![<\/a><\/span>](\"http:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.flights.com%2Fblog%2Fflights-that-made-history%2F&media=http:\/\/flights.waveinteractive.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Body-first-hot-air-balloon.jpg&description=Flights+That+Made+History\"){kind=link}
![\"Photo](\"http:\/\/flights.waveinteractive.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Body-first-hot-air-balloon.jpg\")
<\/a><\/span>Photo Attribution: Antonio Carnicero [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>Before winged vessels were commonplace, or even possible, a couple of French brothers called Joseph-Michel Montgolfier and Jacques-\u00c9tienne Montgolfier noticed that their laundry would waft upwards when dried over a fire. Long story short, the creative kin thought to themselves, \u201cHow can humans take advantage of this phenomenon?\u201d Then they built a sweet hot air balloon prototype and did what any savvy pilot would do in 1783–they put a duck, sheep, and rooster in the basket and sent it up in front of Marie Antoinette at Versailles. She said \u201cI know two things: They can eat cake and I am psyched about this awesome balloon,\u201d and with that, the world of flight was born!<\/p>\n
Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin and the First Flying Zeppelin<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/a><\/span>![\"Photo](\"http:\/\/flights.waveinteractive.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Body-first-zeppelin-ascent.jpg\")
<\/a><\/span>Photo Attribution: Peter Scherer [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>Another important moment in flight history came when German-born Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin (try fitting that on a driver\u2019s license) created the airship. This feat in flight looked like a hot dog shaped balloon, but the rigid frame provided support. The aptly named Zeppelin LZ1 took flight for the first time in 1900 with five passengers. After lasting a whopping 17 minutes in the air, the airship ran into a wee bit of trouble and ended up with an emergency landing. Still, this crucial milestone in aviation inspired future engineers and pilots.<\/p>\n
The Wright Brothers and the First Airplane<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/a><\/span>![\"Photo](\"http:\/\/flights.waveinteractive.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Body-first-flight.jpg\")
<\/a><\/span>Photo Attribution: By John T. Daniels [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>When it comes down to it, we would not have access to millions of flights every year<\/a> without a dynamic duo named Orville and Wilbur Wright. What the American brothers lacked in cool name currency they more than made up for in innovation. Which is a good thing, because \u201cHey, I invented a little thing called the airplane<\/em>\u201d is a better opener than \u201cHi. I\u2019m Wilbur.\u201d One day in 1903, Orville climbed into the cockpit of their tiny biplane and soared…for about 120 feet. Hey, they had to start somewhere. Technically this success was the first controlled and powered heavier-than-air flight. We like to think it was also a gamechanger for the entire concept of travel.<\/p>\nTh\u00e9r\u00e8se Peltier and Women in Flight<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/a><\/span>![\"Photo](\"http:\/\/flights.waveinteractive.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Body-Therese-Peltier.jpg\")
<\/a><\/span>Photo Attribution: Agence Rol [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>For some reason, when people mention Th\u00e9r\u00e8se Peltier in regards to women in flight, they like to focus on her status as \u201cfirst female to be an airplane passenger.\u201d Which, we suppose, was a big deal at the time. But hello people, she was also the first person without a Y chromosome to fly an airplane by herself. Circa 1908, Peltier made a solo flight of a few hundred feet and broke that glass ceiling wide open. With her status as first female pilot firmly in place, Peltier went on to make more successful flights before retiring.<\/p>\n
Charles Lindbergh and the First NYC to Paris Non-Stop Flight<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/a><\/span>![\"Photo](\"http:\/\/flights.waveinteractive.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Body-Lindbergh.jpg\")
<\/a><\/span>Photo Attribution: By San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives [No restrictions], via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>Transatlantic flights had been possible for a while in 1927, but no one thought you could be in New York one day and Paris the next. So when Charles Lindbergh, a young USPS pilot, said he could do it\u2026we can only imagine what folks thought. What sorcery was this? A non-stop flight covering 3,500 miles? Shenanigans! Flying in the face of doubt, he buckled himself into his plane, \u201cThe Spirit of St. Louis,\u201d and proved everyone wrong.<\/p>\n
![<\/a><\/span>](\"http:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.flights.com%2Fblog%2Fflights-that-made-history%2F&media=http:\/\/flights.waveinteractive.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Body-first-zeppelin-ascent.jpg&description=Flights+That+Made+History\"){kind=link}
<\/a><\/span>Photo Attribution: Peter Scherer [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>Another important moment in flight history came when German-born Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin (try fitting that on a driver\u2019s license) created the airship. This feat in flight looked like a hot dog shaped balloon, but the rigid frame provided support. The aptly named Zeppelin LZ1 took flight for the first time in 1900 with five passengers. After lasting a whopping 17 minutes in the air, the airship ran into a wee bit of trouble and ended up with an emergency landing. Still, this crucial milestone in aviation inspired future engineers and pilots.<\/p>\n
