First Flights with Neil Armstrong

Using Lilienthals glider research, the Wright brothers achieved controlled flight. The French reacted with renewed effort and Bleriot crossed the English Channel. Each airplane had its own personality and a pilot flew by his wits, instinct and luck.

WW1 gave the airplane a job, soon the battlefields were full of unarmed aircraft, peering down at the trenches, then carrying news of an impending attack. With a machine gun mounted on the cowling of a Morane-Saulnier Bullet, the fighter plane was born.

Airmail pioneers demonstrated that airplanes had a bright commercial future. The variety of aircraft was dazzling -- anything with wings was put to use. But conditions were harsh and pilots had to be hardy and brave to risk flying the mail.

From the early years of flight until the late 1930s, air racing was the single most important testing ground for engineering advancements. It provided a breathtaking combination of daredevil risk taking and technological innovation..

Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan redefined the arts of aerial warfare with their revolutionary aircraft designs. As the storm clouds gathered for the Second World War, the rest of the world slowly began to rise to the challenge.

American industry entered the competition to create the worlds best fighter -- one that was faster and carried more armament. A dramatic increase in horsepower produced the P-47 Thunderbolt, often claimed to be the fastest fighter of the war.

During WWII, the Messerschmitt 262, and the Gloster Meteor were introduced. With these first operational jet fighters, a new era in aerial combat had begun. As jet met jet over Korea, the MiG-15 proved Russia to be a a major power in jet development.

The World War II bombers were capable of delivering an arsenal of destruction. Aerial warfare became a team effort that relied on coordination, accuracy and determination with up to 10 men in an aircraft, and sometimes 1,000 airplanes in a formation.

WW2 aviation advances such as hard runways, large long range aircraft and cabin pressurization set the stage for growing passenger transport after the war. Soon jets slashed travel times and brought unheard of growth in mass transportation.

The U.S. and Russia rivalry developed jet fighters with fantastic speeds and high tech weapons. Computers were unseen co-pilot and some fighters only fired guided missiles. Before long a new generation of highly maneuverable dog-fighting jets was needed.

In the early 1960s, the U.S. Strategic Air Command wanted high-flying supersonic bombers like the B-58 Hustler and the XB-70. But now the newest bombers are sub-sonic: the low-flying, radar-evading B-1B, and the high tech B-2 Stealth bomber.

When a fighter or bomber strikes ground forces, it is acting as an attack aircraft. Many fighters can play this role, but recent wars have shown the value of dedicated attack aircraft, designed to hit hard and survive extensive battle damage.

Chuck Yeagers X-1 flight through the "sound barrier" set the stage for the U.S. experimental X-program, a systematic exploration of fresh ideas in aviation. Pilots flew at the cutting edge of technology in untried, untested, and unknown aircraft.

From Ciervas breakthrough in autogyro design, to the state-of-the-art BK-117, the heart of the helicopter story has been the rotorhead. Early helicopters were complex, dangerous flying machines, prone to failure. For the men and women who took the controls, concentration and daring were essential.

Conventional airplanes need large runways for takeoff and landing, a limitation that concerned defense planners. As turbine engines became lighter, a new type of aircraft became possible — one that could take off and land vertically, yet fly with the speed of jets.

Many times in aviation history the ultimate test of aircraft and pilot was to fly around the world. Competition and showmanship always played a part, but in the end it was the mental and physical endurance of the men and women who climbed into the cockpit that made success possible.

In their quest for flight efficiency, some designers thought the ideal shape would be just a wing, nothing else, flying through the air. Though successful development of flying wings has often proved illusive, Northrops designs proved feasibility, and the B-2 Stealth Bomber brought the configuration into production.

During WWII, the Germans introduced the Messerschmitt 262, and the British the Gloster Meteor. With these first operational jet fighters, a new era in aerial combat had begun. As jet met jet in the skies over Korea, the MiG-15 proved Russia to be a major power in jet aircraft development.

In the 1920s when just about anyone could afford a car, interest grew in a safe, inexpensive airplane that anyone could fly. Convenience went a step further in roadable aircraft – vehicles that could travel the highways, then convert to an airplane for the rest of the journey. The airplane has never attained the practicality of the automobile for family travel, but modern aviation offers exciting opportunities for the amateur flyer.

The Wright brothers realized that a propeller was a rotating wing – giving it a twist made it practical. By the mid 1930s, variable pitch and NACA research revolutionized propeller design. With the coming of the jet age, propellers fell out of favor for large aircraft. But designers soon realized that a fast turboprop with an advanced propeller could be more efficient than the best jetliners.