By Ifigenia Karidi, Karatza Sofia, Malatara Reggina, Apostolopoulou Konstantina

Airplanes are used by thousands of travelers on a daily basis in order to satisfy their needs or desires (traveling, business, meeting with family, diseases etc). Of course there is a plethora of plane such as military aircrafts, private jets, airbuses, airships, passenger planes  and amphibious ones.  However most people, despite the fact that they have hopped on an airplane at least once, are unaware of their history.

The history of airplanes began with centuries of human fascination with flight. Early pioneers like Leonardo da Vinci conceptualized flying machines, but it wasn’t until the late 19th and early 20th centuries that serious experiments took place. In 1903, the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, achieved the first successful powered flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, with their aircraft, the Wright Flyer. Their achievement built on earlier work by inventors like Otto Lilienthal, who had pioneered controlled gliding, and Samuel Langley, who had attempted powered flight.

Unfortunately in the following years the Wright’s success was used as means of the World War I for the first time in human history and of course they were developed in order to fit to the needs of war .  The interwar years saw further improvements in aerodynamics, engine power, and design, with aircraft like Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis (1927) making historic long-distance flights.  In the following World War major leaps were driven  in aircraft technology, including the introduction of jet engines and long-range bombers.

After the war ended the commercial use blossomed with the introduction of passengers jets such as Boeing 707 in the late 1950s, making air travel accessible to the masses. In the decades since, aviation has continually evolved, with innovations in materials, avionics, and fuel efficiency shaping modern aircraft. Despite numerous tragic air accidents the evolution on the aerodynamics and stability of the airplanes they are render very safe and efficient.

We all have appreciated the versatility of this invention since it has enabled to the mass to discover the world but also facilitates our everyday tasks. Don’t forget that airplanes bring power and safety to a country in case of emergency as well