The Wright Brothers and the First Airplane<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/a><\/span><\/a><\/span>Photo Attribution: By John T. Daniels [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>When it comes down to it, we would not have access to millions of flights every year<\/a> without a dynamic duo named Orville and Wilbur Wright. What the American brothers lacked in cool name currency they more than made up for in innovation. Which is a good thing, because \u201cHey, I invented a little thing called the airplane<\/em>\u201d is a better opener than \u201cHi. I\u2019m Wilbur.\u201d One day in 1903, Orville climbed into the cockpit of their tiny biplane and soared…for about 120 feet. Hey, they had to start somewhere. Technically this success was the first controlled and powered heavier-than-air flight. We like to think it was also a gamechanger for the entire concept of travel.<\/p>\nTh\u00e9r\u00e8se Peltier and Women in Flight<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/a><\/span><\/a><\/span>Photo Attribution: Agence Rol [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>For some reason, when people mention Th\u00e9r\u00e8se Peltier in regards to women in flight, they like to focus on her status as \u201cfirst female to be an airplane passenger.\u201d Which, we suppose, was a big deal at the time. But hello people, she was also the first person without a Y chromosome to fly an airplane by herself. Circa 1908, Peltier made a solo flight of a few hundred feet and broke that glass ceiling wide open. With her status as first female pilot firmly in place, Peltier went on to make more successful flights before retiring.<\/p>\n
Charles Lindbergh and the First NYC to Paris Non-Stop Flight<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/a><\/span><\/a><\/span>Photo Attribution: By San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives [No restrictions], via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>Transatlantic flights had been possible for a while in 1927, but no one thought you could be in New York one day and Paris the next. So when Charles Lindbergh, a young USPS pilot, said he could do it\u2026we can only imagine what folks thought. What sorcery was this? A non-stop flight covering 3,500 miles? Shenanigans! Flying in the face of doubt, he buckled himself into his plane, \u201cThe Spirit of St. Louis,\u201d and proved everyone wrong.<\/p>\n
![<\/a><\/span>](\"http:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.flights.com%2Fblog%2Fflights-that-made-history%2F&media=http:\/\/flights.waveinteractive.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Body-first-flight.jpg&description=Flights+That+Made+History\"){kind=link}
<\/a><\/span>Photo Attribution: By John T. Daniels [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>When it comes down to it, we would not have access to millions of flights every year<\/a> without a dynamic duo named Orville and Wilbur Wright. What the American brothers lacked in cool name currency they more than made up for in innovation. Which is a good thing, because \u201cHey, I invented a little thing called the airplane<\/em>\u201d is a better opener than \u201cHi. I\u2019m Wilbur.\u201d One day in 1903, Orville climbed into the cockpit of their tiny biplane and soared…for about 120 feet. Hey, they had to start somewhere. Technically this success was the first controlled and powered heavier-than-air flight. We like to think it was also a gamechanger for the entire concept of travel.<\/p>\n Photo Attribution: Agence Rol [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>For some reason, when people mention Th\u00e9r\u00e8se Peltier in regards to women in flight, they like to focus on her status as \u201cfirst female to be an airplane passenger.\u201d Which, we suppose, was a big deal at the time. But hello people, she was also the first person without a Y chromosome to fly an airplane by herself. Circa 1908, Peltier made a solo flight of a few hundred feet and broke that glass ceiling wide open. With her status as first female pilot firmly in place, Peltier went on to make more successful flights before retiring.<\/p>\n Photo Attribution: By San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives [No restrictions], via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>Transatlantic flights had been possible for a while in 1927, but no one thought you could be in New York one day and Paris the next. So when Charles Lindbergh, a young USPS pilot, said he could do it\u2026we can only imagine what folks thought. What sorcery was this? A non-stop flight covering 3,500 miles? Shenanigans! Flying in the face of doubt, he buckled himself into his plane, \u201cThe Spirit of St. Louis,\u201d and proved everyone wrong.<\/p>\nTh\u00e9r\u00e8se Peltier and Women in Flight<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/span>Charles Lindbergh and the First NYC to Paris Non-Stop Flight<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/span>
![<\/a><\/span>](\"http:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.flights.com%2Fblog%2Fflights-that-made-history%2F&media=http:\/\/flights.waveinteractive.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Body-Therese-Peltier.jpg&description=Flights+That+Made+History\"){kind=link}
![<\/a><\/span>](\"http:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.flights.com%2Fblog%2Fflights-that-made-history%2F&media=http:\/\/flights.waveinteractive.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Body-Lindbergh.jpg&description=Flights+That+Made+History\"){kind=link}