Early flying machines

Picture - A 1786 depiction of the Montgolfier brothers' balloon.

This article is an overview of primarily pre-20th century flying machines and work, and an analysis of the debates over early flying machines. The goal is to examine the properties of flying machines, and to list the claims to allow a proper analysis of all the early flying machines.

There are conflicting views as to what was the first flying machine. The controversy of invention is not limited to flight e.g.:Debates over the tallest building tend to break into debates around what constitutes a building and what is the most important measure of such structures' height. In the same way some records of flying machines can come down to the exact definition of what, for example, constitutes a "flying machine", or "flight", or even "first".

Theories

Early attempts at flight are the subject of much debate, both for the often sketchy details of machines and people that have vanished away in time and perhaps as a matter of pride for some given group, like a country. The main focus is the attempts at gliders and powered aircraft in the decades before and soon after the Wright Flyer. Ancient flying machines, gliders, or balloons if they existed are not generally known about or recorded at any level of accepted validity.

Along with many inventions developed during the Industrial revolution, such as the steam engine, flying machines followed a slow process of study and analysis by various people but culminated in a pivotal design. Following this pivotal design, development continues but with the benefit of some new breakthrough or a slightly new direction. Who receives the award for a specific achievement can be difficult to decide with some developments due to the nature of what was developed, the definition of the award, and veracity of claims. Also, if something was invented independently by different people, conflict can arise as well.

The various benchmarks awarded to flying machines are especially vulnerable to all these.

Veracity of claims

Early flying machines, such those that predated the development of practical photography are often doubted for lack of proof, and ancient machines are almost entirely dismissed for a lack of credibility. Recreations or claims made long after events can add confusion to even the more straightforward cases. The number and quality of witnesses is also often analyzed. Various governments and other organisations will often only give some claims a 'official' approval in attempt to elevate one attempt over another, usually in the interest of a national or cultural pride, or in order to set themselves up as technical and historical authority figures. A great deal of disinformation and revisions can take place as well with some claims, both from individuals and governments, to adjust the level of importance of some respective claims.

Definition of the title

It can be especially rough for more general titles falling prey to technical definitions versus common usage, or differences between languages. More general titles can be favoured for their greater weight, such as a title like 'Father of flight', but could be greatly debated because of being open to interpretation. On the other hand very specific claims can begin to sound trivial, carry less weight, and in being so specific fall prey to debates over accuracy of the claim. What constitutes the most import criteria for a given award is also a matter of debate in early aircraft. Is the 'oldest ancestor of modern aircraft' the earliest design, the earliest prototype, one that actually flew? The arbitrary nature of many titles will automatically create controversy if its not defined specifically. For example, debates over the tallest building tend to break into debates around what constitutes a building and what is the most important measure of such structures height. In the same way some records of flying machines can come down to the exact definition of what constitutes a fixed-wing aircraft.

The nature of what was developed

This is an especially important source of controversy for early flying machines. The source of trouble is the transition between what are considered gliders and what are powered aircraft. Just as objects that displace less water than their weight will sink (see buoyancy), objects that displace less than their weight in air sink also. Balloons and other lighter-than-air craft 'fly' by displacing more than their weight in air to rise, but a flying machine must supply an upward force some other way to remain aloft. Supplying this force requires energy, which brings us to the benchmarks given to the various flying machines. With gliders this energy comes out of potential energy of their height as they trade the energy "stored" by their height for lift and forward speed (aside from taking advantage of air currents).

In powered flight, energy comes from fuel stored aboard (or given to) the machine which is turned into lift in some way. For example, in many aircraft gasoline fuels an internal combustion engine which turns a propeller causing forward motion, which in turn allows the wing to generate lift. Also considered to be important is the ability in early flying machines to control where the device goes, very important for making the device practically useful.

