This paper was planned with the object of covering the history and development of air transportation from its incep- tion to the present time. The mythology concerning aviation has been taken up at the beginning and this has been followed by a discussion of the earliest experiments in flying. The activities of the Wright Brothers began about 1900 and in 1909 they sold the Wright Flyer" to the United States Govern- ment. The development of pre-war and wartime airplanes is next taken up. The World War was significant in airplane history. During this period airplanes were improved tremendously, because of necessity. Following this period, development of aviation ceased for a short time, due to an over abundance of airplanes left over from the wartime production. After this, the manufacture and improvement of airplanes began in earnest. The most recent records of various types of airplanes under different conditions are given, to show the improvements made;