ABSTRACT
In the span of about a century, mankind has gone from making a few test flights in earth’s atmosphere to orbiting celestial bodies in outer space, from sliding across sand dunes to spanning even the mightiest of the oceans. Where on one hand man has bridged the time and distance gap with the advent of the jet age, critical issues like the environmental effects of growth in aviation and rising fuel prices are putting a question mark on the future of conventional modes of aviation. As a result, the growth rate of civil aviation is reaching a plateau, and is expected to experience a slowdown in the near future.
