A Report On The Air Service - 1610 Words

On Dec. 17, 1903, brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright spent over four years of constant research and design efforts beginning with a 120 foot, 12-second flight in Kitty Hawk, N.C. This was the very first flight in a heavier than air machine. Up till then people had only ever flown in balloons and gliders. Leon Delagrange was the first passenger to fly in a plane, he flew with French pilot Henri Farman from a meadow outside of Paris in 1908. Later that year Charles Furnas was the first American passenger when he flew with Orville Wright at Kitty Hawk. The first proper air service was in Florida on January 1st, 1914, a plane had been designed by Glenn Curtiss that was able to take off and land on water and could be built larger than any†¦show more content†¦Another slower achievement was improving the aircraft designs, although when World War I arrived, countries soon realised the importance of aircraft and the advantage they could give. In that time the production had to incre ase considering the largely rising demands from governments from both sides of the Atlantic. What was the most significant of the War was the development of more powerful motors, these new motors aloud certain aircraft to reach seeps of up to 130 miles per hour. These fast speeds more than doubles the speed of original war designed aircraft, this rise in speed also aloud larger aircraft to be possible. These and other early flights were headline events, but commercial aviation was very slow to catch on with the general public, most of whom were afraid to ride in the new flying machines. Improvements in aircraft design also were slow. However, with the advent of World War I, the military value of aircraft was quickly recognized and production increased to meet the soaring demand for planes from governments on both sides of the Atlantic. Most significant was the development of more powerful motors, enabling aircraft to reach speeds of up to 130 miles per hour, more than twice the speed of pre-war aircraft. Increased power also made larger aircraft