July 27, 1949

On this day in history in 1949 the first jet-propelled airliner made its first successful test flight.

Early Air Travel

The first flight, 1903

The first successful flight was made on December 17, 1903 by Orville and Wilbur Wright near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. They had a self-propelled, gasoline-powered, propeller-driven biplane that stayed in the air for 12 seconds and went 120 feet above the ground. Yet those twelve seconds made history and by 1905 their aircraft could remain flying for almost 40 minutes. Four years later the U.S. Army's Signal Corps purchased a plane from the brothers and they founded the Wright Company to build and market their aircraft. Their sibling plans were short-lived, however, when Wilbur died of typhoid fever in 1912 at the age of 45.

Flying Higher

The Wright Brothers success spurred others to design and build their own aircrafts. One such person was Sir Geoffrey de Havilland who designed and piloted his own plane in 1910. The English designer then began working for British aircraft manufacturers before starting his own company in 1920. His company, De Havilland Aircraft Company, became a leader in aviation.

De Havilland DH106 Comet 1, introduced into service in 1952

Jet-powered planes were not a foreign concept in the 1940s. Germany had used jet fighters throughout WWII and De Havilland designed fighter planes as well, which he was knighted for. But after the war he turned his focus to a new concept for airplanes: commercial jets. He designed the Comet, which became the first commercial jet-propelled airliner with its successful test on July 27, 1949. It underwent another three years of testing and training before it began the world's first commercial jet service with 44 seats. It flew passengers from London to Johannesburg and travelled at 480 miles per hour. However, the entire fleet was grounded after a series of fatal crashes in 1953 and 1954.

De Havilland did not give up, four years later he debuted an improved Comet, having determined the previous issues were from metal fatigue. However, by then the American Airline manufacturers of Boeing and Douglas had created faster, more efficient jets. By the 1980s most Comets had been taken out of service with companies like Boeing still going strong.