AVIATION
, term applied to the science and practice of flight in heavier-than-air craft, including airplanes, gliders, helicopters, ornithopters, convertiplanes, and VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) and STOL (short takeoff and landing) craft. These are distinguished from lighter-than-air craft, which include balloons (free, usually spherical; and captive, usually elongated), and dirigible airships Operational aviation is grouped broadly into three classes: military aviation, commercial aviation, and general aviation. Military aviation includes all forms of flying by the armed forces strategic, tactical, and logistical. Commercial aviation embraces primarily the operation of scheduled and charter airlines. General aviation embraces all other forms of flying such as instructional flying, crop dusting by air, flying for sport, private flying, and transportation in business-owned airplanes, usually known as executive aircraft.EARLY HISTORY
Centuries of dreaming, study, speculation, and experimentation preceded the first successful flight. The ancient legends contain numerous references to the possibility of movement through the air. Philosophers believed that it could be accomplished by imitating the wing motions of birds, and by using smoke or other lighter-than- air media. The first form of aircraft made was the kite, about the 5th century. In the 13th century, the English monk Roger Bacon conducted studies that led him to the conclusion that air could support a craft in the same manner that water supports boats. At the beginning of the 16th century, Leonardo da Vinci gathered data on the flight of birds and anticipated developments that subsequently became practical. Among his important contributions to the development of aviation were his invention of the airscrew, or propeller, and the parachute. He conceived three different types of heavier-than-air craft: an ornithopter, a machine with mechanical wings designed to flap like those of a bird; a helicopter, designed to rise by the revolving of a rotor on a vertical axis; and a glider, consisting of a wing fixed to a frame on which a person might coast on the air. Leonardo's concepts involved the use of human muscular power, quite inadequate to produce flight with the craft that he pictured. Nevertheless, he was important because he was the first to make scientific proposals.KITTY HAWK AND AFTER
On December 17, 1903, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright made the world's first successful flights in a heavier-than-air craft under power and control. The airplane had been designed, constructed, and flown by them, each brother making two flights that day. The longest, by Wilbur, extended to a distance of 260 m (852 ft) in 59 sec. The next year, continuing the development of their design and improving their skill as pilots, the brothers made 105 flights, the longest lasting more than 5 min. The following year, their best flight was 38.9 km (24.2 mi) in 38 min 3 sec. All these flights were in open country, the longest involving numerous turns, usually returning to near the starting point. Not until 1906 did anyone else fly in an airplane. In that year short hops were made by a Hungarian, Trajan Vuia, living in Paris, and by Jacob Christian Ellehammer, in Denmark. The first officially witnessed flight in Europe was made in France, by Alberto Santos-Dumont, of Brazil. His longest flight, on November 12, 1906, covered a distance of about 220 m (722 ft) in 21.2 sec. The airplane, the "14- bis" was of his own design, made by the Voisin firm in Paris, and powered with a Levavasseur 40-horsepower Antoinette engine. The airplane resembled a large box kite, with a smaller box at the front end of a long, cloth-covered frame. The engine and propeller were at the rear, and the pilot stood in a basket just forward of the main rear wing. Not until near the end of 1907 did anyone in Europe fly for 1 min; Henri Farman did so in an airplane built by Voisin. In great contrast were the flights of the Wright brothers. Orville, in the U.S., demonstrated a Flyer for the Army Signal Corps at Fort Myer, Virginia, beginning September 3, 1908. On September 9 he completed the world's first flight of more than one hour and, also for the first time, carried a passenger, Lieutenant Frank P. Lahm, for a 6-min 24-sec flight. These demonstrations were interrupted on September 17, when the airplane crashed, injuring Orville and his passenger, Lieutenant Thomas E. Selfridge, who died hours later from a concussion. Selfridge was the first person to be fatally injured in a powered airplane. Wilbur, meanwhile, had gone to France in August 1908, and on December 31 of that year completed a flight of over 2 hours and 20 minutes, demonstrating total control of his Flyer, turning gracefully, and climbing or descending at will. Recovered from his injuries, and with Wilbur's assistance, Orville resumed demonstrations