Evolution of aviation industry

The aeroplane was invented by civilians (Learn more).

However, the world wars that followed made heavy use of planes. Planes were used to spy on enemy territories to gather intelligence, to transport military hardware and utilities and for defense and attack. As a result the air forces of the countries involved in the wars got involved in extensive research to improve the capabilities of aeroplanes and the facilities required at ground to support them. Therefore it was military aviation that developed first.

(A military plane)

it paved the way for civil aviation. After the wars there were a lot of pilots and other professionals associated with aviation without jobs and a lot of planes without the need to fly. This created the civil aviation industry. Even today the latest technologies related to aviation are with the air forces of developed nations with civil aviation generally following one step behind.

The use of planes by the US postal service to carry mail was the first civilian use of planes for a public or commercial purpose. USA spans across a large geographical area and providing a postal service over land to cover all the states was quite a challenge. Use for passenger transport came several years later. Gradually it developed into a global industry.