87 Early Passenger Planes

The Wright brothers made their first flight in 1903. But they probably had little idea that one day planes would transport people all over the world.

In the early days of aviation, dirigibles—huge gas-filled balloons—were used to transport most passengers. The first recorded passenger service by airplane came in 1914, when for $5 a passenger could fly across Tampa Bay in a two-seater plane. A somewhat larger passenger plane was built around the same time in Russia. This plane had an open deck along its back—a place where passengers could walk, if they dared, during the flight. Since nearly all early flights took place in cold, drafty planes, passengers were often supplied with leather helmets, gloves, and even hot-water bottles.

Early passenger flights had two serious limitations. To be safe, they could not fly very high, and they could not fly at night. So flying across the United States required a series of short hops from one destination to the next. As airplane construction improved, so did passenger choices. The Boeing 247, an all-metal plane introduced in 1933, carried ten passengers and could go almost 200 miles per hour. Shortly afterward came the Douglas DC-3. This plane was an updated version of one that had sleeper berths for overnight travel. It could hold twenty-one passengers and fly above 5,000 feet. DC-3s were the first planes large enough to operate at a profit.

When jet airliners were introduced in the 1950s, flights became longer, faster, and cheaper. Air travel was now a possibility for just about everyone.

87 早期的客机

莱特兄弟在1903年完成了他们的首次飞行，但他们可能几乎想不到，有朝一日飞机会将人们运送到世界各地。

在航空业的早期，飞艇——巨大的充气气球——被用来运送大多数乘客。有记录的首次飞机客运服务出现在1914年，当时乘客花5美元就能乘坐双座飞机飞越坦帕湾。大约在同一时期，俄罗斯制造了一架稍大一些的客机。这架飞机的背部有一个开放式甲板——飞行途中，乘客如果敢的话，可以在那里行走。由于早期的航班几乎都在寒冷、通风的飞机里进行，乘客通常会得到皮头盔、手套，甚至热水袋。

早期的客运航班有两个严重的局限：为了安全，它们不能飞得很高，也不能在夜间飞行。因此，飞越美国需要从一个目的地到下一个目的地进行一系列短途飞行。随着飞机制造技术的改进，乘客的选择也多了起来。1933年推出的全金属飞机波音247可搭载10名乘客，时速可达近200英里。不久之后，道格拉斯DC-3问世了。这架飞机是一款带有卧铺的机型的升级版，可供夜间旅行使用。它能容纳21名乘客，飞行高度可超过5000英尺。DC-3是首批大到足以实现盈利运营的飞机。

20世纪50年代喷气式客机问世后，航班变得更远、更快、更便宜。现在，几乎每个人都能享受航空旅行了。