for the Signal Corps in the following July and met their requirements by the end of the month. The airplane was purchased on August 2, becoming the first successful military airplane. It remained in active service for about two years and was then retired to the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., at which it is displayed today. Prominent among American designers, makers, and pilots of airplanes was Glenn Hammond Curtiss, of Hammondsport, New York. He first made a solo flight on June 28, 1907, in a dirigible airship built by Thomas Baldwin. It was powered with a Curtiss engine, modified from those used on Curtiss motorcycles. In the following May, Curtiss flew alone in an airplane designed and built by a group known as the Aerial Experiment Association, organized by Alexander Graham Bell. Curtiss was one of the five members. In their third airplane, "the June Bug", Curtiss, on July 4, 1908, covered a distance of 1552 m (5090 ft) in 1 min 42.5 sec., winning the first American award, the Scientific American Trophy, given for an airplane flight. At Reims, France, on August 28, 1909, Curtiss won the first international speed event, at about 75.6 km/h (47 mph). On May 29, 1910, he won the New York World prize of $10,000 for the first flight from Albany, New York, to New York City. In August of that year he flew along the shore of Lake Erie, from Cleveland, Ohio, to Sandusky, Ohio, and back. In January 1911 he became the first American to develop and fly a seaplane. The first successful seaplane had been made and flown by Henri Fabre, of France, on March 28, 1910. The pioneer airplane flight across the English Channel, from Calais, France, to Dover, England, a distance of about 37 km (about 23 mi) in 35.5 min, was made July 25, 1909, by the French engineer Louis Bl\'e9riot, in a monoplane that he had designed and built. During the period before World War I the design of both the airplane and the engine showed considerable improvement. Pusher biplanes\'97 two-winged airplanes with the engine and propeller behind the wing\'97were succeeded by tractor biplanes, with the propeller in front of the wing. Only a few types of monoplanes were used. Huge biplane bombers with two, three, or four engines were introduced by both contending forces in World War I. In Europe, the rotary engine was favored at first, but was succeeded by radial-type engines. In Britain and the U.S., water-cooled engines of the V type predominated. The first transportation of mail by airplane to be officially approved by the U.S. Post Office Department began on September 23, 1911, at the Nassau Boulevard air meet, Long Island, New York. The pilot was Earle Ovington, who carried the mail bag on his knees, flying about 8 km (5 mi) to Mineola, Long Island, where he tossed the bag overboard, to be picked up and carried to the post office. The service was continued for only a week. In 1911 the first transcontinental flight across the United States, from New York City to Long Beach, California, was completed by the American aviator Calbraith P. Rodgers. He left Sheepshead Bay, in Brooklyn, New York, on September 17, 1911, using a Wright machine, and landed at his goal on December 10, 1911, 84 days later. His actual flying time was 3 days, 10 hr, and 14 min.WORLD WAR I AND AFTER
During World War I both airplanes and lighter-than-air craft were used by the belligerents. The urgent necessities of war provided the impetus for designers to construct special planes for reconnaissance, attack, pursuit, bombing, and other highly specialized military purposes. Because of the pressure of war, more pilots were trained and more planes built during the 4 years of conflict than in the 13 years since the first flight. Many of the surplus military planes released after the war were acquired and operated by wartime-trained aviators, who "barnstormed" from place to place, using such fields as were available. Their operations included practically any flying activity that would provide an income, including carrying passengers, aerial photography, advertising (usually by writing names of products on their airplanes), flight instruction, air racing, and exhibitions of stunt flying. Notable flights following World War I included a nonstop flight of 1170 km (727 mi) from Chicago to New York City in 1919 by Captain E. F. White of the U.S. Army. In 1920 Major Quintin Brand and Captain Pierre Van Ryneveld, of England, flew from Cairo to Cape Town, South Africa. In the same year, five U.S. Army Air Service planes, each carrying a pilot and a copilot-mechanic, with Captain St. Clair Streett in command, flew from New York City to Nome, Alaska, and returned. In other army exploits, Lieutenant James Harold Doolittle, in 1922, made a one-stop flight from Jacksonville, Florida, to San Diego, California.; Lieutenant Oakley Kelly and Lieutenant John A. Macready made the first nonstop transcontinental flight, May 2-3, 1923, from