Energy to lift

Anything that falls can trade height for some forward motion, so what becomes very important with powered flying machines is turning stored energy into lift. With a wing, turning forward motion into lift requires turning energy into forward motion or with helicopters directly into lift. The end result requires a moving airfoil to generate an upward force. A good breakpoint for powered flight in design would be if it can not lose altitude or speed in level flight by turning energy into lift. Unfortunately such a device could not take off under its own power(barring numerous complicated exceptions), and such a benchmark would also depends on the conditions of the air, especially the air density. Of course wind conditions can have a big effect as well, with wind from behind extending range and from the front shortening it (for both gliders and powered aircraft).

Also, for example, an engine could be used to build up speed (as could going down a hill) and then forward speed could be traded for lift while maintaining level flight. Other difficulties include a fixed-wing aircraft that derives some lift from attaching itself to lighter than air objects, thus becoming a hybrid. Other matters expand to other facets of claims. Since claims are event based, the veracity of a claim is thought to be capable of being tested by making a recreation of the event. Unfortunately, improvements to a new model can be added or removed, weather condition can vary significantly and even things such as the quality of fuel used can effect a recreation attempt. To make matters worse accurate blueprints are usually difficult to find, and for often the bordline designs small changes can have a big effect. The inability to recreate exactly results in most attempts being of dubious value to the ultimate credibility of a claim, but regardless, a success or a failure can figure heavily in analyzation of a flying machine.

Other issues include a design taking advantage of ground effect which is an aerodynamic effect that adds lift when very close to the ground. If a design is not reported to have risen high enough it is often considered a 'hop', or unsustained leap into the air. Also, starting height, and any additional energy given to aircraft can become a subject of debate. If a motorised design is given energy, and does not demonstrate the ability to climb it may or may not be considered a power flight.

Conclusion

The end result of all this is that it ends up becoming very complicated giving definitions at the borderline of flying machines that are gliders and flying machines that are powered aircraft. Disputes over important titles, such as 'first powered heavier than air flight' can descend into the particulars of design. More general titles like 'father of aviation' add another layer of complexity by implying a societal effect and an effect on other machines.

Many of titles given to various claims vary from country to county, and indeed among various references and encyclopedias - that all use different criteria when considering the validity of a claim, the meaning of the title used, and all the other issues mentioned above. Various advancements are presented here, mostly prototype machines and also some important pieces of literature.

Claims to first piloted flight by date

Pre-19th century

Archytas, Ancient Greece
According to Aulus Gellius, Archytas, the Ancient Greek philosopher, mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and strategist, was reputed to have designed and built the first artificial, self-propelled flying device, a bird-shaped model propelled by a jet of what was probably steam, said to have actually flown some 200 meters. This machine, which its inventor called The Pigeon (Greek: Περιστέρα "Peristera"), may have been suspended on a wire or pivot for its flight.
Bartolomeu de Gusmx�o, Brazil and Portugal, an experimenter with early airship designs
In 1709 Bartolomeu de Gusmx�o demonstrated a small airship model before the Portuguese court, but never succeeded with a full-scale model.
Pilx�tre de Rozier
Pilx�tre de Rozier made the first trip by a human in a free-flying balloon (the Montgolfix�re): 9 km covered in 25 minutes, 21 November 1783, near Paris.
Professor Jacques Charles and Les Frx�res Robert, (Anne-Jean and Nicolas-Louis)
1. Le Globe, the first hydrogen gas balloon flew on 26 August 1783.
2. On 1 December 1783 La Charlix�re piloted by Jacques Charles and Nicolas-Louis Robert made the first manned hydrogen balloon flight.
3. On 19 September 1784, La Caroline, an elongated craft that followed Jean Baptiste Meusnier's proposals for a dirigible balloon, completed the first flight over 100 km from Paris to Beuvry.

According to Aulus Gellius, Archytas, the Ancient Greek philosopher, mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and strategist, was reputed to have designed and built the first artificial, self-propelled flying device, a bird-shaped model propelled by a jet of what was probably steam, said to have actually flown some 200 meters. This machine, which its inventor called The Pigeon (Greek: Περιστέρα "Peristera"), may have been suspended on a wire or pivot for its flight.

