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NASA

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Table of Contents

history of flight, development of heavier-than-air flying machines. Important landmarks and events along the way to the invention of the airplane include an understanding of the dynamic reaction of lifting surfaces (or wings), building absolutely reliable engines that produced sufficient power to propel an airframe, and solving the problem of flight control in three dimensions. Once the Wright brothers demonstrated that the basic technical problems had been overcome at the start of the 20th century, military and civil aviation developed quickly.
(Read Orville Wright's 1929 biography of his brother, Wilbur.)
This article tells the story of the invention of the airplane and the development of civil aviation from piston-engine airplanes to jets. For a history of military aviation, see military aircraft; for lighter-than-air flight, see airship. See airplane for a full treatment of the principles of aircraft flight and operations, aircraft configurations, and aircraft materials and construction. For a comparison of select pioneer aircraft, see below.

The invention of the airplane

On the evening of Sept. 18, 1901, Wilbur Wright, a 33-year-old businessman from Dayton, Ohio, addressed a distinguished group of Chicago engineers on the subject of "Some Aeronautical Experiments" that he had conducted with his brother Orville Wright over the previous two years. "The difficulties which obstruct the pathway to success in flying machine construction," he noted, "are of three general classes."

1. Those which relate to the construction of the sustaining wings.

2. Those which relate to the generation and application of the power required to drive the machine through the air.

3. Those relating to the balancing and steering of the machine after it is actually in flight.

This clear analysis-the clearest possible statement of the problem of heavier-than-air flight-became the basis for the Wright brothers' work over the next half decade. What was known at that time in each of these three critical areas and what additional research was required are considered below.

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History of flight | Airplanes, Dates, & Facts

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History of flight, development of heavier-than-air flying machines. Important landmarks along the way to the invention of the airplane include an understanding of the dynamic reaction of lifting surfaces (or wings), building absolutely reliable engines, and solving the problem of flight control.

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National Air and Space Museum

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Aircraft of the National Air and Space Museum.

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How did we learn to fly like a bird?, Myths and Legends of Flight, Early Flight Efforts, 19th and 20th Century Efforts

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It's a chilly, breezy day in December 1903. Wilbur Wright stands on the beach in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, staring at the sky above him. Soaring overhead in an airplane is his brother Orville-he's in the middle of the world's first successful piloted engine-powered airplane flight.

Today the Wright brothers are remembered as innovative engineers, and their history-making flight inspired generations of future fliers.

GROWING UP WRIGHT

The Wright brothers were interested in flying from a young age. As children in Dayton, Ohio, their favorite toy was a small helicopter-like object that was powered by a rubber band to twirl its blades. Fascinated by the toy and its mechanics, the brothers hoped to one day build a flying machine big enough to hold them both.

As young men, the brothers went into business together, first operating a printing press, then a bicycle repair shop. Eventually the duo began selling their own custom-made bicycles to customers.

But the brothers never lost their love of flying. At the time, other aircrafts such as gliders-or aircrafts without engines-did exist, but the Wrights wanted to add more power to the objects they were flying. In 1899 the brothers began experimenting with building their own aircrafts.

UP, UP, AND AWAY

In 1900 the brothers traveled from Ohio to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, to begin their flight experiments. The oceanside dunes at Kitty Hawk had regular breezes and soft, sandy landing surfaces-perfect for their studies.

The brothers first conducted tests with kites before experimenting with gliders. Both Orville and Wilbur separately piloted the gliders during their testing process.

In 1903 the brothers built an airplane called the Wright Flyer I, which featured wooden propellers the men had designed and carved themselves. The plane also had a gasoline engine.

After weeks of unsuccessful attempts, the craft-with extra fabric incorporated to increase the stiffness of the wings-took flight for 12 seconds on December 17, 1903, traveling 120 feet before landing. The plane worked! Both brothers flew the craft a few more times that day. They had flown the world's first successful piloted engine-powered airplane.

WINGS OF CHANGE

After their success in North Carolina, the Wright brothers continued to travel around the world, perfecting their craft and modifying their designs. But they did so much more, kicking off the era of modern aviation and inspiring future adventurers.

The decades following Kitty Hawk were filled with accomplishments in aviation, including the first solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean and the first passenger flight. And, of course, flight didn't just stay in this world-a little over 65 years after the Wrights' famous first flight, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon. The Wright brothers didn't just fly the first piloted engine-powered airplane-they created a whole new way for us to explore our world.

It's a chilly, breezy day in December 1903. Wilbur Wright stands on the beach in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, staring at the sky above him. Soaring overhead in an airplane is his brother Orville-he's in the middle of the world's first successful piloted engine-powered airplane flight.

Today the Wright brothers are remembered as innovative engineers, and their history-making flight inspired generations of future fliers.

