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Kites were invented in the early Warring States Period (475 - 221 B.C.) by Mozi and Lu Ban, two philosophers who came after the teachings of Confucius. The kites were exclusive to China for many years before the knowledge of how to make and use them advanced. -
The first 'aerostatic' flight in history was an experiment carried out by the Montgolfier brothers at Versailles in 1783. At long last, man could leave the surface of the earth below. 19 September 1783 is a key date in the history of humanity. -
William Henson registers the first patent for an aircraft equipped with engines, propellers, and provided with a fixed wing. -
The Wright brothers, Wilbur and Orville, achieved the first powered flight on December 17, 1903 at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, marking a pivotal moment in aviation history. -
On January 1, 1914, the dawn of commercial aviation was heralded by a short but significant flight from St. Petersburg to Tampa, Florida. This pioneering journey, undertaken by pilot Tony Jannus in a Benoist XIV biplane, marked the inception of the world's first scheduled airline service, the St. -
KLM was established on 7 October 1919, making it the world's oldest airline still operating under its original name. -
On May 21, 1927, Charles A. Lindbergh completed the first solo, nonstop transatlantic flight in history, flying his Spirit of St. Louis from Long Island, New York, to Paris, France. -
The first jet engine patent was granted to Frank Whittle in 1930, but the first operational jet engine was designed by Hans von Ohain in Germany in 1939. -
Amelia Earhart was awarded this medal in recognition of her transatlantic flight in June 1928. With that flight Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic, though she was merely a passenger accompanying pilots Wilmer Stultz and Lou Gordon aboard the Fokker F. -
The He 178, the first jet-powered aircraft, flew on Aug. 27, 1939, nearly two years before its British equivalent, the Gloster E. 28/39, on May 15, 1941. -
When an aircraft exceeds the speed of sound, it is considered to be flying supersonic and is said to have "broken the sound barrier"; this means it is traveling faster than the speed at which sound waves can propagate through the air, typically around 767 miles per hour at sea level. -
The first supersonic transport (SST) was the Soviet Tupolev Tu-144, which had its first supersonic flight in June 1969 and began flying mail between Moscow and Alma-Ata (Almaty) in 1975. -
Pan Am introduced its first 747 service on January 22, 1970. Originally scheduled for January 21, the inaugural flight was delayed when technical difficulties grounded the aircraft that had been slated to make the journey.