Near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright made
the first successful flight in history of a self-propelled, heavier-
than-air aircraft on December 17, 1903.
Orville piloted the gasoline-powered, propeller-driven biplane,
which stayed aloft for 12 seconds and covered 120 feet on its
inaugural flight.
The John W. Berry, Sr. Wright Brothers National Museum
in Dayton. Ohio.
American explorer Richard Byrd and three companions made the
first flight over the South Pole, flying from their base on the Ross
Ice Shelf to the pole and back in 18 hours and 41 minutes.
Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr.
(October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957)
On July 27, 1949, the world’s first jet-propelled airliner, the British
De Havilland Comet, made its maiden test-flight in England. The
jet engine would ultimately revolutionize the airline industry,
shrinking air travel time in half by enabling planes to climb faster
and fly higher.
The Comet was the creation of English aircraft designer and
aviation pioneer Sir Geoffrey de Havilland (1882-1965).
De Havilland started out designing motorcycles and buses, but
after seeing Wilbur Wright demonstrate an airplane in 1908, he
decided to build one of his own.
Sir Geoffrey de Havilland (1882-1965)
CAMILLE
BOHANNON
From London’s Heathrow Airport and Orly Airport outside Paris,
the first Concordes with commercial passengers simultaneously
take flight on January 21, 1976. The London flight was headed to
Bahrain in the Persian Gulf, and the Paris to Rio de Janeiro via
Senegal in West Africa. At their cruising speeds, the innovative Concordes flew well over the sound barrier at 1,350 miles an
hour, cutting air travel time by more than half.