GROWING UP WRIGHT

The Wright brothers were interested in flying from a young age. As children in Dayton, Ohio, their favorite toy was a small helicopter-like object that was powered by a rubber band to twirl its blades. Fascinated by the toy and its mechanics, the brothers hoped to one day build a flying machine big enough to hold them both.

As young men, the brothers went into business together, first operating a printing press, then a bicycle repair shop. Eventually the duo began selling their own custom-made bicycles to customers.

But the brothers never lost their love of flying. At the time, other aircrafts such as gliders-or aircrafts without engines-did exist, but the Wrights wanted to add more power to the objects they were flying. In 1899 the brothers began experimenting with building their own aircrafts.

UP, UP, AND AWAY

In 1900 the brothers traveled from Ohio to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, to begin their flight experiments. The oceanside dunes at Kitty Hawk had regular breezes and soft, sandy landing surfaces-perfect for their studies.

The brothers first conducted tests with kites before experimenting with gliders. Both Orville and Wilbur separately piloted the gliders during their testing process.

In 1903 the brothers built an airplane called the Wright Flyer I, which featured wooden propellers the men had designed and carved themselves. The plane also had a gasoline engine.

After weeks of unsuccessful attempts, the craft-with extra fabric incorporated to increase the stiffness of the wings-took flight for 12 seconds on December 17, 1903, traveling 120 feet before landing. The plane worked! Both brothers flew the craft a few more times that day. They had flown the world's first successful piloted engine-powered airplane.

WINGS OF CHANGE

After their success in North Carolina, the Wright brothers continued to travel around the world, perfecting their craft and modifying their designs. But they did so much more, kicking off the era of modern aviation and inspiring future adventurers.

The decades following Kitty Hawk were filled with accomplishments in aviation, including the first solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean and the first passenger flight. And, of course, flight didn't just stay in this world-a little over 65 years after the Wrights' famous first flight, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon. The Wright brothers didn't just fly the first piloted engine-powered airplane-they created a whole new way for us to explore our world.

TEXT ADAPTED FROM WINGS OF CHANGE; THE BIRD MEN AND NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CONCISE HISTORY OF SCIENCE AND INVENTION: AN ILLUSTRATED TIMELINE

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Find out how these inspiring aviators took to the skies.

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Lived 1873 - 1932.
One of the most prominent names when it comes to aviation, Alberto Santos-Dumont was a well-known Brazilian aviator. He captured the attention of Americans and Europeans with his airship flights. Dumont was the first to achieve flight of a powered airplane with his 14-bis biplane in Europe.

Early Life

Born on the 20th of July in 1873, Alberto Santos-Dumont was the heir of a rich family who produced coffee. His birthplace was in the village of Cabangu in the State of Minas Gerais in Brazil. Today, this farm still exists and is called the Santos-Dumont farm. He was the 6th out of eight children, and while he was still young, he was taught how to drive the locomotive and steam tractors which were used in the family plantation in Sao Paulo. He had always been fascinated by machinery and in his autobiography he wrote how he had dreamt of flying.

His father was a French-born engineer and made use of the best possible labor-saving machines and inventions on his property. Because of this, Alberto's father amassed a huge fortune and was also sometimes called the "coffee king of Brazil." Alberto initially received education from private teachers as well as his parents which was normal for wealthy families at that time. For a while he studied at the "Colégio Culto à Ciência" in Campinas.

Dumont's father became a paraplegic after falling from his horse in 1981. When Dumont turned 18, his father decided to send him to Paris while the rest of the family moved to Europe after his father's accident. In Europe, he had exposure to physics, chemistry, mechanics, electricity, and astronomy. Shortly after their arrival, Dumont bought his own automobile-indicative of his love for transportation and machines.

Experiments and Inventions

Dumont described himself as the very first "sportsman of the air." The very first flying experience he had was with an accomplished balloon pilot from whom he learned about hot air ballooning. Not long after, he began piloting balloons by himself and then he began designing his very own balloons. He flew his very first balloon called "Bresil" which had the capacity of 113 cubic meters and was able to lift ballast which weighed 114.4 lbs. This first flight took place on the fourth of July in 1898.

After a number of balloon flights, Dumont decided to design steerable balloons, which were called dirigibles. Instead of just drifting where the wind took it, dirigibles can be propelled in the direction the pilot wished them to take. A previous experiment about dirigibles had already been successfully flown back in 1884 by Arthur Krebs and Charles Renard, but they lacked funding to continue with the exercise.

From the years 1898 up to 1905, Dumont was able to build and fly a total of 11 dirigibles. Since air traffic control still wasn't an issue back then, he was known to float at rooftop levels around Paris and would even land near an outdoor café where he fancied having lunch.

