History of the Airplane

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Warm-Up Questions
Ask your teacher and classmates the following questions.

1. Does flying or do airplanes scare you?

2. Do you think airplanes are the greatest invention ever?

3. How significant was the invention of the airplane?

MATCHING - Match the words on the left with the meanings on the right.
1 dominate (v) A attempt; try to do something difficult

2 clear (adj) B about; roughly; more or less

3 fatal (adj) C to die

4 lose one’s life (idiom) D to control by superior power of influence

5 significant (adj) E the act of sending gas, heat, light out into the air

6 pave the way (idiom) F continuing for an extended period or without interruption

7 thriving (adj) G easy to understand

8 approximately (adv) H very large or noticeable

9 sustained (adj) I to make it easier for something to happen or someone

to do something
10 revolutionary (adj) J very healthy or successful

11 emission (n) K causing death

12 take a crack at (idiom) L involving or causing a complete or dramatic change

True or False – If false, correct the statement.

1. T | F Supersonic planes fly faster than the speed of light.

2. T | F Flying is more dangerous than flying.

3. T | F Food poisoning is the most common cause of non-fatal injuries associated with flying.

Watch the video and answer the questions.

https://youtu.be/Xr7SJNn3XjI

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Missing Words

Watch the video again and complete the sentences.

The 20th century was …………………………….1 by many significant developments and

technological advances. Right at the start of it was the …………………………………………2 when
the American Wright Brothers flew the first-ever powered aircraft. This historical moment took place
on December 17, 1903, in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, USA.

That dream of flying did not start there though. More than a century before the Wright Brothers’
………………………………..3 invention, there were hot air balloons, wings strapped to arms, and
kites mounted on sticks to create a kind of glider effect. But it was Wilbur & Orville Wright who were
the first to ever use a ‘sustained and controlled heavier-than-air powered flight’.

They took four cracks at it and the longest recorded flight that day was 259 meters (852ft) in 59
seconds. Hard to imagine now but think about this…only 10 years earlier in 1893, the first gasoline-
powered car had just been introduced to the world. The evolution of transportation was
…………………………4!

The world’s first commercial airline flight - a small, two-passenger plane (basically a flying boat) -
took place on January 1st, 1914 in Florida. Flying from St. Petersburg, in one part of the state, to
Tampa, in another part, 27 kilometers away, took just 23 minutes and …………………………………5
for today’s transcontinental flights. The airline made 2 flights daily, 6 days a week and a ticket cost
$5…that was a big spend in those days!

Airplanes then went on to ……………………………………6 World War I as their fighting ability

became clear.

In April 1924, four airplanes set off from Washington, USA, with 8 Army Air Service pilots to
complete the first-ever circumnavigation of the globe by air. Amazingly, and much to their own
surprise, they all successfully completed the trip 175 days and 27,550 miles later. The aviation
industry was ……………………………………7

Fast forward almost 100 years later to 2019, (let’s just put Covid aside for the moment!) where
approximately 4.5 billion passengers took 42 million flights worldwide…wow, that is some carbon
footprint!

On that very subject, the aviation industry’s most recent goals are to create more environmentally
friendly, quieter, cheaper airplanes that will release fewer harmful …………………………………8
Let’s hope they work on those queues at check-in whilst they’re at it!
A few interesting aviation facts to finish -

- It is estimated that the odds of dying in an airplane crash are 1 in 9,821 (compared to 1 in 114 in a
car crash). That is equal to 1 ……………………………………9 per 16 million flights. So there,
nothing to fear, start packing your suitcase!

- The busiest airport in the world is Guangzhou Baiyun in China, serving around 43 million
passengers annually.

- The Wright Brothers, though clearly very intelligent, both attended high school, but did not receive
diplomas.

- Amelia Earhart is the most famous woman in the world of aviation after becoming the first female
pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1932. Sadly, she ………………………………………10
attempting to circumnavigate the globe in 1937.

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Discussion Questions

Discuss the following questions with your teacher and classmates.

1. How old were you when you went on your first flight?

2. Do you like to travel by airplane?

3. Do you think planes are safer than cars?

4. Do you enjoy takeoff/landing?

5. Have you ever flown in a hot air balloon or been skydiving?

6. Do you think budget airplanes are safe?

7. How have airplanes and flying changed over the years?

8. What was the longest flight you’ve ever been on?

9. What are three things you’re supposed to do before a flight takes off?

10. Have you ever wanted to work in the airline industry?

What do you think?

In 1906, Alberto Santos-Dumont, a Brazilian aeronaut who described himself as ‘the first
sportsman of the air’ became a strong rival of the Wright Brothers. He set the first world
record in aviation by flying 220 meters in just under 22 seconds.

Some say that his was the first ‘real’ flight, and many people doubted the Wright Brothers as
they did not make their flight in public nor unassisted (it was launched off a rail and with the
aid of strong winds).

Regardless, both Santos and the Wright Brothers went on to develop better and faster
airplanes, and, as you can guess, many others quickly joined the race when they realized
the business potential.

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