Avation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry.Aircraft include fixed - wing and rotary - wing types, morphable wings, wings less lifting bodies, as well as lighter- than- air aircraft such as hot air ballons and airships.
Avation began in the 18th century with the development of the hot air balloon, an apparatus capable of atmospheric displacement through buoyancy. Clement ader built the "Ader Eole" in France and made an uncontrolled, powered hop in 1890. This was the first powered aircraft, although it did not achieve controlled flight. some of the most significant advancement in avation technology came with the controlled gliding flying of otto Lilienthal in 1896. A major leap followed with the construction of the wright flyer, the first powered airplane by the wright brothers in the early 1900s.
Since that time, avation has been technologically revolutionized by the introduction of the jet engine which enabled aviation to become a major form of transport throughout the world. In 2024, there were 9.5 billion passengers worldwide according to the ICAO. As of 2018, estimates suggest that 11% of the world's population traveled by air, with up to 4% taking international flights.