service for more than 50 years, from 1958 to 201