The History of Aviation

From the Renaissance to today’s modern aircraft, there have been many important milestones in the history of conquering the air. Da Vinci’s inventions didn’t get off the ground at the time, but the Montgolfier brothers would eventually experience the sensation of flying. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Wright brothers’ aircraft and the emergence of the huge Zeppelins constituted a prelude to a new era. Following WWII, quick-paced technological developments led to a qualitative leap in the evolution of airplanes. With the appearance of jet aircraft, mankind has witnessed an unprecedented advance-
ment in aviation, which made it possible to overcome distance and time. Nowadays, flying has become an indispensable part of our economic and social life.

Based on his observations and research concerning flight, Leonardo da Vinci, the ingenious Renaissance polymath, designed a flying machine. The aim
of the extraordinarily complex study he conducted in 1489 was to create
a device that would mimic the different phases of the flight of birds.

The experiments of the French Montgolfier brothers marked an im­por­tant milestone in the history of flying. They conducted experi­ments with hot air balloons, and finally achieved success by continuously heating the air in the balloon from the bottom.
The first manned flight in a hot air balloon took place in Paris in the autumn of 1783.

He built gliders using canvas and wicker rods. After several improve­ments made to his gliders, he managed to cover a distance of 300 metres. Built in 1891, Lilienthal’s glider became the precursor to modern hang gliders.

An aircraft built by the American Wright brothers. Its first flight on the 17th of December 1903 was a pioneering event in the history of aviation: it was the first successful controlled flight with a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft.

A Zeppelin is a type of rigid-framed airship that was used for both civilian and military purposes. The airship made its maiden flight in 1936. It was named after the late Paul von Hindenburg, President of Germany, who died in 1934.

The de Havilland DH 106 Comet 1, manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company, was the first mass-produced, turbojet-powered airliner, that is, the first jetliner. This aircraft is therefore considered a milestone in the history of aviation. The first scheduled flight of the Comet took place
in 1952, when the Johannesburg-bound plane took off from London.

The Boeing 747 was the first wide-body commercial airliner, one of the best known aircraft. It made its maiden flight in February 1969 and entered service in 1970. It has an excellent lift-to-drag ratio and is extremely safe.

Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde is a retired supersonic passenger airliner. Concorde entered service in January 1976 and continued its commercial flights for 27 years, before it was retired in 2003. Concorde set several records (e.g. the fastest transatlantic flight, from London to New York, taking only 2 hours 52 minutes and 59 seconds).

The double-decked, wide-bodied and four-engine jet aircraft is one of
the world’s largest passenger airliners. Due to its impressive size, it is also called the ‘Superjumbo’. It first took off in 2005 and its first scheduled flight took place in 2007.