December 17, 2003, marked the 100th anniversary of the first heavier-than-air flight, or as pilot Orville Wright put it, "the first in the history of the world in which a machine carrying a man had raised itself by its own power into the air in full flight, had sailed forward without reduction of speed, and had finally landed at a point as high as that from which it started" (Anderson 1985, p. 2). Although their absolute priority has been contested—many were on the verge of heavier-than-air flight in the early 1900s—with their invention Orville and Wilbur Wright clearly helped change the world. Yet just as there are benefits of this technology, there are negative consequences. This article defines the airplane, examines historical developments, and introduces some of the ethical, political, and legal issues surrounding its future.

Definition and Developments, Military and Civilian

An airplane (or aircraft) is defined as a...