Civil Aviation Sector – A brief History

The 1920s saw even more changes in the aerospace industry.  Since the first powered flight by the Wright Brothers on December 17, 1903, for the first time, airplanes began to be used for passenger and airmail service. Giant rigid airships became the first aircraft to transport passengers and cargo over great distances. The most successful Zeppelin was the Graf Zeppelin. It flew over one million miles, including an around-the-world flight in August 1929. However, the dominance of the Zeppelins over the airplanes of that period, which had a range of only a few hundred miles, was diminishing as airplane design advanced. The "Golden Age" of the airships ended on May 6, 1937, when the Hindenburg caught fire, killing 36 people. Although there have been periodic initiatives to revive their use, airships have seen only niche applications since that time.

Great progress was made in the field of aviation during the 1920s and 1930s, such as Charles Lindbergh's solo transatlantic flight in 1927, and Charles Kingsford Smith's transpacific flight the following year. One of the most successful designs of this period was the Douglas DC-3, which became the first airliner that was profitable carrying passengers exclusively, starting the modern era of passenger airline service. By the beginning of World War II, many towns and cities had built airports, and there were numerous qualified pilots available. The war brought many innovations to aviation, including the first jet aircraft and the first liquid-fueled rockets. Commercial Aircrafts began to transport people and cargo as designs grew larger and more reliable.

By the 1950s, the development of civil jets grew, beginning with the de Havilland Comet, though the first widely-used passenger jet was the Boeing 707 because it was much more economical than other planes at the time. At the same time, turboprop propulsion began to appear for smaller commuter planes, making it possible to serve small-volume routes in a much wider range of weather conditions.

By the 1960s, the aerospace industry was coming back to life. International travel became increasingly popular, and passenger volume increased significantly. Prompted by this increase in popularity, aircraft manufacturer Boeing released its first jumbo jet in 1969 – the iconic 747. Competition became more intense among the major commercial aircraft manufacturers as the demand for aircraft grew. Airbus launched its A300 during this period and proved to be a major competitor for Boeing.

Since the 1960s, composite airframes and quieter, more efficient engines have become available, and Concorde provided supersonic passenger service for more than two decades, but the most important lasting innovations have taken place in instrumentation and control. The arrival of solid-state electronics, the Global Positioning System, satellite communications, and increasingly small and powerful computers and LED displays, have dramatically changed the cockpits of airliners and, increasingly, of smaller aircraft as well. Pilots can navigate much more accurately and view terrain, obstructions, and other nearby aircraft on a map or through synthetic vision, even at night or in low visibility.

From 2000 onward, aircraft manufacturers have enjoyed steady and rising revenues drove by increased air passenger traffic. Another key factor in the industry's growth during this period is the increase in traffic originating from emerging economies, such as Latin America, China, and India. As these economies continue to develop, the demand for air travel is expected to rise even further.

Space Travel:

The advent of space travel was another important development in the aerospace and defense industry. In the 1970s, NASA created a space shuttle for regular space access and in the 1980s, NASA increased its spending on space programs, and engineers also worked on plans for a permanent international space station.  On June 21, 2004, SpaceShipOne became the first privately funded aircraft to make a spaceflight, opening the possibility of an aviation market capable of leaving the Earth's atmosphere.