From Kitty Hawk to the Year 2000

The evolution of aerospace vehicles is traced from the Wright Brothers' first flights to a glimpse into the future. From a flight of less than 1/6 of a mile in 1903 through World War I and into the 1920s performance grows until aircraft cross continents and oceans and finally travel around the world. Modern multiengine airliners take to the air in the 1930s. Military aircraft reached 400 mph before World War II. The jet engine is introduced in military aircraft in the early 1940s and commercial airliners become a popular mode of transportation after the war. Military aircraft are traveling at supersonic speeds and jet transports become the standard in airline service in the 1950s. Satellites visit the planets and man reaches the moon in the 1960s. Human powered flight is a reality in the late 1970s and in 1986 Voyager makes a nonstop, nonrefueled flight around the world. A brief look into the future concludes this paper.