The Aeroplanes: The History Of The Aeroplane

The humble aeroplane commonly known as the airplane or just plane has become a staple of everyday life for the majority of us. Aeroplanes are used for a vast variety of reasons, the most common being transporting people long distances in a very short amount of time. However, this is not the only role that they play in society, they are used for many other things such as; transportation of goods, recreation, military and research. Aeroplanes are a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust, usually from a jet engine or propeller. This essay will discuss the history of how this technology that we know and love came to fruition and how it reached the market through diffusion.

The history of the aeroplane dates back surprisingly

The folio entitled “Codex on the Fight of Birds” acknowledged his attempts to design and create a man-powered aircraft/gliding device. Leonardo’s efforts however did not succeed (LEONARDO, MARINONI, p2-3). Despite this research and study it was not until the 19th century when Sir George Cayley proposed the blue prints for the modern aeroplane. Cayley’s proposition was a machine that that had separate systems for lift, control and propulsion. In 1853 he built his first glider with passengers (Britannica 2013). Between 1850 and 1900 dozens of inventors and innovators had worked on the concept of flight taking on from one another. This lead to the greater understanding of aviation. It was not until 1903 until we saw the famous Wright brothers develop the first sustained heaver than air flight recognised by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) (FAI 2007). From here the development of aeronautics was accelerated. In 1905 the Wright Flyer III was developed and could be fully controlled by the user. Shortly after in 1906 Alberto Santos Dumont developed the first known flight without the use of a catapult, certified by the FAI. By 1908 the Bleriot VII was innovated the first aircraft to have a joystick and rudder. This was the replaced but he Bleroit XI in 1909 (Crouch 1982, p21-22). Ten of these aircraft were produced and sold to Romanian Air Force (one of the very first

Within the following decade need for air-transport made it very desirable. This is mainly due to World War I as many of the retired bombers were turned into commercial airliners. Soon after these flights commenced it became very apparent that in order to be making any financial again there needed to be more people on these aircraft as they could initially fit four passengers (Century of Flight 2008). British aviation company de Havilland built a ten passenger plane that seated it occupants in comfort called the de Havilland Dragon. 1930’s saw the expansion of the commercial airliner market (Century of Flight 2008). As the need for air-transport grew so did the supply, as for any demand. Ailing such as Lufthansa (Germany), United Airlines (United States), Imperial Airways (Britain) and KLM were just some of the airlines that started operating in this