Airlines off the World Other

Curtiss Wright

While many feel the history of aviation begins with Orville and Wilbur Wright, the truth is the history of aviation extends more than 2,200 years, starting with the first manmade kite. These kites, like UAVs (unmanned air vehicles) of today, found use by the military to help create attack plans against their enemies. At the turn of the second century, the military found use in the implementation of hot air balloons. Interestingly, when a lit oil lamp located within the balloon flew overhead, the enemy did not know what to make of it, frightening them. While there were many attempts at flight between the turn of the second century and the first flight of Flyer 1, the majority of flights were unmanned, employing gases that were lighter than air. A perfect example occurred on December 1, 1884, when Jacques Charles and Nicolas-Louis Robert from Paris, France, flew their hydrogen balloon to an altitude of 1,800 ft, covering a distance of more than 22 miles. Although many people in the late 1800s were very impressed with this flight, little did they know, it had barely scratched the surface of aviation.