Ever since the Wright brothers took flight in 1903 in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, air travel has become the quickest way to get around. Planes have come a long way since then—becoming safer and speedier than ever before. Now 3.3 billion travelers fly in a year, and that number keeps rising. But with more passengers comes a steeper toll on the environment. Engineers are hard at work figuring out the future of flight.
The Wright brothers first took flight in 1903 in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Ever since, air travel has become the quickest way to get around. Planes have come a long way since then. They are safer and speedier than ever before. Now 3.3 billion travelers fly in a year. That number keeps rising. But with more passengers comes a steeper toll on the environment. Engineers are hard at work. They're figuring out the future of flight.