In 1709 Bartolomeu de Gusmx�o demonstrated a small airship model before the Portuguese court, but never succeeded with a full-scale model.

Pilx�tre de Rozier made the first trip by a human in a free-flying balloon (the Montgolfix�re): 9 km covered in 25 minutes, 21 November 1783, near Paris.

1. Le Globe, the first hydrogen gas balloon flew on 26 August 1783. 2. On 1 December 1783 La Charlix�re piloted by Jacques Charles and Nicolas-Louis Robert made the first manned hydrogen balloon flight. 3. On 19 September 1784, La Caroline, an elongated craft that followed Jean Baptiste Meusnier's proposals for a dirigible balloon, completed the first flight over 100 km from Paris to Beuvry.

19th century

Hans Andreas Navrestad, Norway - 1825

Allegedly flew manned glider.

John Stringfellow, England - 1848

First heavier than air powered flight, accomplished by an unmanned steam powered monoplane of 10-foot (3.0 m) wingspan. In 1848, he flew a powered monoplane model a few dozen feet at an exhibition at the Crystal Palace in London.

George Cayley, England - 1853

First well-documented Western human glide. Cayley also made the first scientific studies into the aerodynamic forces on a winged flying machine and produced designs incorporating a fuselage, wings, stabilizing tail and control surfaces. He discovered and identified the four aerodynamic forces of flight - weight, lift, drag, and thrust. Modern airplane design is based on those discoveries including cambered wings. He is sometimes called the "Father of aviation".

Matias Perez, Havana, flight in 1856

Matias Perez was a Portuguese pilot, canopy maker and Cuban resident who, carried away with the ever increasing popularity of aerostatic aircraft, disappeared while attempting an aerostatic flight from Havana's "Plaza de Marte" (currently Parque de la Fraternidad) on June, 1856.

Jean-Marie Le Bris, France, flight in 1856

Jean-Marie Le Bris was the first to fly higher than his point of departure, by having his glider pulled by a horse on a beach, against the wind.

Jan Wnek, Poland - controlled flights 1866 - 1869.

Jan Wnek controlled his glider by twisting the wing's trailing edge via strings attached to stirrups at his feet. Church records only-Krakx³w Museum unwilling to allow verification.

Goodman Household, South Africa, 1871

Goodman built and flew his own glider over one hundred meters. The story is that he crashed breaking both glider and a leg. The event took place in the Kwazulu Natal Midlands near Curry's Post in 1871 and is recorded variously in legend and local literature.

Félix du Temple de la Croix, France, 1874

First take-off of a manned and powered aircraft, from a downsloped ramp, resulting in a brief hop a few feet above the ground.

Victor Tatin, France, 1874

First airplane to lift itself under its own power, the Aeroplane was an unmanned plane powered by a compressed-air engine.

John Joseph Montgomery, United States of America 1883

First controlled glider flight in the United States, from a hillside near Otay, California.

Alexander Feodorovich Mozhaiski, Russian Empire - 1884

First powered hop by a manned multi-engine (steam) fixed-wing aircraft, 60-100 feet (20-30 meters), from a downsloped ramp.

Clément Ader, France - October 9, 1890

He reportedly made the first manned, powered, heavier-than-air flight of a significant distance (50 m) but insignificant altitude from level ground in his bat-winged, fully self-propelled fixed wing aircraft with a single tractor propeller, the Ader x‰ole . Seven years later, the Avion III (a different machine) was said to be flown upon 300 metres (in fact just lifted off the ground, and lost control). The event was not publicized until many years later, as it had been a military secret. The events were poorly documented, the aeroplane not suited to have been controlled; there was no further development. Later in life Ader claimed to have flown the Avion II in 1891 for over 200 meters.

Otto Lilienthal, Germany - 1891

The German "Glider King" was a pioneer of human aviation-the first person to make controlled untethered glides repeatedly and the first to be photographed flying a heavier-than-air machine. He made about 2,000 glides until his death August 10, 1896 from injuries in a glider crash the day before.

Chūhachi Ninomiya, Japan - 1894

Japanese inventor who developed several small powered models including an early tailless aircraft.

