LESSON 1.1 — AIRCRAFT INTRODUCTION
[ 1.1.2] Aircraft Types
BEFORE WE FLY — QUICK QUESTION
What flew first: the balloon or the airplane?
The 1783 hot-air balloon flight proved controlled ascent and descent — 120 years before powered flight.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The first manned hot-air balloon flight (Paris, 1783) demonstrated controlled ascent and descent: heated air is less dense than the cooler air outside, which lifts the vehicle.
- Henri Gifford's dirigible (1852) added direction and propulsion: a steam engine driving a propeller — the first powered, steerable airship.
- Fixed-wing aircraft beat helicopters for long-distance transport: forward motion over the wings is more efficient with higher payload — helicopters excel at vertical takeoff, landing and hover.