Transport Atlas

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Aviation

Also Known As Air Transport
Air and Space Mode
Two-Blade Propeller

Powered, heavier than air flight, and the aircraft, airports, airlines and airspace systems built around it for moving people and goods through the air. Aviation moves passengers and high value or time sensitive freight over long distances far faster than any surface mode, at a higher cost per tonne. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Core Concern
Fast, long distance movement of people and high value freight through the air. 1
Origin Year
1903 1
FAQs

Who really flew first?

The Wright brothers, December 1903, is the best documented claim; earlier claims for Gustave Whitehead (1901) and Richard Pearse (1903) remain disputed.

The Wright brothers December 1903 flights at Kitty Hawk are the flights most widely credited as the first powered, controlled flights of a heavier than air aircraft, and the best documented: witnessed, photographed, and recognized by the Smithsonian Institution. Two earlier claims exist and remain genuinely disputed rather than settled: Gustave Whitehead is reported to have flown in Connecticut in August 1901, and witnesses recalled Richard Pearse flying in New Zealand on 31 March 1903. Neither claim has a surviving aircraft or an authenticated in flight photograph, which is why mainstream aviation history continues to credit the Wrights, but the newspaper accounts and witness testimony behind both rival claims keep the question open rather than closed.
Connections

Exemplified By

Vickers Vimy, Vehicles
Wright Flyer, Vehicles
Source Wikipedia: Wright Flyer

Showing 51 to 58 of 58 in Exemplified By, page 2 of 2.

Held Differently

Gustave Whitehead, Figures

Why this is disputed. A different, contested account of aviations pioneering: an August 1901 Bridgeport Herald report claims a controlled powered flight predating the Wright Flyer by over two years. Mainstream aviation historians and the Smithsonian do not accept the claim as adequately evidenced. See the open question first-powered-flight-priority-dispute.

Source Wikipedia: Gustave Whitehead
Richard Pearse, Figures

Why this is disputed. A different, contested account of aviations pioneering: witnesses recalled a powered take off on 31 March 1903, but Pearse himself later dated his practical attempts to 1904, and historians regard the record as genuinely ambiguous rather than settled. See the open question first-powered-flight-priority-dispute.

Source Wikipedia: Richard Pearse

Pioneered By

Igor Sikorsky, Figures

Sikorsky pioneered the practical helicopter specifically, a distinct branch of aviation from the fixed-wing flight the Wright brothers already hold primary credit for on this atlas; recorded associated rather than holds for that reason.

Source Wikipedia: Igor Sikorsky
Orville Wright, Figures

Why this is disputed. The best documented and most widely credited claim: witnessed, photographed, with a surviving aircraft, and recognized by the Smithsonian Institution under a 1948 agreement. Held debated rather than attested because rival claims exist for Gustave Whitehead (1901) and Richard Pearse (1903); see those figures pioneered-by edges, both held Stance = variant, and the open question first-powered-flight-priority-dispute.

Source Wikipedia: Wright Flyer
Wilbur Wright, Figures

Why this is disputed. The best documented and most widely credited claim: witnessed, photographed, with a surviving aircraft, and recognized by the Smithsonian Institution under a 1948 agreement. Held debated rather than attested because rival claims exist for Gustave Whitehead (1901) and Richard Pearse (1903); see those figures pioneered-by edges, both held Stance = variant, and the open question first-powered-flight-priority-dispute.

