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There are records
of early short-distance glider flights from the 10th and 11th
centuries and possibly earlier human-carrying kites from China
but practical human aviation (trips lasting more than a few
seconds) began on November 21, 1783, with the first untethered
human flight in a hot air balloon designed by the Montgolfier
brothers. A little over a century later, on December 17, 1903,
the Wright brothers flew the first successful powered,
heavier-than-air flight, though their aircraft was impractical
to fly for more than a short distance because of control
problems. The widespread adoption of ailerons made aircraft
much easier to manage, and only a decade later, at the start
of World War I, heavier-than-air powered aircraft had become
practical for reconnaissance, artillery spotting, and even
attacks against ground positions.
Aircraft began to transport people and cargo as designs grew
larger and more reliable. Initially, airships (also called
dirigibles) were believed to be the most practical means of
air transportation of passengers. In the 1930s, however, the
Douglas DC-3 became the first airliner that was profitable
carrying passengers exclusively, starting the modern era of
passenger airline service. Around the same time, the
Hindenburg disaster of 1937 destroyed airships' popularity
(though there are periodic initiatives to revive their use).
By the beginning of World War II, many towns and cities had
built airports, and there were numerous qualified pilots
available. The war brought many innovations to aviation,
including the first jet aircraft and the first liquid-fueled
rockets.
After WWII, especially in North America, there was a boom in
general aviation, both private and commercial, as thousands of
pilots were released from military service and many
inexpensive war-surplus transport and training aircraft became
available. Small aircraft manufacturers such as Cessna, Piper,
and Beechcraft expanded production to provide small aircraft
for the new, growing market.
By the 1950s, the development of civil jets grew, beginning
with the de Havilland Comet, though the first widely-used
passenger jet was the Boeing 707. At the same time, turboprop
propulsion began to appear for smaller commuter planes, making
it possible to serve small-volume routes in a much wider range
of weather conditions.
Yuri Gagarin was the first human to travel to space on April
12, 1961, while Neil Armstrong was the first to set foot on
the moon on July 21, 1969.
Since the 1960s, composite airframes and quieter, more
efficient engines have become available, but the most
important innovations have taken place in instrumentation and
control. The arrival of solid-state electronics, the Global
Positioning System, satellite communications, and increasingly
small and powerful computers and LED displays, have
dramatically changed the cockpits of airliners and,
increasingly, of smaller aircraft as well. Pilots can navigate
much more accurately and view terrain, obstructions, and other
nearby aircraft on a map or through synthetic vision, even at
night or in low visibility.
On June 21, 2004, SpaceShipOne became the first
privately-funded aircraft to make a spaceflight, opening the
possibility of an aviation market outside the earth's
atmosphere.
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