The first steps in the development of aviation were not easy. At the beginning of the 20th century, aviation was still in its infancy and most people didn’t believe in the possibility of flying machines, so the era of aviators that began was designed to prove otherwise.
One of the first aviators, Dr. Samuel Pierpont Langley, was working on a manned vehicle and built a model airplane that accidentally fell into a river. It was a huge failure, but he never stopped believing in the engine intake.
The Wright Brothers became famous when they made the very first successful flight in 1903 with their airplane, the Flyer. The Wright Brothers brought a number of technical changes and details that were later adopted in all airplanes in the world.
Soon after the success of the Wright brothers, Louis Bleriot, Glenn Curtis and others began working to improve their model airplanes and bring innovations to the aviation technology of the time.
The era of early aviators not only contributed to the creation of airplanes, but also inspired young people to explore this new industry and benefited many industries such as military technology, tourism, and transportation of goods.
The first long-distance flights
As aviation evolved, so did the challenges of its use. One such challenge was the ability to establish large-scale commercial traffic between countries. In 1919, a transatlantic flight was realized for the first time. The pilots of this flight were Americans John Alcock and Arthur Whitney Brown, who flew from Newfoundland to Ireland on a biplane Vickers Vimy, the total length of the flight was 3.6 thousand kilometers.
For continental flights, more and more advanced airplanes also appeared. In 1933, Boeing launched the Boeing 247, which was considered to be the first airliner in the world to conform to an aerodynamically optimal design. The airplane could fly at speeds of more than 320 km/h and cover distances of up to 800 km.
Thus, the first long flights thanks to aviation became a reality. Large-scale commercial communication, including events of various levels and purposes, became possible thanks to the introduction of high-tech means of transportation – airplanes and airships.