Milestones in Transportation

Updated February 21, 2017 | Factmonster Staff

In the Air


Coast Guard helicopter NASA's space shuttle lifting off

 

1783
The hot-air balloon is invented in France.

 

1783
The parachute is invented in France.
1852
The dirigible is invented in France.
1900
The zeppelin is invented in Germany.
1903
The first propellor airplane is invented in the United States.
1911
The first hydroplane is invented in the United States.
1926
The rocket is invented in the United States.
1930
The jet engine is invented in England.
1936
The double-rotor helicopter is invented in Germany.
1939
The jet is invented in Germany.
1940
The single-rotor helicopter is invented in Russia and the United States.
1955
The hovercraft is invented in England.
1969
The Concorde supersonic passenger airplane is invented in England.
1970
The jumbo jet is invented in Germany and England.
1981
The first solar-powered airplane is invented in the United States.
1981
The first space shuttle, Columbia, is launched in the United States.
2006
The Airbus 380 superjumbo jet, the world's largest passenger plane, is developed in France.
2007
Boeing begins rollout of the 787 Dreamliner, a smaller, quieter, and more efficient challenger to the Airbus 380. It is the world's first commercial airliner to be built mainly of composite materials.

For more inventions, see Inventions & Discoveries.

 

 

 
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