#e <t>flight<d>1903 Dec 17<n>Wright brothers' first flight<c>Kitty Hawk<info>This was the first manned, powered flight of a heavier-than-air craft. Orville Wright flew the Wright Flyer 120 feet in 12 seconds.
#e <t>flight<d>1909 Feb 23<n>first flight in Canada<c>Baddeck<info>The Silver Dart is the first airplane to fly in Canada.
#e <t>flight<d>1923<n>Cierva autogiro<c>Spain<info>The autogiro is an aircraft that obtains its lift from a rotor that freely rotates horizontally. The rotor is not powered directly by the engine but rather by the flow of air past the blades. Forward thrust comes from a propeller. Early autogiros were inherently unstable and tended to tip over when straight flight was attempted. The Spanish engineer Juan de la Cierva designed the first successful autogiro in 1923 by hinging the rotor blades so that they could rise and fall freely in response to variations in relative velocity during rotation, thus equalising the lift. Unlike the helicopter, which eventually took over most of its functions, the autogiro is incapable of hovering flight. On early versions, wings were necessary for lateral control, but on later models the rotor system provides control.<ref>Grolier
#e <t>flight<d>1928 Jun 11<n>rocket-propelled airplane<c>Germany<info>The first rocket-propelled airplane to fly was a glider which had stabilising fins situated ahead of the wings.
#e <t>flight<d>1929<n>dirigible circles earth<c>New Jersey<info>In 29 days, the Graf Zeppelin circled the earth, departing from and arriving at New Jersey.
#e <t>flight<d>1939 Jun<n>He 176<c>Germany<info>The He 176 was a rocket-powered German research airplane built by Ernst Heinkel. It first flew in June 1939.
#e <t>flight<d>1939 Aug 24<n>He 178<c>Germany<info>The He 178 was a turbojet-powered research airplane built by Ernst Heinkel in 1939. It flew a short hop on August 24, and its first full flight on August 27.
#e <t>flight<d>1941 Apr 5<n>He 280<c>Germany<info>The He 280 was the first jet fighter to fly.
#e <t>flight<d>1944 Jul<n>Gloster Meteor<c>Great Britain<info>The first jet fighter to enter service was Britain's Gloster Meteor.
#e <t>flight<d>1947 Oct 14<n>sound barrier broken<c>U.S.<info>The sound barrier was broken by U.S. Air Force captain Chuck Yeager in a Bell X-1 research plane.
#e <t>flight<d>1949 Jul 27<n>de Havilland Comet<c>Great Britain<info>The first jet transport was the British de Havilland Comet, flown on July 27, 1949. It began regular passenger service on May 2, 1952.
#e <t>flight<d>1970 Nov 4<n>Concorde exceeds Mach 2<c>Europe<info>The Concorde entered service in 1976.
#e <t>flight<d>1986<n>non-stop circumnavigation flight<c>Edwards AFB<info>Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager flew their plane, Voyage, on the first non-stop, non-refueled flight around the world.
#e <t>flight<d>1998 Aug 20<e>1998 Aug 21<n>unmanned trans-Atlantic flight<c>Newfoundland<dep>1998 Aug 20<arr>1998 Aug 21<c>Outer Hebrides<info>The first trans-Atlantic crossing by an unmanned airplane is accomplished.
