Entry #1: Evolution of Aviation technology

One of the primary purposes of our flight technology today is transportation and even
though this technology dates all the way back to the kites in early China, before the world
produced transportation through flight the world was slightly different. People would travel from
land to land with horses, or take long treks on foot. They would also go to different continents on
extremely long trips by ship. Goods would also be shipped through carriages, caravans, and by
water. The idea of traveling through air was left to the worlds of mythology.

However the very first entry of aviation tech into the world was actually in the fifth
century BC specifically in China. The first artificial aircraft in the entire world was the kite
which would be invented by Mozi (Mo Di) and Lu Ban (Gongshu Ban). The kite was a device
that would utilize wings to react against the movement of the air to create lift and drag bringing it
up and keeping it in the air as long as it is controlled. Kites would be used to measure distances,
to check the wind, and would even be used to lift men, and used in military operations to signal
men as well. Rotor vertical also existed in China in 400 BC in what was known as the Bamboo-
copter which was a toy. The toy was a helicopter-like top.

The earliest forms of hot air balloons were also from the Chinese in the form of their
rising lanterns. They understood that hot air rises and used their sky lanterns in festivals and for
celebratory purposes. They have been known to exist since the 3rd century BC, and they were
even used for military purposes in actually being used to scare away enemy troops by the
chinese.

In the high renaissance, the basics for what ration aircraft design would be would be
determined by scientists. The most notable works for what it would be were the aircraft designs
of Leonardo da Vinci. His drawings would not be found until the 18th century so would
unfortunately have no effect on the developments of aviation for the next few centuries.
However while his designs were practical they would not be purely scientifically viable as we
would create his designs based on the flapping of a bird's wings rather than an mechanically
powered propelling system. The reason for his designs not being viable is that he did not
properly understand how much power it would take to propel a flying object. But Da Vinci
would study bird and bat flight and come to the conclusion that “an object offered as much
resistance to air as air does to the object” and this would be way before Newton would come out
with the third law of motion. This all comes to show that Da Vinci did make some very educated
observations.

It is in the 18th century where we start to see the biggest developments and use of hot air
balloons. Five aviation first’s would be achieved in France, some of these achievements were
Jacques Charles and another associate would launch a hot air balloon which would ascend up to
1,800 feet in the sky. Another achievement would be that Jacques Charles and the Robert
brothers would launch the first unmanned hydrogen hot air balloon on August 27, 1783. But
balloons would become very popular and prominent in France at this time and would spread
farther across the world, in for example Great Britain in which Ballooning would become a
popular sport in the 20th century.

In the 19th century the Aeronautical Society of Great Britain was formed. A man named
Stringfellow would be known to create the first steam powered flight through launching an
unmanned aircraft with a 10 foot wingspan which utilized a steam powered engine.

Uprising developments for aircraft would come from two individuals known as the
Wright Brothers. In their approach to developing aircraft they would have a heavy focus on the
controllability of the aircraft in which they would make a variety of kites and gliders which
would be successful before they doubled down and would dedicate themselves to creating a
powered aircraft. The Wright brothers were the first people in history to really push themselves
to solve the problems of power and control and would never give up despite many failures and
miscalculations. This would eventually lead to the Wright brother conducting the first ever
sustained, controlled, powered manned flight in the history of the world for four miles, and 120
feet in the air. This would make history as this would be the first controlled “heavier than air”
airplane to ever be completely successful.

Soon after the successful airplane was created and became widespread, it would come to
be used in military operations. The first country to ever use planes in its armed forces was Italy.
The idea of a plane being used as a weapon was not as prevalent until the widespread use of
them would come from World War 1. World War 2 would be the benchmark for significant
developments in the production of aircraft as they would come to be used for bombing tactics,
among other things. The first jet aircraft to ever fly would be seen in the Heinkel He 178 which
was created by Germany in 1939.

Many advancements would be made in the era after World War 2, commercial flight
would become more and more prominent as decommissioned air craft and those aircraft would
be used for commercial purposes. There was also the start of the space race during the cold war
in which the United States and the Soviet Union would fight to get man into space, advancing the
technology of rockets.

In our modern day and age, we now have helicopters, fighter jets that can travel at
supersonic speeds. The military also has a new kind of aircraft known as the Bell Boeing V-22
Osprey which is essentially a rotered plane which also has the capabilities to achieve vertical
takeoff and landing revolutionizing the way missions can be carried out and the way the troops
can be transported. There is an ever growing emphasis in today's world on fuel efficiency, and
trying to utilize more electricity. More unmanned but controlled aircraft such as drones are in
development to create more convenient lives for everybody. In the future we will see more
advancements in space travel, faster and more conservative commercial flight, a transition from
fuel to electric power, and perhaps even the use of autonomous aircraft in the use of ai.