History of Aviation - Research Paper Example

History of Aviation History of Aviation Introduction Mankind has always envied the bird’s flying capabilities and its desire of flying like them is considered as old as its existence on this planet. There has been a history of hundreds of attempts to fly like birds but, almost all of them ended up in failure or even the loss of lives of those trying. Leonardo da Vinci in 1487 designed the first machine that could fly. But the design was not much of a success as it was based on how the birds fly and the idea seemed impractical.

But this did not put a stop to man’s wish to fly. After several more attempts and some successful theories da Vinci was successful to create machines with fixed wings that could fly. First Man to Fly The major breakthrough in the field of aviation occurred in the year 1782 when two brothers, Joseph and Jacques Montgolfer designed a hot air balloon with the help of their father’s paper factory. This balloon flew at a height of 6500 feet, first thing to fly at such a great height. The astonishing thing about this flight was not its height but, the animals it carried.

There was a goose, a rooster and a sheep in a basket carried by the balloon. These were probably the first living thing to fly at such a height proving the fact that flying is possible for a living thing. Later in the year 1783, the two brothers were finally successful in convincing two men, Pilatre de Rozier and Marquis d’Arlandes to be a part of their experiment. This time their balloon flew at a height of 300 feet. The balloon traveled 7.5 miles in less than half an hour. The flight is considered to be the first manned balloon flight in the history.

It proved the safety of flying against all the odds and speculations. The flight also showed the less time consuming side of travelling by air (Aviation History 1999) Even though the first balloon flight of 1783 is still considered the most important breakthrough in aviation. The desire of man to conquer the skies was not yet fulfilled. Ballooning industry was at its top and no other way of flying but through an air balloon was considered possible. Flying was considered possible with the help of a hot air balloon.

But, the man still lacked wings and the desire of flying like the bird was not yet fulfilled. Attempts were made to design wings that could enable a man to fly but all ended up in failures. Then in the year 1853 George Cayley built a triplane glider that carried a man over 290 feet across a valley. This flight is considered as the first flight of a man in an aircraft. The Wright Brothers The researches and attempts to build a machine that could carry a man were at their peak in the early 20th century.

The Wright brothers were also one of those who had dedicated to the dream of the world. They taught themselves the methodologies of flying and were always trying to develop a machine that could carry a man in the air. Their work has been considered the most important in the history flying. After many successful glider test flights in the years 1901-02 the flyer was ready to fly in December 1903. The flight of the flyer acted as a major stimulant to the aviation industry and the industry was at its peak in not more than a decade when fighter planes were used in the First World War.

The Wright brothers clearly made the first flying machine and boomed the aviation industry. No matter what, they are still considered as the pioneers of aviation. Modern Aviation In the mid of the 29th century, there is remarkable progress of the aviation industry. International and intercontinental air travelling started. Fighter planes were being manufactured at large scale. But, the propeller driven planes were still too slow for a man who always wanted more. The quest for the best continued and jet engines were developed which has almost completely replaced propellers in the modern aviation making the aircrafts faster than sound.

Development of safety guidelines have made them much safer than they were earlier. Travelling by air is much pleasant now than it was earlier. References 1. Aviation history. (1994). Leesburg, VA: Cowles History Group. 2. 1880s, t. l., & many. (n.d.). balloons and airships. aviation history, history of flight, century of flight. Retrieved March 31, 2012, from http://www.century-of-flight.net/Aviation%20history/to%20rea 3. that. (n.d.). Wright Brothers. aviation history, history of flight, century of flight.

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