Airship A streamlined balloon filled with lighter-than-air gases such as helium, powered by engines and steered by a rudder. Airships were used for passenger flights until the 1940s.

Autogyro An aircraft designed by Spanish engineer Juan de la Cierva in 1923. Rotor blades above the cockpit turned by themselves in the airflow caused by forward motion and lifted the machine.

Bell X-1 The first aircraft to fly faster than the speed of sound: 1299 km/h (807 mph). The rocket-powered Bell X-1 made this record in 1947.

Biplane An aircraft with two pairs of wings. Biplanes were widely used before the 1940s.

Blériot XI The plane in which Frenchman Louis Blériot (1872–1936) crossed the English channel in 1909, the first journey over the sea in a heavier-than-air machine.

Concorde The first and only type of airliner ever to travel faster than sound. Concorde was first introduced in 1969, making transatlantic crossings in half the time of other airliners. It went out of service in 2003 after a crash in 2000.

De Havilland Comet The first commercial jet airliner. It made its first flight in 1949.

Farman Goliath A converted World War I bomber. The Farman Goliath was one of the first commercial passenger airliners.

Focker Dr.I A German fighter plane, built in 1917. The Focker Dr.I was the first plane to carry a device that allowed its gun to fire forward without hitting the plane’s propeller.

Glider An unpowered aeroplane. The early development of gliders proved that people could fly and steer heavier-than-air machines. Today, gliders are mainly used for sports.

Heinkel He-178 The first turbojet powered aircraft. The Heinkel He-178 first flew in 1939.

Hot-air balloon A balloon filled with air heated by burners. It rises because the heated air is less dense than the surrounding air. Releasing hot air from the balloon makes it descend. Passengers travel in a gondola beneath the balloon. Hot-air balloons cannot be steered.

Lilienthal, Otto (1848–1896) German engineer who made multiple glider flights.

Martin B-10 The first bomber made entirely from metal and with a fully enclosed cockpit. The Martin B-10 was first built in 1932.

Monoplane An aeroplane with one pair of wings. Monoplanes have been the most common aircraft design since the 1930s.

Montgolfier brothers French brothers Joseph-Michel (1740–1810) and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier (1745–1799). In 1783, their hot-air balloon became the first aircraft to complete a manned flight.

Sikorsky, Igor (1889–1972) Russian-born American engineer who developed the first successful helicopter. He also designed the first aircraft to be powered by four engines, the Sikorsky Le Grand.

Spirit of St. Louis An all-metal plane, specially designed by Charles Lindbergh (1902–1974) for the first non-stop, solo flight across the Atlantic. The journey took 33 1/2 hours and won Lindbergh $25,000.

Stealth aircraft A modern military aircraft that avoids attack by making itself nearly invisible to radar systems, which are used to detect aircraft and ships.

Triplane An aeroplane with three pairs of wings, popular until the early 1920s.

Voyager The first aircraft to fly around the world without refuelling. The Rutan Voyager was lightweight, with long thin wings for the best possible lift at high altitude. It took nine days to complete the journey in 1986.

Wright brothers American brothers Orville (1871–1948) and Wilbur Wright (1867–1912), who made the first successful plane.

Wright Flyer 1 An aeroplane with a petrol engine, built in 1903 by the Wright brothers. The Wright Flyer 1 was the first heavier-than-air machine to make a powered, controlled flight. The pilot lay on his front to steer the aircraft.

X-15 A rocket-powered aircraft, built for research into high-speed flight. In 1967, the North American X-15 set the current world air speed record of 7273 km/h (4519 mph).

Consultant: Chris Oxlade