Innovation in History: Impact and Change: The Airplane
Efficiency of Travel and Shipping
The airplane sped up travel, mail, and shipping times drastically, and allowed longer distance travel, faster.
Before the airplane many things were slower, or not possible, such as quick long distance travel, and mail. For example, travel by train from San Francisco to Chicago, takes 51 hours if you were to travel today on Amtrak. The first Boeing airline flight from San Francisco to Chicago, took only 22.5 hours. As you can imagine, shipping times improved drastically as well.
Right: William Boeing (right) and Eddie Hubbard stand in front of the Boeing Model C,
the airplane used for the first international airmail flight betweenVancouver, BC, and Seattle.
Before the airplane many things were slower, or not possible, such as quick long distance travel, and mail. For example, travel by train from San Francisco to Chicago, takes 51 hours if you were to travel today on Amtrak. The first Boeing airline flight from San Francisco to Chicago, took only 22.5 hours. As you can imagine, shipping times improved drastically as well.
Right: William Boeing (right) and Eddie Hubbard stand in front of the Boeing Model C,
the airplane used for the first international airmail flight betweenVancouver, BC, and Seattle.
(Boeing Image)
Intercontinental Travel
Crossing the Atlantic Ocean from New York to Southampton, England by boat today, takes six nights on a Seat 61 transatlantic ocean liner (www.seat61.com/UnitedStates.htm) compared to the 33.5 hours it took Charles Lindbergh to fly from New York to Paris in 1919. (1920-30.com/aviation)
