From The Archives: The Evolution Of The Airplane

In this issue we published a feature about the evolution of the airplane. On page 450, C. G. Grey wrote: "Although the first human flight on a power-driven airplane, free from control on the ground was made by Orville Wright on Dec. 17, 1903, it was not until 1908 that the airplane as a more or less consistently navigable vehicle, really came into being."

In the feature, he noted the various types of aircraft from 1908 to 1912 including the Wright Bi-plane of 1908, the Bleriot Monoplane "Type XI", the Avro Bi-plane of 1910 and the Curtiss Flying-Boat of 1912, to show how the airplane has developed over this time and each of these aircraft were "considered a distinct step forward".

See the cover of the May 1 1918 edition of Aviation & Aeronautical Engineering and read the full issue.

Read the Evolution Of The Airplane on page 450. 

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