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Sarina Houston

By Sarina Houston, About.com Guide

    Aviation History
    Guide picks
    From the Wrights to Concorde and the Space Shuttle - so much has happened in the first 100 years of powered flight. Dig into that rich history here.

    Early Flight - 1 - Gliders and Steam
    Manned heavier than air flight is generally accepted to have begun on 17th December 1903 with the first sustained flight of the Wright Flyer, but there were many other contenders in the race to get a man in the air.

    Early Flight - 2 - New Century, New Engines
    The missing ingredient for a successful heavier than air flying machine was an engine with a sufficiently high power to weight ratio. This eventually arrived in the form of the internal combustion engine.

    Early Flight - 3 - After Kittyhawk
    So it is 1904 and man has flown - and was the world set on fire? Not immediately - it was another four years before aviation really took off.

    Aviation Milestones - Around the World Flights
    First in an occasional series from your aviation guide, this article looks at the history of round the world flights, from the first ever to the fastest.

    Air Mail - Flights of Courage
    A history of the US Airmail service, attractively and imaginatively presented. Nice use of pop-up javascript links.

    Amelia Earhart
    Detailed biography and some links.

    Aviation Hall of Fame
    List of over 150 aviation 'greats' with brief bio. Dull visually, but it might have the information you're looking for.

    Aviation History Magazine
    Several articles from the current issue are reproduced in full.

    The First Flight
    How We Made the First Flight, by Orville Wright. Original photographs.

    The Golden Age of Aviation
    Highlights, flights and aircraft from the interwar years - a large, attractive site but very graphics-intensive - only visit if you're patient or have a fast connection.

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