The History of Sky Transportation

By Róisín Mohan

Hot Air Balloons Hot air balloons are the oldest man

carrying flight technology . The hot air balloon was invented by the Montgolfier Brothers in September 19 1783 it went from Annonay , France . It was in the air for around ten minutes and hade no passengers aboard . It travelled more than a mile journey.

1785 English Channel Crossing by balloon.

Jean-Pierre Blanchard and John Jeffries cross the English Channel by baloon

They travelled from Dover , England to Calais , France .

They nearly crashed into the channel on the way .

To stop them from crashing they had to throw nearly everything out of the balloon.

The Wright Brothers 1903 

Orville and Wilbur Wright make first powered, non stop, and controlled flight in a heavier-than-air flying machine.

The flight lasted 12 seconds and covered 120 feet.

Three more flights were made that day .

First Flight across the Atlantic

1927 Charles A. Lindbergh completes first solo, nonstop trans-Atlantic flight.

He took off from Long Island New York and landed in Paris in France

It took him 34 hours to cross. He had to stay awake for a day and a half.

Amelia Earhart 1932 Amelia Earhart is the first woman to

fly a solo non-stop trans-Atlantic flight. 1937 Amelia Earhart attempted an

around the world flight. She went missing It was thought that her plane crashed. She was never found.

Passenger Travel 1914 Ten years after the Wright brothers

first flew, the first regularly scheduled passenger flight between St. Petersburg and Tampa, Florida, using a Benoist flying boat. Piloting the first flight was Capt. Tony Jannus, a well known airman of the day.

1933 A modern airliner, Boeing 247, flies for the first time.

Men in Space 1961 

Soviet cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, is the first man in space.

1962 John H. Glenn, Jr., is the first American to go around the earth.

1969 U.S. astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., are the first to walk on the moon.

Space Station 1971 

First space station, Soviet Salyut 1, is launched into space.

1981 U.S. launches the first reusable spacecraft, the Columbia shuttle.

1998 First two parts of the International Space Station are launched and joined together in space.

2000 First crew arrives to live in the International Space Station.

Modern Air Travel 8 million people fly every day. New York to Paris now takes 7 hours. In the late 1920's air travel was very different

than it is today. The airplanes were un-insulated and quite cold. They were made of thin sheets of metal which rattled in the wind. It was uncomfortable for passengers to fly and passengers stuck cotton wool in their ears to stop the noise. They also chewed gum to stop their ears from hurting because of the different air pressure