Roosevelt Field, Long Island, to Rockwell Field, San Diego, California, and the first flight completely around the world was made from April 6 to September 28, 1924. Four Liberty-engined Douglas Cruisers, each with two men, left Seattle, Washington, and two returned. One plane had been lost in Alaska, the other in the North Sea; there were no fatalities. }Transoceanic flying began with the flight of the NC-4, the initials denoting Navy-Curtiss. This huge flying boat flew from Rockaway Beach, Long Island, to Plymouth, England, with intermediate stops including Newfoundland, the Azores, and Lisbon, Portugal; the elapsed time was from May 8 to May 31, 1919. The first nonstop transatlantic flight was made by the British aviators John William Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown. They flew from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Clifden, Ireland, June 14-15, 1919, in a little over 16 hours. The fliers won the London Daily Mail prize of $50,000. The first nonstop solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean was the flight of the American aviator Charles A. Lindbergh from New York City to Paris, a distance of 5810 km (3610 mi) covered in 33.5 hr on May 20-21, 1927. On June 28-29 of the same year Lieutenant Lester J. Maitland and Lieutenant Albert F. Hegenberger (1895-1983) of the U.S. Army made a nonstop flight from California to Hawaii, a distance of 3860 km (2400 mi) in 26 hr. Between August 27 and September 14 two other Americans, William S. Brock and Edward F. Schlee, flew from Newfoundland to Japan, a trip of 19,800 km (12,300 mi). The first nonstop westward flight by an airplane over the Atlantic was on April 12-13, 1928, by Captain Herman K. and Baron Guenther von H\'fcnefeld, Germans, and Captain James Fitzmaurice, an Irishman. They flew from Dublin, Ireland, to Greenly Island, Labrador, a distance of 3564 km (2215 mi). Between May 31 and June 9, 1928, Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles T. P. Ulm, Australian fliers, with Harry W. Lyon and James Warner, Americans, flew the Southern Cross from Oakland, California, to Sydney, Australia, 11,910 km (7400 mi) with stops at Hawaii, the Fiji Islands, and Brisbane, Australia. Three American fliers, Amelia Earhart with pilots Wilmer Stultz and Louis Gordon, crossed the Atlantic from Trepassey Bay, Newfoundland, to Burry Port, Wales, on June 17-18; and from July 3 to 5 Captain Arturo Ferrarin and Major Carlo P. Del Prete, Italian army pilots, made a nonstop flight of 7186 km (4466 mi) across the Atlantic from Rome to Point Genipabu, Brazil. In 1920 airlines were established for mail and passenger service between Key West, Florida, and Havana, Cuba, and between Seattle, Washington, and Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1921 scheduled transcontinental airmail service between New York City and San Francisco was inaugurated by the U.S. Post Office Department. Congress passed the Kelly Air Mail Act in 1925, authorizing the Post Office Department to contract with air-transport operators for the transportation of U.S. mail. Fourteen domestic airmail lines were established in 1926. Lines were also established and extended between the U.S. and Central and South America and between the United States and Canada. Between 1930 and 1940, commercial air transportation was greatly expanded, and frequent long-distance and transoceanic flights were undertaken. The transcontinental nonstop flight record was reduced by American aviators flying small planes and, subsequently, transport planes. In 1930 Roscoe Turner flew from New York City to Los Angeles in 18 hr 43 min; Frank Hawks flew from Los Angeles to New York City in 12 hr 25 min. In 1937 Howard Hughes flew from Burbank, California, to Newark, New Jersey, in 7 hr 28 min. In 1939 Ben Kelsey flew from Marsh Field, California, to Mitchell Field, New York, in 7 hr 45 min.WORLD WAR II
Most of the major countries of the world developed commercial air transportation in varying degrees, with the U.S. gradually gaining ascendancy. On the foundations of the U.S. air-transport industry were built the military-transport commands that played a decisive role in winning World War II. Largest of all international airlines in operation when World War II began was Pan American Airways, which, with its subsidiaries and affiliated companies, served 47 countries and colonies on 82,000 route miles, linking all continents and spanning most oceans. The demands of World War II greatly accelerated the further development of aircraft. Important advances were achieved in the development of planes for bombing and combat and for the transportation of parachute troops and of tanks and other heavy equipment. Aircraft became a decisive factor in warfare. Small aircraft production expanded rapidly. Under the Civilian Pilot Training program of the Civil Aeronautics Administration, private operators expanded their facilities and