According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Air transportation plays an integral role in our way of life. Commercial airlines allow millions of Americans every year to attend business conventions, go home for the holidays, take vacations around the globe, or travel to other important events. Air transportation also represents the fastest way to ship most types of cargo over long distances."
Unlike plane travel, helicopters have an advantage in that they can travel in any direction when airborne. They can hover, move side-to-side and turn 360 degrees. However, helicopters are not able to cover the distances or speeds that planes can. They are suited for short shuttles, such as flying over auto traffic in a major city and flying directly to an airport in a short time. A shuttle service in New York can take passengers from downtown Manhattan to a terminal at JFK airport in eight minutes.
A milestone in air travel occurred on October 15, 1783, when Pilatre De Rozier launched a hot-air balloon that rose 84 feet into the air with its first human passengers and remained aloft for almost four minutes. On November 21,1783, De Rozier ascended in a balloon from the center of Paris to the outskirts of the city, a distance of about 5.5 miles in about 25 minutes. On January 19, 1784, a huge hot-air balloon built by the Montgolfier brothers carried seven passengers to a height of 3,000 feet over the city of Lyons, France.
Eighty years ago, dirigibles, also known as airships or blimps, seemed the likely future of air travel. Compared to airplanes with limited range and reliability, dirigibles had wide range and lifting power. The British R101 was launched in 1929 and had sleeping berths for 100 passengers, a promenade deck and a smoking room. Unfortunately, the promise of air travel was cut short when about a year after its launch the R101 crashed in France, killing 48 people aboard. The final blow to airship travel came in 1937 when the famous 804 ft.-long Hindenburg crashed and burned in Lakehurst, New Jersey, killing 36.
Hang gliding is one of the only ways humans can fly solely using the wind current. The pilot is attached to a harness and is launched from a promontory by running down a slope into the wind. Once airborne, the pilot can remain aloft for hours using thermals and air currents. As a means of air travel, a hang glider is limited by the need to have access to strong wind currents.
The first Space Shuttle, named Columbia, took off into space on April 12, 1981. Since then, the Space Shuttle has made traveling in space similar to flying a plane. Space Shuttle passengers now include scientists, doctors and other specialists needed to conduct experiments in space. The Space Shuttle can carry cargo such as satellites and supplies to space stations.