Lawrence Hargrave, Australia-November 12, 1894

The Australian inventor of the box kite, linked four of his kites together, added a sling seat, and flew 16 feet. By demonstrating to a sceptical public that it was possible to build a safe and stable flying machine, Hargrave opened the door to other inventors and pioneers. Hargrave devoted most of his life to constructing a machine that would fly. He believed passionately in open communication within the scientific community and would not patent his inventions. Instead, he scrupulously published the results of his experiments in order that a mutual interchange of ideas may take place with other inventors working in the same field, so as to expedite joint progress. [2]

Hiram Stevens Maxim, United Kingdom - 1894

The American inventor of the machine gun built a very large 3.5 ton flying machine that ran on a track and was propelled by powerful twin naphtha fueled steam engines. He made several tests in the huge biplane that were well recorded and reported. On July 31, 1894 he made a record breaking speed run at 42 miles per hour (68 km/h). The machine lifted from the 1,800-foot (550 m) track and broke a restraining mechanism, crashing after a short uncontrolled flight just above the ground.

Samuel Pierpont Langley, United States - May 6, 1896

First sustained flight by a heavier-than-air powered, unmanned aircraft: the Number 5 model, driven by a miniature steam engine, flew half a mile in 90 seconds over the Potomac River near Washington, D.C. In November the Number 6 flew more than five thousand feet. Langley's full-size manned powered Aerodrome failed twice in October and December 1903.

Octave Chanute, United States - Summer 1896

Designer of first rectangular wing strut-braced biplane (originally tri-plane) hang glider, a configuration that strongly influenced the Wright brothers. Flown successfully at the Indiana shore of Lake Michigan, U.S. by his proteges, including Augustus Herring, for distances exceeding 100 feet (30 m).

Carl Rickard Nyberg, Sweden - 1897

Managed a few short jumps in his Flugan, a steam powered, manned aircraft

Gustave Whitehead, United States - 1899

Reportedly flew a steam-powered monoplane about half a mile and crashed into a three-story building in Pittsburgh in April or May 1899, according to a witness who gave a statement in 1934, saying he was the passenger.

Percy Pilcher, England - 1899

Pioneer British glider/plane builder and pilot; protege of Lilienthal; killed in 1899 when his fourth glider crashed shortly before the intended public test of his powered triplane. Cranfield University built a replica of the triplane in 2003 from drawings in Philip Jarrett's book "Another Icarus". Test pilot Bill Brooks successfully flew it several times, staying airborne up to 1 minute and 25 seconds.

Augustus Moore Herring, United States - 1899

Claimed a flight of 70 feet (21 m) by attaching a compressed air motor to a biplane hang glider. However, he was unable to repeat said flight with anyone present.

Allegedly flew manned glider.

First heavier than air powered flight, accomplished by an unmanned steam powered monoplane of 10-foot (3.0 m) wingspan. In 1848, he flew a powered monoplane model a few dozen feet at an exhibition at the Crystal Palace in London.

First well-documented Western human glide. Cayley also made the first scientific studies into the aerodynamic forces on a winged flying machine and produced designs incorporating a fuselage, wings, stabilizing tail and control surfaces. He discovered and identified the four aerodynamic forces of flight - weight, lift, drag, and thrust. Modern airplane design is based on those discoveries including cambered wings. He is sometimes called the "Father of aviation".

Matias Perez was a Portuguese pilot, canopy maker and Cuban resident who, carried away with the ever increasing popularity of aerostatic aircraft, disappeared while attempting an aerostatic flight from Havana's "Plaza de Marte" (currently Parque de la Fraternidad) on June, 1856.

Jean-Marie Le Bris was the first to fly higher than his point of departure, by having his glider pulled by a horse on a beach, against the wind.

Jan Wnek controlled his glider by twisting the wing's trailing edge via strings attached to stirrups at his feet. Church records only-Krakx�w Museum unwilling to allow verification.

