So, I've been thinking about a timeline, well before 1900 split off, but this post is specifically asking a thing that makes more sense among the post-1900 discussions and should be applicable to many timelines either side of the line.
Conventional heavier-than-air aircraft is never discovered, as the earlier discovery of modern rockety trumps it, first flights being in rocket planes so later pioneers followed into rocketry or whatever and leads to ww1-ww2 era being dominated by rocket powered aircraft filling all roles.
And rocket aircraft being the only known means of heavier than air true flight (not gliding) until Jet Engines (that for sake of simplicity say happens at the same time as OTL).
so heres the question, under this premise.
What would aviation be like?
Would Rocket-Planes be able to fill all the standard roles that conventional aircraft did during that time period?
Historically, rocket-planes seem to be limited to small craft, experiments and interceptors as we already had conventional aircraft for heavier uses. But presumably heavy rocket aircraft would work wouldn't it? mutli-stage Rocket passenger planes blasting and gliding across the atlantic and etc?
Could rocket-aviation work
or is it too impractical/expensive even without the alternative of conventional aircraft?