Source Wikipedia: Wright Flyer
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Wilbur Wright
WikipediaOverview
Quote, Overview
The Wright brothers, Orville Wright (August 19, 1871 - January 30, 1948) and Wilbur Wright (April 16, 1867 - May 30, 1912), were American aviation pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flying the world's first successful airplane.
View the Source
Aviation (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • Lead hatnote
    "Air transport" redirects here.
  • In Group: Commercial and General Aviation Modes, Lead sentence
    Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Pan American World Airways
WikipediaHas Part: Pan American AirwaysView the Source
Wikipedia: International Air Transport Association
WikipediaHas Part: International Air Transport AssociationView the Source
Wikipedia: Boeing 747
WikipediaExemplified By: Boeing 747View the Source
Wikipedia: Douglas DC-3
WikipediaExemplified By: Douglas DC-3View the Source
Wikipedia: LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin
Wikipedia
  • Exemplified By: Graf Zeppelin
  • Exemplified By: Graf Zeppelin, Overview
View the Source
Wikipedia: Wright Flyer
Wikipedia
  • Exemplified By: Wright Flyer
  • Pioneered By: Wilbur Wright
  • Pioneered By: Orville Wright
View the Source
Wikipedia: Concorde
WikipediaExemplified By: Concorde, OverviewView the Source
Wikipedia: Igor Sikorsky
WikipediaPioneered By: Igor Sikorsky, Lead section / HelicoptersView the Source
Wikipedia: Interline Agreement
WikipediaHas Part: InterliningView the Source
Wikipedia: Freedoms of the Air
WikipediaHas Part: Freedoms of the AirView the Source
Wikipedia: Airline Deregulation Act
WikipediaHas Part: Airline DeregulationView the Source
Wikipedia: Airport Slot
WikipediaHas Part: Airport SlotView the Source
Wikipedia: Gustave Whitehead
WikipediaPioneered By: Gustave WhiteheadView the Source
Wikipedia: Richard Pearse
WikipediaPioneered By: Richard PearseView the Source
Wikipedia: Frank Whittle
WikipediaExemplified By: Gloster E.28/39View the Source
Wikipedia: Airship
WikipediaHas Part: Airship TransportView the Source
Wikipedia: Seaplane
WikipediaHas Part: Seaplane TransportView the Source
Wikipedia: Helicopter
WikipediaHas Part: Helicopter TransportView the Source
Wikipedia: Cabotage
WikipediaHas Part: Cabotage, lead paragraph
Quote, Has Part: Cabotage, lead paragraph
The term originally applied to shipping along coastal routes, port to port, but now applies to aviation, railways, and road transport as well.
View the Source
Bombardier Aviation (Wikipedia)
Has Part: Bombardier Aviation, Lead, product line
Quote, Has Part: Bombardier Aviation, Lead, product line
produces the Global and Challenger series of business jets
View the Source
China Express Airlines (Wikipedia)
Has Part: China Express Airlines, Lead, business
Quote, Has Part: China Express Airlines, Lead, business
China's first private regional airline
View the Source
SUM Air (Wikipedia)
Has Part: SUM Air, Article lead
Quote, Has Part: SUM Air, Article lead
is a South Korean regional airline
View the Source
Air China Inner Mongolia (Wikipedia)
Has Part: Air China Inner Mongolia, Article lead
Quote, Has Part: Air China Inner Mongolia, Article lead
was a regional airline in Inner Mongolia, China
View the Source
Wikipedia: Boeing
WikipediaHas Part: Boeing, Lead sentence
Quote, Has Part: Boeing, Lead sentence
The Boeing Company ( BO-ing) is an American multinational corporation that designs and manufactures airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide.
View the Source
Grumman (Wikipedia)
Has Part: Grumman, Lead sentence
Quote, Has Part: Grumman, Lead sentence
The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a 20th century American producer of military and civilian aircraft.
View the Source
Hawker Aircraft (Wikipedia)
Has Part: Hawker Aircraft Ltd, Lead sentence
Quote, Has Part: Hawker Aircraft Ltd, Lead sentence
Hawker Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer that was responsible for some of the most famous products in British aviation history.
View the Source
Lockheed Corporation (Wikipedia)
Has Part: Lockheed Corporation, Lead sentence
Quote, Has Part: Lockheed Corporation, Lead sentence
The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer. Lockheed was founded in 1926 and merged in 1995 with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin.
View the Source
De Havilland (Wikipedia)
Has Part: de Havilland, Lead sentence
Quote, Has Part: de Havilland, Lead sentence
The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited (pronounced , də HAVI-lənd) was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of North London.
View the Source
North American Aviation (Wikipedia)
Has Part: North American Rockwell, Lead sentence
Quote, Has Part: North American Rockwell, Lead sentence
North American Aviation (NAA) was a major American aerospace manufacturer that designed and built several notable aircraft and spacecraft.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Kangaroo Route
WikipediaExemplified By: Kangaroo Route, Lead sentence
Quote, Exemplified By: Kangaroo Route, Lead sentence
The Kangaroo Route is a term coined by Qantas, referring to the commercial passenger air routes flown between Australia and the United Kingdom via the Eastern Hemisphere.
View the Source
Wikipedia: North Atlantic Tracks
WikipediaExemplified By: North Atlantic Tracks, Lead sentence
Quote, Exemplified By: North Atlantic Tracks, Lead sentence
The North Atlantic Tracks, officially titled the North Atlantic Organised Track System (NAT-OTS), are a structured set of transatlantic flight routes that stretch from eastern North America to western Europe across the Atlantic Ocean, within the North Atlantic airspace region.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Polar route
WikipediaExemplified By: Polar Route, Lead sentence
Quote, Exemplified By: Polar Route, Lead sentence
A polar route is an aircraft route across the uninhabited polar ice cap regions.
View the Source
Dubai Airports (Wikipedia)
Has Part: Dubai Airports, Lead
Quote, Has Part: Dubai Airports, Lead
the airport authority that owns and manages airports in Dubai
View the Source
Beijing Capital International Airport Company Limited (Wikipedia)
Has Part: Beijing Capital International Airport Company Limited, Lead
Quote, Has Part: Beijing Capital International Airport Company Limited, Lead
engaged in the ownership and operation of the Beijing Capital International Airport
View the Source
Heathrow Airport Holdings (Wikipedia)
Has Part: Heathrow Airport Holdings, Lead
Quote, Has Part: Heathrow Airport Holdings, Lead
operates and manages Heathrow Airport
View the Source
Los Angeles World Airports (Wikipedia)
Has Part: Los Angeles World Airports, Lead
Quote, Has Part: Los Angeles World Airports, Lead
owns and operates Los Angeles International Airport
View the Source
Groupe ADP (Wikipedia)
Has Part: Groupe ADP, Lead
Quote, Has Part: Groupe ADP, Lead
owns and manages Parisian international airports
View the Source
British Airways (Wikipedia)
Has Part: British Airways, Lead
Quote, Has Part: British Airways, Lead
is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom
View the Source
Air France (Wikipedia)
Has Part: Air France, Lead
Quote, Has Part: Air France, Lead
is the flag carrier of France
View the Source
Dissenting Readings (2 dissenting readings)
Pioneered By: Wilbur Wright

