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The history of aviation spans more than two millennia, beginning with early experiments such as Chinese kites, man-lifting devices, rotor toys, and tower-jumping attempts. Although early inventors lacked a scientific understanding of lift, stability, and control, these efforts established the idea that humans could achieve flight. During the Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci developed detailed designs for ornithopters, gliders, rotorcraft, and parachutes, while later advances in mechanics, fluid dynamics, and Newtonian physics provided the theoretical foundations of aerodynamics. The term “aviation,” derived from the Latin avis, meaning “bird,” was coined in 1863 by French pioneer Guillaume Joseph Gabriel de La Landelle.
The study and practice of flight and the development and operation of aircraft.
The study of how air moves around objects and the forces involved in flight.
Aircraft that achieve flight through aerodynamic lift generated by wings or other lifting surfaces rather than buoyancy.
Aircraft such as balloons and airships that fly because their lifting gas is less dense than the surrounding air.
A lightweight, tethered, heavier-than-air device that uses wind and aerodynamic lift to fly.
A proposed aircraft designed to fly by flapping wings, imitating the flight of birds or insects.
An unpowered heavier-than-air aircraft that relies on aerodynamic lift to remain airborne.
A powered, steerable lighter-than-air aircraft, including dirigibles, blimps, and rigid airships.
An aircraft control system in which electronic signals and computers replace or assist direct mechanical control connections.
Flight at speeds greater than the speed of sound.
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