TRANSFORMATIONAL AIRCRAFT DESIGNS

Airplanes that Changed Aviation Forever

WRIGHT 1905 FLYERThe World’s First Practical Plane

It wasn’t the world’s first, but it was the first practical plane. Built two years after their 1903 Flyer, this version had independent three-axis control. It wasn’t terribly stable, but it

was the first aircraft to be able to fly for thirty minutes. This design was the basis for aircraft design for years to come.

BLÉRIOT XIThe First Flight Across the English Channel

Louis Blériot’s Model XI was the first aircraft to cross the English Channel, in 1909. The design innovations included moving the engine to the front and tail landing gear. This

plane also marked the beginning of modern European aircraft design.

DEPERDUSSIN MONOCOQUE

Stressed-Skin Shell & Streamlined Body

The Deperdussin Monocoque introduced the stressed-skin shell structure to the aviation world. This technology quickly became a global design standard, originally in wood, then metal. This was also the first example of a more streamlined body - a later version of this

design would become the first plane to exceed 100mph.

SIKORSKY IL’YA MUROMETSDual Controls for Pilot & Copilot

Named for a legendary Russian warrior, the Il’ya Muromets featured the first dual controls for a pilot and copilot. It also featured a level of luxury heretofore unknown to aircraft,

including a lavatory, bed, cabin heating, and cabin lighting. It also proved to be the direct predecessor to bombers.

JUNKERS J-13 (F-13)All-Metal Enclosed Cabin

The J-13 was a complete reinvention of the airplane. With low, thick, internally braced 'cantilever' wings for greater lift, full metal construction, an enclosed cabin, and more

streamlining than ever before, this design is the missing link between earlier aircraft and what we fly today. This line of aircraft would later make up 40% of the world's aircraft.

ZEPPELIN-STAAKEN (ROHRBACH) E.4/20Size, Power, and Dural Stressed Skin

The Zeppelin-Staaken E.4/20 was years ahead of it's time. During it's first flight, it cruised over 130mph at less than full power, and could fly over 800 miles. The design included dural stressed skin with a single torsion-box spar across the entire wingspan, and was exceedingly streamlined. With four engines, the cabin could seat up to 18 passengers.

BÄUMER SAUSEWINDLaunched the Light, Streamlined Aircraft Movement

Designed to compete in a 1925 light-aircraft race, this design launched the definitive streamlined propeller-driven airplane. The design featured a beautiful wooden elliptical

wing and a smooth plywood fuselage. Aircraft designers would praise the brilliance of style for years and years to come.

DORNIER WALBroke Speed Records and Spawned Sea Planes

The Wal (whale) used Duralumin, a new aluminum alloy, and blended construction techniques of Zeppelin and ship-building. Design innovation includes high, semi-cantilever monoplane wing and broad stabilizing sponsons to reduce drag. It spawned generations of

passenger sea planes, and broke world records for speed and payload.

DOUGLAS DC-1First Scientifically Built American Airplane

Considered the first scientifically designed American airplane, the DC-1 was built using research and knowledge from federal research laboratories. The shape was refined

extensively for wind tunnels, used high-strench aluminum alloy multi-cell structure, and retractable landing gear.

LOCKHEED XC-35First Pressurized Cabin

With the XC-35, Lockheed created the first pressurized passenger cabin. The plane also featured a redesigned fuselage and two 'turbosupercharged' engines, which meant it could

travel to high altitudes while maintaining reasonable cabin pressure.

GLOSTER E.28/39The Dawn of the Jet Engine

The jet engine revolutionized aeronautics. The E.28/39 wasn't the first jet engine to fly, but it was by far the most influential of the early jets. The design featured centrifugal

compressors, which would become the global standard and pave the way for supersonic speeds. It influenced early jet design in all major aircraft-producing countries.

NORTH AMERICAN XP-86 SABRE

The First Swept-Wing Jet Fighter

The Sabre was the first swept-wing jet fighter, a big step for dogfighting pilots during the Korean War. The design helped the plane achieve high speeds by delaying transonic drag

rise and shock wave formation. It could remain within the subsonic air flow contained within the shock cone.

BELL XS-1The World’s First Supersonic Plane

The Bell XS-1 was the world's first supersonic airplane, which was not only a technological feat, but also the beginning of seeing the sky as a laboratory. Wind tunnels,

for the first time, weren't able to accurately test aircraft moving at transonic speeds.

BOEING 367-80 (‘DASH 80’)The Modern Jetliner Standard

The Dash 80 has become the standard for long-range jetliners, with podded engines and a low swept wing. The US aviation industry was dominant thanks largely to this design for the following 25+ years. Originally designed for military transport and to refuel bombers,

but was more importantly the inspiration to the civil 707.

GENERAL DYNAMICS YF-16Computer ‘Fly By Wire’ Flight Control

The program that spawned this fighter craft was criticized as too expensive, and it was - the YF-16 program is one of the largest aircraft production efforts in US history. The

computer controlled flight control system was just one of the significant design elements introduced by this fast & maneuverable plane.

BOEING 77721st Century Advances in Industrial Design,

Propulsion, & Computer Technology

A departure from the tube and swept-wing design they'd popularized with the Dash 80, Boeing's 777 was a considerable risk when construction was completed in 1994.

Competing with larger craft like the Airbus A330, its twin engines produced 90,000 lbs of thrust. But what really makes it a landmark design is the design process, which was

executed exclusively on computers.

TRANSFORMATIONAL AIRCRAFT DESIGNS

Airplanes that Changed Aviation Forever