Aviation Industry

                    There are early legends of human flight such as the story ofIcarusin Greek myth andJamshidin Persian myth, and later, somewhat more credible claims of short-distance human flights appear, such as the flying automaton ofArchytasofTarentum(428–347 BC),[3]the winged flights ofAbbasIbn Firnas(810–887),Eilmer of Malmesbury(11th century), and the hot-air Passarola ofBartholomeu Lourenço de Gusmão(1685–1724).

                   The modern age of aviation began with the first untethered human lighter-than-air flight on November 21, 1783, of ahot air balloondesigned by theMontgolfier brothers. The practicality of balloons was limited because they could only travel downwind. It was immediately recognized that a steerable, ordirigible, balloon was required.Jean-Pierre Blanchardflew the first human-powered dirigible in 1784 and crossed the English Channel in one in 1785.Rigid airshipsbecame the first aircraft to transport passengers and cargo over great distances. The best known aircraft of this type were manufactured by the GermanZeppelincompany.The most successful Zeppelin was theGraf Zeppelin. It flew over one million miles, including an around-the-world flight in August 1929. However, the dominance of the Zeppelins over the airplanes of that period, which had a range of only a few hundred miles, was diminishing as airplane design advanced. The "Golden Age" of the airships ended on May 6, 1937 when theHindenburgcaught fire, killing 36 people. The cause of the Hindenburg accident was initially blamed on the use of hydrogen instead of helium as the lift gas. An internal investigation by the manufacturer revealed the coating used to protect the covering material over the frame was highly flammable and allowed static electricity to build up in the airship.[4]Changes to the coating formulation reduced the risk offurther Hindenburg type accidents. Although there have been periodic initiatives to revive their use, airships have seen only niche application since that time.

                    In 1799Sir George Cayleyset forth the concept of the modern airplane as a fixed-wing flying machine with separate systems for lift, propulsion, and control.[5][6]Early dirigible developments included machine-powered propulsion (Henri Giffard, 1852), rigid frames (David Schwarz, 1896) and improved speed and maneuverability (Alberto Santos-Dumont, 1901)First powered and controlled flight by theWright Brothers, December 17, 1903There aremany competing claimsfor the earliest powered, heavier-than-air flight. The first recorded powered flight was carried out byClément Aderon October 9, 1890 when he reportedly made the first manned, powered, heavier-than-air flight of a significant distance (50 m (160 ft)) but insignificant altitude from level ground in his bat-winged, fully self-propelledfixed-wing aircraft, theAder Éole.[7][8][9]Seven years later, on 14 October 1897, Ader'sAvion IIIwas tested without success in front of two officials from theFrenchWar ministry. The report on the trials was not publicized until 1910, as they had been a military secret. In November 1906 Ader claimed to have made a successful flight on 14 October 1897, achieving an "uninterrupted flight" of around 300 metres (980 feet) on. Although widely believed at the time, these claims were later discredited.[10][11]However, the most widely accepted date is December 17, 1903 by theWright brothers. The Wright brothers were the first to fly in a powered and controlled aircraft. Previous flights were gliders (control but no power) or free flight (power but no control), but the Wright brothers combined both,setting the new standard in aviation records. Following this, the widespread adoption ofaileronsrather than wing warping made aircraft much easier to control, and only a decade later, at the start ofWorld War I, heavier-than-air powered aircraft had become practical for reconnaissance, artilleryspotting, and even attacks against ground positions.Aircraft began to transport people and cargo as designs grew larger and more reliable. The Wright brothers took aloft the first passenger, Charles Furnas, one of their mechanics, on May 14, 1908.[12][13]During the 1920s and 1930s great progress was made in the field of aviation, including the firsttransatlantic flight of Alcock and Brownin 1919,Charles Lindbergh's solo transatlantic flight in 1927, andCharles Kingsford Smith's transpacific flight the following year. One of the most successful designs of this period was theDouglas DC-3, which became the firstairlinerto be profitable carrying passengers exclusively, starting the modern era of passenger airline service. By the beginning ofWorld 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 firstjetaircraft and the first liquid-fueledrockets.