The invention of the airplane By .Xabier. Period: Jan 3, 1496 to 1496 The first aroplanes desings 1799 They built on the works of George Cayley dating from 1799 1867 between also studied heavier-than-air flight 1891 Lilienthal's flight attempts in 1891 are seen as the beginning of human flight Dec 17, 1903 The Wright brothers invented and flew the first airplane in 1903 1939 The first jet aircraft was the German Heinkel in 1939. 1952 The first jet airliner, the de Havilland Comet, was introduced in 1952.