Goodman built and flew his own glider over one hundred meters. The story is that he crashed breaking both glider and a leg. The event took place in the Kwazulu Natal Midlands near Curry's Post in 1871 and is recorded variously in legend and local literature.

First take-off of a manned and powered aircraft, from a downsloped ramp, resulting in a brief hop a few feet above the ground.

First airplane to lift itself under its own power, the Aeroplane was an unmanned plane powered by a compressed-air engine.

First controlled glider flight in the United States, from a hillside near Otay, California.

First powered hop by a manned multi-engine (steam) fixed-wing aircraft, 60-100 feet (20-30 meters), from a downsloped ramp.

He reportedly made the first manned, powered, heavier-than-air flight of a significant distance (50 m) but insignificant altitude from level ground in his bat-winged, fully self-propelled fixed wing aircraft with a single tractor propeller, the Ader x�ole . Seven years later, the Avion III (a different machine) was said to be flown upon 300 metres (in fact just lifted off the ground, and lost control). The event was not publicized until many years later, as it had been a military secret. The events were poorly documented, the aeroplane not suited to have been controlled; there was no further development. Later in life Ader claimed to have flown the Avion II in 1891 for over 200 meters.

The German "Glider King" was a pioneer of human aviation-the first person to make controlled untethered glides repeatedly and the first to be photographed flying a heavier-than-air machine. He made about 2,000 glides until his death August 10, 1896 from injuries in a glider crash the day before.

Japanese inventor who developed several small powered models including an early tailless aircraft.

The Australian inventor of the box kite, linked four of his kites together, added a sling seat, and flew 16 feet. By demonstrating to a sceptical public that it was possible to build a safe and stable flying machine, Hargrave opened the door to other inventors and pioneers. Hargrave devoted most of his life to constructing a machine that would fly. He believed passionately in open communication within the scientific community and would not patent his inventions. Instead, he scrupulously published the results of his experiments in order that a mutual interchange of ideas may take place with other inventors working in the same field, so as to expedite joint progress. [2]

The American inventor of the machine gun built a very large 3.5 ton flying machine that ran on a track and was propelled by powerful twin naphtha fueled steam engines. He made several tests in the huge biplane that were well recorded and reported. On July 31, 1894 he made a record breaking speed run at 42 miles per hour (68 km/h). The machine lifted from the 1,800-foot (550 m) track and broke a restraining mechanism, crashing after a short uncontrolled flight just above the ground.

First sustained flight by a heavier-than-air powered, unmanned aircraft: the Number 5 model, driven by a miniature steam engine, flew half a mile in 90 seconds over the Potomac River near Washington, D.C. In November the Number 6 flew more than five thousand feet. Langley's full-size manned powered Aerodrome failed twice in October and December 1903.

Designer of first rectangular wing strut-braced biplane (originally tri-plane) hang glider, a configuration that strongly influenced the Wright brothers. Flown successfully at the Indiana shore of Lake Michigan, U.S. by his proteges, including Augustus Herring, for distances exceeding 100 feet (30 m).

Managed a few short jumps in his Flugan, a steam powered, manned aircraft

Reportedly flew a steam-powered monoplane about half a mile and crashed into a three-story building in Pittsburgh in April or May 1899, according to a witness who gave a statement in 1934, saying he was the passenger.

Pioneer British glider/plane builder and pilot; protege of Lilienthal; killed in 1899 when his fourth glider crashed shortly before the intended public test of his powered triplane. Cranfield University built a replica of the triplane in 2003 from drawings in Philip Jarrett's book "Another Icarus". Test pilot Bill Brooks successfully flew it several times, staying airborne up to 1 minute and 25 seconds.

Claimed a flight of 70 feet (21 m) by attaching a compressed air motor to a biplane hang glider. However, he was unable to repeat said flight with anyone present.

20th century

Dr Wilhelm Kress, Austria - 1901

Tested Drachenflieger, tandem monoplane seaplane similar to Samuel Langley, which made brief airborne hops but could not sustain itself.

