Aviation, or air transport, refers to the activities surrounding

mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. Aircraft includes

fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less
lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as balloons
and airships.
Aviation began in the 18th century with the development of the
hot air balloon, an apparatus capable of atmospheric
displacement through buoyancy. Some of the most significant
advancements in aviation technology came with the controlled
gliding flying of Otto Lilienthal in 1896; then a large step in
significance came with the construction of the first powered
airplane by the Wright brothers in the early 1900s. Since that
time, aviation has been technologically revolutionized by the
introduction of the jet which permitted a major form of transport
throughout the world.

Contents
 1 Etymology
 2 History
o 2.1 Early beginnings

o 2.2 Lighter than air

o 2.3 Heavier than air

 3 Operations of aircraft
o 3.1 Civil aviation

 3.1.1 Air transport

 3.1.2 General aviation

o 3.2 Military aviation

 3.2.1 Types of military aviation

 o 3.3 Air safety
 4 Aviation accidents and incidents
 5 Air traffic control
 6 Environmental impact
 7 See also
 8 Notes
 9 Bibliography
 10 External links
Etymology
The word aviation was coined by the French writer and former
naval officer Gabriel La Landelle in 1863.[1] He derived the term
from the verb avier (an unsuccessful neologism for "to fly"),
itself derived from the Latin word avis ("bird") and the suffix -
ation.[2]
History
Main article: History of aviation
Early beginnings
There are early legends of human flight such as the stories of
Icarus in Greek myth, Jamshid and Shah Kay Kāvus in Persian
myth,[3] and the flying automaton of Archytas of Tarentum
(428–347 BC).[4] Later, somewhat more credible claims of short-
distance human flights appear, such as the winged flights of
Abbas ibn Firnas (810–887), Eilmer of Malmesbury (11th
century), and the hot-air Passarola of Bartholomeu Lourenço de
Gusmão (1685–1724).
Lighter than air
LZ 129 Hindenburg at Lakehurst Naval Air Station, 1936
The modern age of aviation began with the first untethered
human lighter-than-air flight on November 21, 1783, of a hot air
balloon designed by the Montgolfier brothers. The practicality
of balloons was limited because they could only travel
downwind. It was immediately recognized that a steerable, or
dirigible, balloon was required. Jean-Pierre Blanchard flew the
first human-powered dirigible in 1784 and crossed the English
Channel in one in 1785.
Rigid airships became the first aircraft to transport passengers
and cargo over great distances. The best known aircraft of this
type were manufactured by the German Zeppelin company.
The most successful Zeppelin was the Graf Zeppelin. It flew
over one million miles, including an around-the-world flight in
August 1929. However, the dominance of the Zeppelins over the
airplanes of that period, which had a range of only a few
hundred miles, was diminishing as airplane design advanced.
The "Golden Age" of the airships ended on May 6, 1937 when
the Hindenburg caught fire, killing 36 people. The cause of the
Hindenburg accident was initially blamed on the use of
hydrogen instead of helium as the lift gas. An internal
investigation by the manufacturer revealed that the coating used
in the material covering the frame was highly flammable and
allowed static electricity to build up in the airship.[5] Changes to
the coating formulation reduced the risk of further Hindenburg
type accidents. Although there have been periodic initiatives to
revive their use, airships have seen only niche application since
that time.
Heavier than air
In 1799, Sir George Cayley set forth the concept of the modern
airplane as a fixed-wing flying machine with separate systems
for lift, propulsion, and control.[6][7] Early dirigible developments
included machine-powered propulsion (Henri Giffard, 1852),
rigid frames (David Schwarz, 1896) and improved speed and
maneuverability (Alberto Santos-Dumont, 1901)

First powered and controlled flight by the Wright brothers,

December 17, 1903
There are many competing claims for the earliest powered,
heavier-than-air flight. The first recorded powered flight was
carried out by Clément Ader on October 9, 1890 in his bat-
winged, fully self-propelled fixed-wing aircraft, the Ader Éole.
It was reportedly the first manned, powered, heavier-than-air
flight of a significant distance (50 m (160 ft)) but insignificant
altitude from level ground.[8][9][10] Seven years later, on 14
October 1897, Ader's Avion III was tested without success in
front of two officials from the French War ministry. The report
on the trials was not publicized until 1910, as they had been a
military secret. In November 1906, Ader claimed to have made a
successful flight on 14 October 1897, achieving an
"uninterrupted flight" of around 300 metres (980 feet). Although
widely believed at the time, these claims were later
discredited.[11][12]
The Wright brothers made the first successful powered,
controlled and sustained airplane flight on December 17, 1903, a
feat made possible by their invention of three-axis control. Only
a decade later, at the start of World War I, heavier-than-air
powered aircraft had become practical for reconnaissance,
artillery spotting, and even attacks against ground positions.
Aircraft began to transport people and cargo as designs grew
larger and more reliable. The Wright brothers took aloft the first
passenger, Charles Furnas, one of their mechanics, on May 14,
1908.[13][14]
During the 1920s and 1930s great progress was made in the field
of aviation, including the first transatlantic flight of Alcock and
Brown in 1919, Charles Lindbergh's solo transatlantic flight in
1927, and Charles Kingsford Smith's transpacific flight the
following year. One of the most successful designs of this period
was the Douglas DC-3, which became the first airliner to be
profitable carrying passengers exclusively, starting the modern
era of passenger airline service. By the beginning of World War
II, many towns and cities had built airports, and there were
numerous qualified pilots available. The war brought many
innovations to aviation, including the first jet aircraft and the
first liquid-fueled rockets.
NASA's Helios researches solar powered flight.
After World War II, especially in North America, there was a
boom in general aviation, both private and commercial, as
thousands of pilots were released from military service and
many inexpensive war-surplus transport and training aircraft
became available. Manufacturers such as Cessna, Piper, and
Beechcraft expanded production to provide light aircraft for the
new middle-class market.
By the 1950s, the development of civil jets grew, beginning with
the de Havilland Comet, though the first widely used passenger
jet was the Boeing 707, because it was much more economical
than other aircraft at that time. At the same time, turboprop
propulsion began to appear for smaller commuter planes,
making it possible to serve small-volume routes in a much wider
range of weather conditions.
Since the 1960s composite material airframes and quieter, more
efficient engines have become available, and Concorde provided
supersonic passenger service for more than two decades, but the
most important lasting innovations have taken place in
instrumentation and control. The arrival of solid-state
electronics, the Global Positioning System, satellite
communications, and increasingly small and powerful
computers and LED displays, have dramatically changed the
cockpits of airliners and, increasingly, of smaller aircraft as well.
Pilots can navigate much more accurately and view terrain,
obstructions, and other nearby aircraft on a map or through
synthetic vision, even at night or in low visibility.
On June 21, 2004, SpaceShipOne became the first privately
funded aircraft to make a spaceflight, opening the possibility of
an aviation market capable of leaving the Earth's atmosphere.
Meanwhile, flying prototypes of aircraft powered by alternative
fuels, such as ethanol, electricity, and even solar energy, are
becoming more common.
Operations of aircraft
Civil aviation
Main article: Civil aviation
Civil aviation includes all non-military flying, both general
aviation and scheduled air transport.
Air transport
Main article: Airline

Northwest Airlines Airbus A330-323

There are five major manufacturers of civil transport aircraft (in
alphabetical order):
  Airbus, based in Europe
 Boeing, based in the United States
 Bombardier, based in Canada
 Embraer, based in Brazil
 United Aircraft Corporation, based in Russia
Boeing, Airbus, Ilyushin and Tupolev concentrate on wide-body
and narrow-body jet airliners, while Bombardier, Embraer and
Sukhoi concentrate on regional airliners. Large networks of
specialized parts suppliers from around the world support these
manufacturers, who sometimes provide only the initial design
and final assembly in their own plants. The Chinese ACAC
consortium will also soon enter the civil transport market with
its Comac ARJ21 regional jet.[15]
Until the 1970s, most major airlines were flag carriers,
sponsored by their governments and heavily protected from
competition. Since then, open skies agreements have resulted in
increased competition and choice for consumers, coupled with
falling prices for airlines. The combination of high fuel prices,
low fares, high salaries, and crises such as the September 11,
2001 attacks and the SARS epidemic have driven many older
airlines to government-bailouts, bankruptcy or mergers. At the
same time, low-cost carriers such as Ryanair, Southwest and
WestJet have flourished.
General aviation
Main article: General aviation
1947 Cessna 120
General aviation includes all non-scheduled civil flying, both
private and commercial. General aviation may include business
flights, air charter, private aviation, flight training, ballooning,
parachuting, gliding, hang gliding, aerial photography, foot-
launched powered hang gliders, air ambulance, crop dusting,
charter flights, traffic reporting, police air patrols and forest fire
fighting.
Each country regulates aviation differently, but general aviation
usually falls under different regulations depending on whether it
is private or commercial and on the type of equipment involved.
Many small aircraft manufacturers serve the general aviation
market, with a focus on private aviation and flight training.
The most important recent developments for small aircraft
(which form the bulk of the GA fleet) have been the introduction
of advanced avionics (including GPS) that were formerly found
only in large airliners, and the introduction of composite
materials to make small aircraft lighter and faster. Ultralight and
homebuilt aircraft have also become increasingly popular for
recreational use, since in most countries that allow private
aviation, they are much less expensive and less heavily regulated
than certified aircraft.
Military aviation
Main articles: Military aviation and Aerial warfare
Simple balloons were used as surveillance aircraft as early as the
18th century. Over the years, military aircraft have been built to
meet ever increasing capability requirements. Manufacturers of
military aircraft compete for contracts to supply their
government's arsenal. Aircraft are selected based on factors like
cost, performance, and the speed of production.

