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5 Events that gave us Modern Aviation

By Swapnil Patel
Hello followers! This time we present the 5 major events that gave us modern aviation. So let's begin

1. The Wright Flyer

 Although people defied gravity before the Wright brothers, the Wright flyer was the first "Powered" and "controlled" flight with passengers on board, on December 17, 1903. Airships were possible but they were slow and airplanes were about to bring in some major change in everything.

2. Curtiss NC-4
This aircraft marked the first, non-stop transatlantic flight, in May 1919. This showed the world that a sustained, non-stop flight was possible, and crossing the atlantic, something which took days and weeks, was now possible in 15 to 16 hours.

3. World War II
 The world war II marked a heavy use of powered aircrafts in dog-fights. Aircrafts were fast and maneuverable, and the competition for making light, powerful engines and fast aircrafts was on. This was the period that gave us "Airspeed". Also, bombers were used extensively and that showed us the the payload capacity of aircrafts. [Links here:- 1, 2, 3, 4]

4. Sound Barrier
 Initial claims of breaking the sound barrier were made before the Bell X-1 actually did it, but those were just aircrafts reaching transonic velocities in steep dives. However, the X-1 showed us that breaking the sound barrier was possible and we can push our planes to high speeds. The fighters used today are not just about maneuverability, like the P-40s, but also about speed. Reconnaissance aircrafts are made to fly fast and high.

5. Cold War
SR-71 BlackBird
Aircrafts like the BlackBird were products of the Cold War. The focus was not only high speeds but also efficiency at high speeds. The need to reduce wave drag at supersonic speeds gave us the Whitcomb Area rule which in turn gave us marvelous fighters and airliners like 747, often praised by AceyMac. The SR-71 also showed us stealth and the fact that it is possible to go invisible on a radar. Weird experimental aircrafts were developed by US and Russia which gave us the best aircrafts used today. The cold war gave the most to the aviation industry in the aviation history.[Links here:- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

These were 5 events which gave us modern aviation. Every Friday, we will upload 5 events about something we discussed the whole week. Let us know what you know more about aviation in the comments below.

Good Day.

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