Air
|
|
|
World Almanac for Kids
|
|
A small jet
|
In 1783, the Montgolfier brothers flew the first hot air balloon over Paris. Another Frenchman, Henri Giffard, flew the first dirigible (blimp) in 1852. It was powered by steam.
The first heavier-than-air flying machine was also steam-powered. Samuel P. Langley of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., built a model plane with a 12-foot wingspan that flew nearly a mile in 1896. Wilbur and Orville Wright had been experimenting with heavier-than-air machines at the same time. In 1903 they traveled from their bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio, to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Here they made four successful manned flights on December 17, launching the air age.
Airlines were first developed in the U.S. to carry mail. Transcontinental service was launched in 1921, bringing mail from San Francisco to New York in 33 hours--3 times faster than by train. By 1926, regular airmail service was in place, and a pilot named Charles A. Lindbergh was flying the Chicago-to-St. Louis route. Passenger service was well under way by 1930.
|
|
|
World Almanac for Kids
|
|
Boeing 747
|
Aircraft continued to get bigger and faster. In 1936, the DC-3 set a record flying from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey, in 13 hours and 4 minutes. In 1959 the Boeing 707 was launched. It was the first successful passenger jet. The Boeing 707 could carry 180 passengers at 550 miles per hour--about 225 mph faster than propeller-powered airliners. One of the most famous airliners to be developed was the Boeing 747 "jumbo jet," introduced in 1969. Cruising at 566 mph, it can carry about 500 passengers. By around 2005, Boeing hopes to introduce the Sonic Cruiser. This radically designed jet would carry 225 passengers up to 11,500 miles nonstop at speeds of 725 mph.
|
Did You Know?
Flying Presidents
|
|
Franklin D. Roosevelt had the first presidential airplane, the Sacred Cow. John F. Kennedy's plane was the first to be known as Air Force One. There are actually two Air Force One planes today. Both are specially outfitted Boeing 747s. Each has a presidential office and bedroom with a dressing room, bathroom, and shower. There's also a dining/conference room and accommodations for guests and staff. Two galleys provide meals made for up to 100 people at a time.
|
Transporte: Aéreo (Spanish Version)