The evolution of human flight

While the story of Icarus appears as early as the 1st century, it wasn't until 1903 that the Wright brothers' aircraft took off into the air. In just a little more than 40 years Chuck Yeager became the first person to travel faster than the speed of sound. In 1976, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird set the record for the fastest air-breathing manned aircraft, which it still holds today.