The list of aircraft deemed the most significant of the past century is both fluid and organic. The criterion for selection is based on the magnitude of effect a particular aircraft had on the development of aerospace technology, socio-cultural impact, or historic event. While some selected aircraft may have been built in production runs numbering in the thousands, others may have been one of prototypes, concept only designs, or even flights of fancy. Selected aircraft may have been hugely successful either economically or aeronautically or they may have been singularly judged as complete failures for their designed missions. It is the intent of the selection committee to pose this question to the community of historians and aviation enthusiasts until final selection is made on May 17, 2002 when we will publish the final list.
Until then we invite your input, comments and suggestions. For now, enjoy our Chicago Centennial of Flight Commission 100 Most Significant Aircraft of the Past Century poll and look forward pictures soon to be posted. Aircraft are generally listed chronologically by period; the Birth of Aviation, the Aircraft of World War One, the Golden Age of Flight, the Aircraft of World War Two, The Jet Age, and the Era of Aerospace.
The Birth of Aviation and World War One
1903 – Wright Flyer
1906 – Airship LZ 2
1906 – Santos-Dumont 14bis
1907 – Voisin Biplane
1907 – Blériot No. VII
1908 – Antoinette IV
1909 – Blériot No. XI
1910 – Breguet Biplane
1911 – Curtiss Mono-hull Seaplane
1912 – Deperdusin Monocoque
1913 – Sikorsky Bolshoi
1913 – Farnborough B.E. 2
1914 – Benoist XIV
1915 – Fokker E-III
1916 – Curtiss JN-4 Jenny
1917 – Sopwith Triplane
1918 – Fokker DVII
1918 – Junkers CL-I
The Golden Age of Flight
1919 – Vickers-Vimy IV
1920 – Dayton-Wright R.B. Monoplane
1923 – de Havilland D.H.-4B
1924 – Douglas World Cruiser
1925 – Curtiss R3C
1927 – Ryan NYP monoplane
1928 – Dornier Super Wal
1929 – Opel Sander RAK1
1930 – Taylor Cub
1931 – Lippisch Delta
1931 – Laird Super Solution
1932 – Gee-Bee Super Sportster R-1
1933 – Boeing 247
1934 – Martin M-130
1934 – Boeing Stearman Kaydet
1935 – Howard DGA -6 “Mr. Mulligan”
1936 – Beech Staggerwing
1936 – Dr. Zarkoff’s Spaceship
World War II
1936 – Hawker Hurricane
1937 – de Havilland D.H.-91
1937 – Focke-Wulf Fw 200
1937- Junkers Ju 87B
1938 – Boeing 314
1939 – Mitsubishi A6M
1940 – Ilyushin II-2
1940 – Campini N-1
1940 – Douglas SBD
1940- North American P-51
1941 – Boeing B-17
1941 – Focke-Wulf Fw 190
1942 – Sikorsky R-4 Helicopter
1942- Messerschmitt Me 262
1943 – Lockheed Constellation
1945 – Douglas C-47 (DC-3)
Postwar Prosperity and the Cold War
1945 – Bell Model 47
1946 – Northrop B-35
1946 – Cessna 140
1946 – Convair B-36D
1947 – Bell X-1
1948- Vickers Viscount
1949 – Grumman Panther
1950 – MiG 15
1951 – North American F-86
1952 – Boeing B-52
1952 – de Havilland D.H.-106 Comet
1953 – Poberezny Homebuilt
1954 – Lockheed XF-104
1954 – SAS Douglas DC-6B
1954- Cessna 310
1955- Aerospatiale SE 210 Caravelle
1955 – Bell UH-1 Helicopter
1955 – MiG 21
1956 – General Dynamics B-58
1957- Boeing 707
1959 – North American X-15
1960 – Lockheed U-2
Democratization of Air and Space
1960 – Hawker P. 1127
1962 – Puffin Ultralight
1963 – Boeing 727
1963 – Learjet
1964 – Gemini Spacecraft
1964 – General Dynamics F-111
1964 – SR-71 Blackbird
1965 – de Havilland DHC-6
1966 – Starship Enterprise
1967 – Boeing 737
1967 – Cosmos Space Capsules
1968 – Apollo 8
1969 – Boeing 747
1969 – Grumman Aerospace Lunar Excursion Module
Space Age Designs and High-Tech Flight
1969- Concorde
1972 – Easy Riser
1973 – Martin X-24
1975 – Rutan Vari-Eze
1977 – Gossamer Condor
1981 – Columbia STS
1982 – Lockheed F-117
1986 – Voyager
1987 – Airbus 320
1995 – Boeing 777
1997 – Cirrus SR 22
1998 – International Space Station