Become a member and save up to 29% on your program registration price! Join today If you are already a member, log in to access your member price. The History of Flight: The Dawn of Early Flight Afternoon Course Thursday, September 3, 2026 - 12:00 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. ET Code: 1W0025A Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Registration Options $25 Member $35 Gen. Admission Log in to register for this program or to add it to your wishlist! Log in Resize text Illustration of the Montgolfier Brothers' 1783 balloon with engineering notations, 1786 Curators and historians from the National Air and Space Museum trace the history of flight, from humanity’s early aspirations for aerial transit, to 12 breathtaking seconds at Kitty Hawk, to the advances that came with global combat, and how jet engines and digital technology are opening a new future for aviation. Session Information Although the dream of flight dates back millennia, the history of recorded human flight only dates to the 18th century. In 1783, the Montgolfier brothers marked this birth with a hot-air balloon over the fields of France. The next generations of pilots and innovators demonstrated additional civilian and military uses of aviation through refinement and improvement of lighter-than-air technology. And yet, this technology never quite delivered what humans had dreamt was possible in the skies. Aeronautics historian Thomas Paone illuminates how the lessons taught by lighter-than-air developments of this era inspired research in the field of heavier-than-air technology and led to the Wright Brothers’ 1903 breakthrough and the new aerial age of exploration and innovation that followed. Additional Sessions of the History of Flight Series September 10 September 17 September 24 General Information View Common FAQs and Policies about our Online Programs on Zoom.