The Lockheed SR-71 remains unsurpassed in many areas of

performance.
Types of military aviation
 Fighter aircraft's primary function is to destroy other
aircraft. (e.g. Sopwith Camel, A6M Zero, F-15, MiG-29,
Su-27, and F-22).
 Ground attack aircraft are used against tactical earth-bound
targets. (e.g. Junkers Stuka, A-10, Il-2, J-22 Orao, AH-64
and Su-25).
 Bombers are generally used against more strategic targets,
such as factories and oil fields. (e.g. Zeppelin, Tu-95,
Mirage IV, and B-52).
  Transport aircraft are used to transport hardware and
personnel. (e.g. C-17 Globemaster III, C-130 Hercules and
Mil Mi-26).
 Surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft obtain information
about enemy forces. (e.g. Rumpler Taube, Mosquito, U-2,
OH-58 and MiG-25R).
 Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are used primarily as
reconnaissance fixed-wing aircraft, though many also carry
payloads. Cargo aircraft are in development. (e.g. RQ-7B
Shadow, MQ-8 Fire Scout, and MQ-1C Gray Eagle).
 Missiles deliver warheads, normally explosives, but also
things like leaflets.
Air safety
Main article: Aviation safety
Aviation safety means the state of an aviation system or
organization in which risks associated with aviation activities,
related to, or in direct support of the operation of aircraft, are
reduced and controlled to an acceptable level. It encompasses
the theory, practice, investigation, and categorization of flight
failures, and the prevention of such failures through regulation,
education, and training. It can also be applied in the context of
campaigns that inform the public as to the safety of air travel.
Aviation accidents and incidents
Main article: Aviation accidents and incidents
A USAF Thunderbird pilot ejecting from his F-16 aircraft at an
air show in 2003
An aviation accident is defined by the Convention on
International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence
associated with the operation of an aircraft which takes place
between the time any person boards the aircraft with the
intention of flight until such time as all such persons have
disembarked, in which a person is fatally or seriously injured,
the aircraft sustains damage or structural failure or the aircraft is
missing or is completely inaccessible.[16]
The first fatal aviation accident occurred in a Wright Model A
aircraft at Fort Myer, Virginia, USA, on September 17, 1908,
resulting in injury to the pilot, Orville Wright, and death of the
passenger, Signal Corps Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge.[17]
An aviation incident is defined as an occurrence, other than an
accident, associated with the operation of an aircraft that affects
or could affect the safety of operations.[18]
An accident in which the damage to the aircraft is such that it
must be written off, or in which the plane is destroyed, is called
a hull loss accident.[18]
Air traffic control
Main article: Air traffic control

Air traffic control towers at Amsterdam Airport

Air traffic control (ATC) involves communication with aircraft
to help maintain separation – that is, they ensure that aircraft are
sufficiently far enough apart horizontally or vertically for no risk
of collision. Controllers may co-ordinate position reports
provided by pilots, or in high traffic areas (such as the United
States) they may use radar to see aircraft positions.
There are generally four different types of ATC:
 center controllers, who control aircraft en route between
airports
 control towers (including tower, ground control, clearance
delivery, and other services), which control aircraft within a
small distance (typically 10–15 km horizontal, and 1,000 m
vertical) of an airport.
 oceanic controllers, who control aircraft over international
waters between continents, generally without radar service.
  terminal controllers, who control aircraft in a wider area
(typically 50–80 km) around busy airports.
ATC is especially important for aircraft flying under instrument
flight rules (IFR), when they may be in weather conditions that
do not allow the pilots to see other aircraft. However, in very
high-traffic areas, especially near major airports, aircraft flying
under visual flight rules (VFR) are also required to follow
instructions from ATC.
In addition to separation from other aircraft, ATC may provide
weather advisories, terrain separation, navigation assistance, and
other services to pilots, depending on their workload.
ATC do not control all flights. The majority of VFR (Visual
Flight Rules) flights in North America are not required to
contact ATC (unless they are passing through a busy terminal
area or using a major airport), and in many areas, such as
northern Canada and low altitude in northern Scotland, Air
traffic control services are not available even for IFR flights at
lower altitudes.
Environmental impact
Main article: Environmental impact of aviation
Like all activities involving combustion, operating powered
aircraft (from airliners to hot air balloons) releases soot and
other pollutants into the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases such as
carbon dioxide (CO2) are also produced. In addition, there are
environmental impacts specific to aviation: for instance,
Water vapor contrails left by high-altitude jet airliners. These
may contribute to cirrus cloud formation.
 Aircraft operating at high altitudes near the tropopause
(mainly large jet airliners) emit aerosols and leave
contrails, both of which can increase cirrus cloud
formation – cloud cover may have increased by up to 0.2%
since the birth of aviation.[19] Clouds can have both a
cooling and warming effect. They reflect some of the sun's
rays back into space, but also block some of the heat
radiated by Earth's surface. On average, both thin natural
cirrus clouds and contrails have a net warming effect.[20]
 Aircraft operating at high altitudes near the tropopause can
also release chemicals that interact with greenhouse gases
at those altitudes, particularly nitrogen compounds, which
interact with ozone, increasing ozone concentrations.[21][22]
 Most light piston aircraft burn avgas, which contains
tetraethyllead (TEL). Some lower-compression piston
engines can operate on unleaded mogas, and turbine
engines and diesel engines – neither of which require lead –
are appearing on some newer light aircraft.
Another environmental impact of aviation is noise pollution,
mainly caused by aircraft taking off and landing.