The History of Aviation

Paper Summary:

The paper describes the technological progress in aviation that was encouraged by both world wars. The paper then looks at the jet aircraft developed by the United States and the Soviet Union as a result of the Cold War. The paper points out that despite the underlying hostile motivations for its accelerated development, modern aviation has many positive humanitarian benefits.

Outline:
Background and History
The First Generation of Powered Aircraft
The Birth of Modern Aviation
Aviation in the Jet Age
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"The Wright brothers achieved the first powered flight in 1903, with a 59-second flight that covered a modest 852 feet at an altitude of 10 feet (SASM, 2007). Within little more than a decade from this most humble of beginnings, powered aircraft flight evolved sufficiently for pilots to face each other in aerial combat to the death in the first generation of military combat aircraft featuring full-sized machine guns in World War I. By the end of the war in 1918, bombers capable of dropping nearly 2000 pounds of explosive ordinance were in use by the British and German force(Jackson, 2003)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Gunderson, P.E. (2003) The Handy Physics Answer Book. Barnes & Noble: New York
• Jackson, R. (2003) Modern Military Aircraft. New York, NY: Barnes & Noble
• Leary, W. High-Tech Suits Help Pilots Avoid Gravity's Perils. The New York Times On The Web, (Apr 22/2000) Accessed October 1, 2007, at: http://dustbunny.physics.indiana.edu/~dzierba/hp221_2000/NYT/NYT6.html
• Smithsonian Air and Space Museum (2007) The Wright Brothers and the Invention of the Aerial Age. Accessed October 1, 2007, at: http://www.nasm.si.edu/wrightbrothers/
• Yeager, C., Janos, L. (1986) Yeager: An Autobiography. Bantam: New York

More papers on The History of Aviation:

• Term Paper # 146152 : "History of Aviation Technology"
• Essay # 46667 : "The Invention of Airplanes"
• Analytical Essay # 27850 : "Economics and General Aviation"

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