We've come a long way in aviation since Orville Wright took the historic first-ever flight in 1903. He and his brother Wilbur made four flights that day, the longest of which took less than a minute and covered a distance of just 852 feet (260 meters). It wasn't until 1905 that the Wright brothers successfully tried and tested a plane that was viable for transport purposes. Click through to see the planes that have transformed air travel.
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The Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" accomplished a lot in its 10-year lifespan. The two-seat biplane was bulk-bought by the US military during World War I and used to train more than 90% of pilots. After the war, its low price helped it find a commercial market, and it became the signature plane of the "barnstorming" era when pilots took to performing dangerous aviation stunts for large crowds. In this picture, stuntwoman Gladys Roy walks on the plane's wings blindfolded.
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Possibly the world's most famous plane, the Spirit of St. Louis -- a Ryan NYP monoplane -- made history in 1927 for making the first non-stop solo transatlantic flight. The pilot, Charles Lindbergh, helped design the plane. He was most concerned about making it lightweight, opting for a single-engine design and a wicker chair to lighten the load. The flight from New York to Paris made Lindbergh an instant celebrity and began a cultural obsession with aviation.
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The Boeing S-307 Stratoliner heralded an aviation revolution in 1938, for something we now take for granted: a pressurized cabin. The first commercial aircraft equipped with this innovation, the Stratoliner could soar above turbulent weather at an altitude of 20,000 feet. One of the 10 aircraft made was famously bought by multimillionaire Howard Hughes, who converted it into a luxury flying penthouse.
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An advanced version of the earlier B-29 (which became the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb in combat in 1945), the B-50 military bomber had a piston-powered engine -- it was one of the last of its kind because soon after that, aviation transitioned into the jet age. Its big moment came in 1949 when war veteran James Gallagher flew the "Lucky Lady II" on the first non-stop flight around the world. The plane was refueled mid-air four times, and the journey took 94 hours.
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Nicknamed the "Jumbo Jet," the Boeing 747-400 changed the face of commercial travel and tourism. Launched in 1969, it more than doubled the seating capacity of commercial aircraft, ushering in an era of mass market air travel. The double-decker plane carried 416 passengers, a record it held for 37 years.
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Concorde became the most famous supersonic passenger jet, but the Soviet Tupolev Tu-144 got there first in 1975, four months ahead of its French competitor. Unfortunately, the Soviet plane suffered many technical failures, including two fatal crashes, over its short lifespan. It only completed 55 return flights before it was relegated to cargo in 1978. The government-funded program was discontinued just five years later.
Flying at twice the speed of sound, Concorde took its inaugural flight with passengers in 1976. A flight from London to New York took just three and half hours, but the noise and supersonic boom created by the aircraft meant it could only be used on very limited routes. Ultimately, the cost grounded these record-breaking planes in 2003.
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The 1983 Boeing 747-300 incorporated many cosmetic changes to the classic Boeing aircraft, including increased passenger capacity. However, the most important upgrade was not visible. The 747-300's engine reduced fuel burn by 25% per passenger. Fuel efficiency has become a big concern as the climate crisis intensifies: today, airlines are exploring formation flying and a V-shaped plane to improve fuel efficiency.
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Part-plane, part-spacecraft, the privately funded SpaceShipOne used rocket fuel to send humans to space. It made history in 2004 with the first manned suborbital flight, rocketing 69.6 miles above the Earth's surface, which snagged the $10 million Ansari X Prize. The aircraft was retired the following year, but SpaceShipTwo is now being developed by Virgin Galactic for space tourism.
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After the success of the first solar-powered plane in 2009, the Solar Impulse 2 took off from Abu Dhabi in March 2015 on the first solar-powered flight to circumnavigate the world. With a total of 500 flight hours, the plane covered 25,000 miles (40,000 kilometers). The plane's 48-hour final leg, from Cairo back to Abu Dhabi, took place in July 2016.
Solar Impulse 10
In December 2019, Vancouver-based seaplane company Harbour Air made history with the first all-electric commercial aircraft flight. The de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver seaplane, which was first flown in 1947, was retrofitted with a 750 horsepower magni500 electric engine from magniX.
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magniX made headlines again in June 2020 when AeroTEC's nine-seater eCaravan -- powered by the magni500 electric propulsion system -- became the largest all-electric commercial aircraft to fly to date.
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On September 24th 2020, ZeroAvia flew the world's largest hydrogen-powered aircraft at Cranfield Airport in England, showing the possibilities of hydrogen fuel in the future of aviation.
