**History and Development of Airplanes**:
– Archytas, Leonardo da Vinci, George Cayley, and Wright brothers contributed to early aviation history.
– Early powered flights by Clement Ader, Alberto Santos-Dumont, and Blériot marked significant milestones.
– World War I tested airplanes in military applications.
– Development of jet aircraft from Heinkel He 178 to Boeing 747.
– Evolution of propulsion systems from reciprocating engines to jet engines and rockets.
**Usage and Terminology**:
– Airplanes are utilized for recreation, transportation, military, and research purposes.
– Over 4 billion passengers and 200 billion tonne-kilometers of cargo are transported annually.
– Terminology differences between US/Canada (airplanes) and UK/Commonwealth (aeroplanes).
– Introduction of remotely or computer-controlled aircraft like drones.
– Ongoing technological advancements post-World War I.
**Aircraft Design and Manufacturing**:
– Major components of an airplane including airframe, wings, fuselage, stabilizers, and landing gear.
– Evolution of airframe materials from wood to composite materials.
– Various wing configurations and their structural elements.
– Regulations and safety standards governing aircraft production.
– Aircraft production process involving collaboration among multiple companies worldwide.
**Components and Functionality**:
– Detailed breakdown of airframe components like wings, fuselage, and stabilizers.
– Importance of wing structure and its role in generating lift.
– Empennage and foreplane functions for stability and control.
– Overview of flight controls, instruments, and cockpit systems.
– Safety protocols, regulations, and continuous efforts to enhance aviation safety.
**Environmental Impact and Regulatory Bodies**:
– Environmental impact of aircraft emissions on the atmosphere.
– Efforts to reduce greenhouse gases and pollutants in aviation.
– Overview of safety statistics in air travel compared to other modes of transportation.
– Role of regulatory bodies like the FAA, EASA, and Nadcap in ensuring aviation safety.
– Recent developments in electric aircraft, aerospace welding, and civil aviation regulations.
An airplane (American English) or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spectrum of uses for airplanes includes recreation, transportation of goods and people, military, and research. Worldwide, commercial aviation transports more than four billion passengers annually on airliners and transports more than 200 billion tonne-kilometers of cargo annually, which is less than 1% of the world's cargo movement. Most airplanes are flown by a pilot on board the aircraft, but some are designed to be remotely or computer-controlled such as drones.
| Airplane | |
|---|---|
 The first flight of an airplane, the Wright Flyer on 17 December 1903 | |
| Classification | Vehicle |
| Industry | Various |
| Application | Transportation |
| Fuel source | Petrol, electricity, diesel, natural gas, hydrogen, solar |
| Powered | Yes |
| Self-propelled | Yes |
| Inventor | Wright Brothers |
| Invented | 1903 |
The Wright brothers invented and flew the first airplane in 1903, recognized as "the first sustained and controlled heavier-than-air powered flight". They built on the works of George Cayley dating from 1799, when he set forth the concept of the modern airplane (and later built and flew models and successful passenger-carrying gliders) and the work of German pioneer of human aviation Otto Lilienthal, who, between 1867 and 1896, also studied heavier-than-air flight. Lilienthal's flight attempts in 1891 are seen as the beginning of human flight. Following its limited use in World War I, aircraft technology continued to develop. Airplanes had a presence in all the major battles of World War II. The first jet aircraft was the German Heinkel He 178 in 1939. The first jet airliner, the de Havilland Comet, was introduced in 1952. The Boeing 707, the first widely successful commercial jet, was in commercial service for more than 50 years, from 1958 to at least 2013.