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Aviation
refers to flying using aircraft, machines designed by humans for
atmospheric flight. More generally, the term also describes the
activities, industries, and regulatory bodies associated with aircraft
The
modern age of aviation began with the first untethered human lighter-than-air
flight on November 21, 1783, in a hot air balloon designed by the
Montgolfier brothers, and balloon flight became increasingly common
over longer and longer distances throughout the 19th century, continuing
to the present.
The
practicality of balloons was limited by the fact that they could
only travel downwind. It was immediately recognized that a steerable,
or dirigible, balloon was required. Although several airships, as
steerable balloons came to be called, were built during the 1800s,
the first aircraft to make routine flights were made by the Brazilian
aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont.
General
aviation includes any flight that is not military and does not fly
on a regular schedule, ranging from a recreational flight in a hang
glider to a non-scheduled cargo flight in a Boeing 747. The majority
of flights on any day will fall into this category. |