The Evolution of the Plane (WWI to Current)

• September 2, 1916 - Airplanes in flight communicate with each other directly by radio for the first time.

• April 30, 1917 - Pacific Aero Products Company changes its name to Boeing Airplane Company, with William E. Boeing as President.

• May 15, 1918 - The United States Post Office inaugurated airmail service from the Polo Grounds, Washington, D.C.


• November 1918 - As World War I nears its end, Orville Wright notes to a friend that, "The Aeroplane has made war so terrible that I do not believe any country will again care to start a war."


• November 6-7, 1918 - Robert Goddard fired several rocket devices for representatives of the U.S. Signal Corps, Air Corps, Army ordinance and other assorted guests, at the Aberdeen proving grounds.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• September 14, 2015 – Airbus Opens New Production Plant In Alabama – Airbus opens its first U.S. jetliner production facility in Mobile, Alabama. The U.S. facility will be able to produce planes at a lower cost than similar facilities in Europe and gives it potential leverage over its European workforce. The new plant is part of Airbus’ plan for challenging Boeing Co. for supremacy. Deliveries from the plant should start early next year ... with the production tempo increasing to four aircraft a month by early 2018.

• September 14, 2015 – Three ISS Astronauts Safely Return to Earth – Astronauts Gennady Padalka, Andreas Mogensen, and Aidyn Aimbetov return to Earth on schedule on Saturday in a Soyuz capsule. While Padalka spent 168 days at the station, giving him a world record of 879 total days in space, the other two astronauts only spent 10 days in space, with Mogensen and Aimbetov having the distinction of being the first astronauts from their countries to fly into space.


• September 9, 2015 – Ohio Community College Unveils $5 Million UAV Center – Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio unveils its $5 million National Unmanned Aerial Systems Training and Certification Center. The center will provide students with access to 3-D advanced manufacturing, drone simulators, a wind tunnel and improved labs. The facility will house about 120 UAVs, and nearly 500 students will take classes at the center during the first academic year.

It is amazing to think how far airplanes have come since WWI. The planes of that time reached 100 mph on a good day, whereas today's planes can break the sound barrier without issue. The future holds more amazing things for these unbelievable machines.