Gliding becomes repeatable
Otto Lilienthal begins his gliding experiments.
Density
Learning to flyOur World
Airplanes
Follow gliders, powered flight and the rise of global air travel.
Subject guide · scope, chapters & sources ↗A selective history of fixed-wing flight, not every claim to priority or a complete aircraft catalogue. It closes with reported 2024 traffic, not a live passenger counter.
Powered flight at Kitty Hawk
The Wright brothers make four controlled, powered flights.
From brief flight to a practical airplane
Wilbur flies more than 24 miles at Huffman Prairie.
An airplane crosses the Channel
Louis Blériot flies from France to England.
A solo nonstop Atlantic crossing
Charles Lindbergh flies from New York to Paris.
An airplane breaks the sound barrier
Chuck Yeager flies the Bell X-1 beyond the speed of sound.
The jumbo jet enters service
Pan Am introduces the Boeing 747 on its New York–London route.
Digital flight controls take off
The first Airbus A320 makes its maiden flight at Toulouse.
Air travel operates at global scale
Scheduled airlines carry about 4.7 billion passengers in the year.