Aviation – largest industry Essay Example

wealthy people. Air travel was far too expensive for other people, and it was also classed as dangerous.

During World War 2, many new aircraft were introduced. These aircraft were much advanced, faster and smoother than the previous versions. This is the time when aviation had really progressed, as radars were also introduced for aircraft and Air Traffic Control. During World War Two, a new airfield was being built at an area of London, called Heathrow. The purpose of this airfield was to store various military aircraft which were capable of finishing off the Japanese military. However, after the World War, plans were made for the airfield to be converted into a commercial airport. Soon after, this was then confirmed and work had started on it, including the layout of the tarmac and runways etc.

Lord Winster officially declared the airport as being in service. Heathrow was a huge change was Croydon. The ATC was extremely advanced and modern, and in a way, everything was linked together. Most of the aircraft that operated at Heathrow were ex-military planes which had been converted into commercial airliners. These aircraft were used by many world renowned airlines such as Alitalia, Sabena, and Lufthansa etc. There were no cargo or charter airlines operating at Heathrow in this period.

There were only scheduled airlines. Maintenance and other various aspects of aviation had also improved dramatically, for the good. Heathrow was such a glamorous airport; many airlines had started to give their employees professional training and experience. As mentioned, there were much more advanced aircraft now at Heathrow, thus the duration of the flights had been cut short. One such example is the route

from Heathrow to Rome, which would now take approximately six hours.

These aircraft had a cruising speed of nearly 300 miles p/h. The Comet was the first ever commercial aircraft to be built in the United Kingdom. Its cruising speed was approximately 450 miles p/h. In average, it would reach New York from Heathrow in six hours. With the aviation industry becoming so popular in the UK, there was need to introduce another major "gateway" airport in the UK. This is when Gatwick was introduced. By the year of 1966, Heathrow would be experiencing massive growth, as three million passengers would fly out of Heathrow. This called for an expansion. By this time, night flying would also become a regular occurrence; such was the demand in air travel.

The terminals of the airport were much bigger, and would also become extremely modern looking. With the demand of air travel increasing at an alarming rate, the aviation industry felt the need to carry a bigger number of passengers from one destination to another, at a better speed. Numerous ideas were throw around, but Britain and France finally decided to agree on the project of the Concorde, a supersonic aircraft, carrying 100 passengers, travellling at the speed of sound.

It was just what the aviation industry needed at such a boom period. While Europe prepared for the best with the Concorde project, Boeing (USA) were preparing, in 1969, to make the biggest aircraft in the world. It was to be known as the 747. It would change the aviation industry forever. 22nd January 1969, history was made. The first ever flight of the 747 was to be staged by Boeing.

The 747 was to be of the -100 series. This was only the beginning of a dominating era... 2nd March 1969, history was made yet again. Concorde made it's first ever flight out of Filton, UK. The Concorde would go on to become arguably the most popular and historic aircraft of all time, even though only Air France and British Airways were the main operators of the aircraft.