The typical combat aircraft of 1918 was a fabric-covered externally braced biplane with fixed landing gear and open cockpits. Few aero engines developed as much as 250 horsepower, and top speeds of 200 km (120 miles) per hour were exceptional.
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The maximum speeds of high-technology operational aircraft are seen to increase steadily from about 125 miles per hour in 1920 to nearly 450 miles per hour in the World War II years.
The first commercial flight in 1914 hovered at a cruising altitude of just 5 feet in the air. In the 1930s, planes began to hit the 200 mph mark, and settled into a cruising altitude of about 13,000 feet.
Flying Is Only Getting Safer Over TimeGlobal flight accident rates have been steadily declining over the years for a number of reasons, according to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
The ICAO attributes the improvements in safety to the safety commitments shared across the industry. In fact, the trend across many years of aviation is that, today, it is safer than ever to fly.