The Wright brothers December 1903 flights are the best documented and most widely credited first powered, controlled flights, but two rival claims predate them: Gustave Whitehead is reported by the Bridgeport Herald to have flown under power in Connecticut in August 1901, and witnesses recalled Richard Pearse flying a powered machine in New Zealand on 31 March 1903, both more than eight months before the Wright Flyer. Neither rival claim has a surviving aircraft, an authenticated in flight photograph, or contemporaneous technical verification, which is why mainstream aviation history and the Smithsonian Institution continue to credit the Wrights; but the newspaper accounts and later witness affidavits mean the record is not as settled as a single credited first suggests.

A dissenting reading, from an independent laneWikipedia: Gustave Whitehead, Wikipedia
Pioneered By: Orville Wright

The Wright brothers December 1903 flights are the best documented and most widely credited first powered, controlled flights, but two rival claims predate them: Gustave Whitehead is reported by the Bridgeport Herald to have flown under power in Connecticut in August 1901, and witnesses recalled Richard Pearse flying a powered machine in New Zealand on 31 March 1903, both more than eight months before the Wright Flyer. Neither rival claim has a surviving aircraft, an authenticated in flight photograph, or contemporaneous technical verification, which is why mainstream aviation history and the Smithsonian Institution continue to credit the Wrights; but the newspaper accounts and later witness affidavits mean the record is not as settled as a single credited first suggests.

A dissenting reading, from an independent laneWikipedia: Gustave Whitehead, Wikipedia
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