100 χρόνια πτήσης

1903 - Wright Bros
A little over 100 years ago among the sand dunes of the Kill Devil Hills near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, two brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright, introduced the world to the principle of controlled, powered flight. The distance the Wright Flyer biplane covered on December 17, 1903 with Orville at the controls was less than half the Airbus A380's 262ft wingspan, but the era of the aeroplane had arrived.

1919 - First regular international air services
As soon as peace broke out after the First World War, the aeroplane's earning ability was tapped. Mail, rather than passengers, provided the initial impetus for commercial aviation, but in August 1919 the world's first regular international air service began, between Hounslow Heath near London and Le Bourget, Paris. The Airco DH4A biplane carried a single passenger and cargo including jars of Devonshire cream.

1935 - Douglas DC-3
In 1934, spurred on by the new levels of speed and comfort of the 10-seat Boeing Model 247 monoplane, Douglas Aircraft created the first of its "Douglas Commercial", or DC series, of airliners. The third version - the ubiquitous DC-3 - became the mainstay of the airline industry in the pre-war era. The 30-seater went on to be a major force in the Allies' transport fleets, dropping thousands of soldiers in Normandy during the D-Day landings in 1944; ultimately almost 10,700 were produced.

1937 - Hindenburg disaster
Airships were the early pioneers of air transport, beginning in June 1910. By the 1930s, Zeppelin had developed huge rigid, airships to ply the Atlantic, epitomised by the 813ft-long LZ129 Hindenburg. Carrying 50 passengers in double cabins served by a crew of 40, the Hindenburg was designed to use helium gas, but a switch to highly explosive hydrogen was made after the United States refused to supply Germany. After a transatlantic crossing on May 6, 1937, the Hindenburg burst into flames as it moored at Lakehurst, New Jersey, killing 35 of the 97 on board. This was the last Atlantic crossing by a large airship.

1947 - Hughes H-4 Hercules"Spruce Goose"
Only one example of this giant flying boat was built by the eccentric entrepreneur Howard Hughes, but it holds a place in history for its vast size. Conceived during the Second World War as a "flying cargo ship" and dubbed the Spruce Goose because of its wooden construction, the aircraft was 219ft long, had a wingspan of 320ft and room for up to 750 fully armed troops, on a par with today's A380. The eight-engine aircraft made its only flight in November 1947, when, with Hughes at the controls, it took to the air for just under a mile in the sea off Long Beach harbour, reaching a height of just 70ft.

1949 - Bristol Brabazon
This famous "white elephant" was an early false start in the industry's efforts to build a giant long-haul airliner. Conceived under the Brabazon Committee plan drawn up by Britain during the Second World War to rebuild the nation's civil aircraft industry, the huge Bristol Type 167 Brabazon was 177ft long, had a wingspan of 230ft and luxury accommodation for 100 passengers. Powered by eight radial engines, driving contra-rotating propellers, the Brabazon flew in September 1949 but never generated enough commercial interest to progress beyond a prototype, as its size was considered too big a gamble.

1952 - De Havilland Comet
Another strand of the Brabazon Committee plan had far more immediate commercial appeal - the development of a jet airliner capable of flying at 500mph. De Havilland met the challenge with the DH106 Comet, which operated the world's first jet airliner service in May 1952 carrying 30 passengers on a multi-hop flight between London and Johannesburg taking almost 24 hours. Sadly it was to suffer a spate of accidents because of structural design problems, and was withdrawn from service two years later. This allowed the US to take the lead in jet airliner development for many years.

1970 - Boeing 747
In 1966, Boeing famously "bet the company" on the 747 with the backing of long-haul airline Pan Am. This 375-seater, which entered service in 1970, revolutionised the industry. Not only was it 50 per cent bigger than any airliner flying, but its "widebody" twin-aisle layout brought new levels of comfort and airiness, and the engines much improved efficiency and noise levels. The 747 has been through many versions over 37 years, with nearly 1,400 delivered. Production continues of the 747-400 model, to be succeeded in 2009 by the larger, 470-seat 747-8 to rival the Airbus A380.

1976 - Concorde
Once hailed as the future of air travel, supersonic planes lost out to mass-market people movers such as the 747. The 100-seat Anglo-French Concorde should never have entered service as there were serious doubts about its commercial appeal during development. But thanks to taxpayers, the programme continued, and BA and Air France operated supersonic services for almost three decades, marred by the crash of a Concorde near Paris in 2000 killing 113 people.

2007 - A380
Airbus was created in 1970 - the year the 747 entered service - and few would have predicted that it would one day produce a successor to the Boeing: the A380, launched this week.

(πηγή: www.telegraph.co.uk, 27/10/2007)