Competition and Other Dirigibles

Dumont decided to build a bigger dirigible in order to win the Deutsch de la Meurthe prize and this led to the development of dirigible No. 5. On one of his attempts, on the 8th of August 1901, his dirigible unfortunately lost gas and began to descend without being able to clear the area-it therefore hit the Trocadero Hotel roof and a loud explosion was heard in the surrounding area. Dumont survived this explosion and was helped to safety by the Paris fire brigade.

Despite this far from satisfactory attempt at winning the prize, he was still able to take the Deutsch de la Meurthe prize on October 19 of the same year with dirigible No. 6. The prize was awarded for the first flight which took off from Parc Saint Cloud and then circumnavigated after reaching the Eiffel Tower within just 30 minutes.

There was controversy surrounding the flight, regarding a last minute rule about the precise timing of the dirigible's flight. After several days of validation and discussion by the committee for the prize, Dumont was awarded the prize and the prize money which totaled 125,000 francs. He donated 75,000 francs to the poor people in Paris.

Because of his feats in aviation, Dumont became known all over the world and associated with the rich and the elite. He won several other prizes for his airships and was even invited by none other than then U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt himself to the White House. His fame made him a sort of celebrity, and Parisians called him "le petit Santos" in an affectionate manner. Even his fashion statement was mimicked by people-including the signature Panama hat he wore. He is still considered as one of the most prominent "folk heroes" in Brazil today.

Heavier Aircrafts

After his evident success in lighter airships, he then focused his attention to giving flight to heavier vehicles. In 1905, he was able to finish his first design for a fixed-wing aircraft along with another design for a helicopter. On the 23rd of October in 1906 he was able to realize his dream of flying a heavier aircraft called the 14-bis. The biplane frame design was a multiple box-like structure to give it strength and it was powered by a V8 engine. The frame was constructed with aluminum sockets and was made of bamboo and pine. This frame was then covered in silk. He flew it in front of an audience and the flight had a distance of 60 meters while being 15 feet high in the air.

This was a very well-documented event and it was also the first flight to have been verified by the Aéro-Club de France. Another record set by Dumont was being able to fly a distance of 220 meters in just 21.5 seconds, and this was credited by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale.

He created several other aircrafts, and along with those inventions, he popularized the newly invented wristwatch since he needed to measure the flight time intervals. He popularized its use by men back in the early 20th century, and Cartier came up with the brilliant solution of having a leather-strapped wristwatch which would allow Dumont to check the time while keeping both hands on the plane controls. After that, Dumont never took flight without his Cartier watch.

There were mysteries surrounding his death in 1932 - there were several theories which included suicide and murder. He was buried in Rio De Janeiro and his own house in Petrópolis, Brazil is currently a museum.

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Lived 1873 - 1932. One of the most prominent names when it comes to aviation, Alberto Santos-Dumont was a well-known Brazilian aviator. He captured the attention of Americans and Europeans with his airship flights. Dumont was the first to achieve flight of a powered airplane with his 14-bis biplane in Europe.

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(1873-1932). Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont designed and flew balloons, dirigibles, and heavier-than-air machines. He is credited with making the first significant flight of a powered airplane in Europe.

Santos-Dumont was born on July 20, 1873, in Cabangu, near Palmyra [now Santos-Dumont], Minas Gerais, Brazil. When he was about 17 years old he moved to France and began to study engineering, and he quickly became interested in flight. He ascended in his first balloon, Brazil, in 1898, but he soon turned his attention to powered airships. Over the next few years he designed 11 dirigibles, winning many prizes for his flight achievements along the way.

By 1905 Santos-Dumont had begun to design and fly a series of heavier-than-air flying machines, or primitive airplanes. In September 1906 he made the first public flight in Europe with a powered, winged aircraft. By October he had completed a flight of 200 feet (60 meters) at a height of about 6.5-10 feet (2-3 meters) off the ground. In November he won praise for the first recorded flight over 100 meters; he flew about 720 feet (220 meters) in 21.5 seconds.

Santos-Dumont remained active in aeronautical circles, developing the Demoiselle, a high-wing monoplane, in 1909. He returned to Brazil in the 1920s and died in Guarujá, São Paulo, on July 23, 1932.

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(1873-1932). Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont designed and flew balloons, dirigibles, and heavier-than-air machines. He is credited with making the first...

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"Great Inventors: The Wright Brothers" by Adventure Academy

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The Wright Brothers, First Successful Airplane (1903)

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The very first Brazilian Aeroplane: Santos Dumont and its 14 Bis machine

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ALBERTO SANTOS-DUMONT - BRAZIL'S FATHER OF FLIGHT

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The Wright brothers first aeroplane flight (1903)