gave training to thousands of students, who subsequently became the backbone of the army, navy, and marine-air arms. Types of aircraft designed for personal use found extensive military use throughout the world. Large contracts for light planes were awarded by the U.S. Army and Navy in 1941. During 1941 American military aircraft were in action on all fronts. The number of persons employed in the aviation industry totaled 450,000, compared to about 193,000 employed before World War II. About 3,375,000 passengers, about 1 million more than in 1940, were carried by 18 U.S. airlines. Mail and express loads increased by about 30 percent. Toward the end of the war, airplane production attained an all-time high, air warfare increased in intensity and extent, and domestic airlines established new passenger- and cargo-carrying records. In the U.S., the number of planes produced in 1944 totaled 97,694, with an average weight of approximately 4770 kg (about 10,500 lb). An outstanding development in the same year was the appearance in air combat of German jet-engined and rocket-propelled fighter planes.AFTER WORLD WAR II
In 1945, U.S. military-aircraft production was sharply curtailed, but civilian-aircraft orders increased considerably. By the end of the year, U.S. manufacturers held orders for 40,000 planes, in contrast to the former production record for civilian use of 6844 planes in 1941. Again the domestic and international airlines of the U.S. broke all records, with all categories of traffic showing substantial gains over 1944. Both passenger fares and basic freight rates were reduced. International commercial services were resumed in 1945. The experience gained in the production of military aircraft during the war was utilized in civil-aircraft production following the close of hostilities. Larger, faster aircraft, with such improvements as pressurized cabins, were made available to the airlines. Improved airports, more efficient weather forecasting, additional aids to navigation and public demand for air transportation all aided in the postwar boom in airline passenger travel and freight transportation. Experimentation with new aerodynamic designs, new metals, new power plants, and electronic inventions resulted in the development of high-speed turbojet planes designed for transoceanic flights, supersonic aircraft, experimental rocket planes, STOL craft, and the space shuttle In December 1986 the ultralight experimental aircraft 'Voyager' successfully completed the first nonstop around-the-world flight without refueling. 'Voyager' was designed by Burt Rutan in an unorthodox H shape with outrigger booms and rudders. The aircraft had two engines: one engine in front for takeoffs, landings, and maneuvering; the other in back for in-flight power. Composed mostly of lightweight plastic composite materials, the plane weighed only 4420 kg (9750 lb) at takeoff\'97with 4500 liters (1200 gallons) of fuel in its 17 fuel tanks\'97and 840 kg (1858 lb) on landing. Pilots Dick Rutan, Burt's brother, and Jeana Yeager flew 40,254 km (25,012 mi) in 9 days, 3 min, 44 sec at an average speed of 186.3 km/h (115.8 mph), establishing a distance and endurance record. The previous distance record of 20,169 km (12,532 mi) was set in 1962. In 1967 the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) replaced the Federal Aviation Agency, which had been created in 1958. The FAA classified the air transportation industry in the U.S. as commercial air carriers, regionals and commuters, helicopters, and all-cargo carriers. Nonscheduled air carriers are in a separate classification. The scheduled airlines maintain a trade association known as the Air Transport Association of America. After World War II a marked increase in the use of company-owned airplanes for the transportation of executives took place. In fact, by the early 1980s such craft composed well more than 90 percent of all aircraft active in the U.S. General trends in the U.S. air transport industry, in the 1980s, included airline deregulation (begun in 1978), mergers of airlines, and fluctuating air fares and "price wars".Three major U.S. airlines ceased operations in 1991: Pan American and Eastern, both which had been flying since 1928, and a relative newcomer, Midway, which was founded in 1979. Conferences relative to the problems of international flight were held as early as 1889, but it was not until 1947 that an organization was established to handle the problems of large-scale international air travel: the International Civil Aviation Organization(ICAO), an affiliate of the United Nations, with headquarters in Montreal. Working in close cooperation with ICAO is the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which also has its headquarters in Montreal and is comprised of about 100 airlines that seek jointly to solve mutual problems. Another such organization is the Federation Aeronautique International (FAI).
