The "War of Currents" makes for interesting reading. Despite the story being based around domestic and industrial power supply, rather than aviation power supplies, there are many points to be considered in the supply of each type of power.
Edison refused point blank to even consider AC power, believing DC was the way to go. However, the greater efficiency of AC power won out in domestic/industrial use - and wins out in most other applications, too.
The use of modern electronics in switching and controlling AC power has advanced AC powers advantage over DC in many applications outside domestic/industrial use.
War of Currents - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia