Aircraft, which refers to a heavier-than-air craft with wings and one or more engines, capable of powered flight within the atmosphere, was one of the most significant inventions of the early 20th century, commonly attributed to the Wright brothers from the United States.

Their flight on December 17, 1903, acknowledged by the International Aeronautical Federation as the "first sustained and controlled powered flight of a heavier-than-air aircraft," led to the establishment of the "Wright Aircraft Company" that same year.

Since its invention, the airplane has increasingly become an indispensable tool in modern civilization, profoundly altering and influencing human life, marking the commencement of humanity's conquest of the skies.

Civil aircraft, a type of aircraft, serves as a means of transporting passengers and cargo. Civil aircraft are divided into commercial and general aviation. General aviation includes business jets, agricultural aircraft, forestry aircraft, light multipurpose aircraft, patrol and rescue aircraft, sports aircraft, and private aircraft.

As a means of transporting passengers and cargo, civil aircraft particularly emphasize safety, economy, and comfort. Ensuring the safety of passengers during flight is the foremost requirement.

After nearly a century of development, civil aviation transportation has made significant progress in both speed and carrying capacity. As carriers of civil aviation transportation, aircraft themselves have undergone prolonged evolution and numerous technological revolutions, continuously integrating the latest achievements in aviation science and technology while adapting to the evolving demands of the global aviation transportation industry.

From piston engines to turbojet engines, then to turbofan engines; from wooden structure aircraft to all-metal aircraft, then to aircraft with primary structures employing composite materials; from propeller aircraft to jet aircraft, and subsequently to supersonic aircraft, mankind has established numerous important milestones on the path to conquering the airspace.

The aviation industry based on aviation technology has grown to become one of the essential pillars of human industrial civilization and the information age. The development of the aircraft manufacturing industry has vigorously driven the advancement of basic industries such as mechanical manufacturing, metallurgy, chemical industry, and textiles, as well as emerging scientific and technological fields like new materials, new energy, computers, and microelectronics.

Milestone-setting new aircraft models are continually shaped by advancements in various domains of technology. The application of composite materials, the emergence of advanced and reliable engines, and various advanced electronic devices such as quiet climb systems, head-up display systems, and integrated approach navigation systems will further enhance the reliability, economy, and safety of aircraft.

Today's large commercial aircraft consume half the fuel per passenger per mile compared to 30 years ago and 70% less than 50 years ago. Calculated by fuel consumption per person per mile, flying is more fuel-efficient than traveling by car.

Since the inauguration of the first scheduled passenger flight in Germany in 1909, with continuous breakthroughs in aviation technology and the escalating demands of the aviation market, commercial aviation has evolved into a vast global economic and social foundational industry. In 2002, global scheduled flights transported over 1.6 billion passengers and carried 29.5 million tons of cargo.

Presently, globally, on average, over 40 scheduled flight aircraft take off every minute, transporting more than 3,000 people in the air per minute, and hauling over 60 tons of cargo through the skies every minute. The emergence of air transportation has established a new input-output relationship in terms of economic value, integrating airspace into the social resource system, and providing a new source of wealth to the society.

The materialization and activation of human labor achieve value-added through accelerated circulation. It expands the scope of labor and capital utilization, promotes international division of labor and trade, and significantly enhances the level of social productivity and economic efficiency.

In terms of social and cultural functions, it establishes a new, efficient channel for the dissemination of civilization, significantly broadens people's horizons, enabling distant populations and diverse ethnicities to easily exchange knowledge, thoughts, emotions, art, customs, and more, deepening mutual understanding and communication, jointly advancing human civilization, and sharing the achievements of human civilization progress.