Gustave Whitehead, United States - August 14, 1901

First publicized account of a flight by an aeroplane heavier than air propelled by its own motor - Whitehead No. 21. Reports were published in the New York Herald, and the Bridgeport (CT) Herald. The event was reportedly witnessed by several people, one of them a reporter for the Bridgeport Herald. Children and youngsters who were present signed affidavits about 30 years later about what they saw. Reports said he started on the wheels from a flat surface, flew 800 meters at 15 meter height, and landed softly on the wheels. Other reports said he never flew.

Lyman Gilmore, United States - May 15, 1902

Gilmore claimed to be the first person to fly a powered aircraft (a steam-powered glider). No witnesses. But he was an able inventor, rotary snow plow, 8-cylinder rotary motor, etc.

Gustave Whitehead, United States - January 17, 1902

Whitehead claimed two spectacular flights on January 17, 1902 in his improved Number 22, with a 40 Horsepower (30 kilowatt) motor instead of the 20 hp (15 kW) in the Number 21 aircraft and aluminium instead of bamboo. In two published letters that he wrote to American Inventor magazine, he said the flights took place over Long Island Sound and covered distances of about two miles (3 kilometers) and seven mi (11 km) at heights up to 200 ft (61 m), ending with safe landings in the water by the boat-like fuselage. Some later affidavits assert he flew, others that he never flew.

Orville & Wilbur Wright, United States - October 1902

Completed development of the three-axis control system with the incorporation of a movable rudder connected to the wing warping control on their 1902 Glider. They subsequently made several fully controlled heavier than air gliding flights, including one of 622.5 ft (189.7 m) in 26 seconds. The 1902 glider was the basis for their patented control system still used on modern fixed-wing aircraft.

Richard Pearse, New Zealand - March 31, 1903

Several people reportedly witnessed Pearse make powered flights including one on this date of over 100 feet (30 m) in a high-wing, tricycle undercarriage monoplane powered by a 15 hp (11 kW) air-cooled horizontally opposed engine. Flight ended with a crash into a hedgerow. Although the machine had pendulum stability and a three axis control system, incorporating ailerons, Pearse's pitch and yaw controls were ineffectual. (In the mockumentary Forgotten Silver, director Peter Jackson recreated this flight, supposedly filmed by New Zealand filmmaker Colin McKenzie. The film was so convincing, Paul Harvey reported it as genuine on his syndicated News and Comment program).

Karl Jatho, Germany - August 18, 1903

On August 18, 1903 he flew with his self-made motored gliding aircraft. He had four witnesses for his flight. The plane was equipped with a single-cylinder 10 horsepower (7.5 kW) Buchet engine driving a two-bladed pusher propeller and made hops of up to 200 ft (60 m), flying up to 10 ft (3 m) high.

Orville & Wilbur Wright, United States - December 17, 1903

First recorded controlled, powered, sustained heavier than air flight, in Wright Flyer. In the day's fourth flight, Wilbur Wright flew 279 meters (852 ft) in 59 seconds. First three flights were approximately 120, 175, and 200 ft (61 m), respectively. The Wrights laid particular stress on fully and accurately describing all the requirements for controlled, powered flight and put them into use in an aircraft which took off without the aid of a catapult from a level launching rail, with the aid of a headwind to achieve sufficient airspeed before reaching the end of the rail.

John Joseph Montgomery and Daniel Maloney, United States 1905

First high altitude flights with Maloney as pilot of a Montgomery tandem-wing glider design. The glider was launched by balloon to heights up to 4,000 feet (1,200 m) with Maloney controlling the aircraft through a series of prescribed maneuvers to a predetermined landing location in front of a large public gathering at Santa Clara, California.

Wilbur Wright, United States - October 5, 1905

Wilbur Wright pilots Wright Flyer III in a flight of 24 miles (39 km) in 39 minutes (a world record that stood until Orville Wright broke it in 1908) and returns to land the plane at the takeoff site.

Traian Vuia, Romania - March 18, 1906

Fully self-propelled, fixed-wing aircraft using a carbonic acid gas engine and a single tractor propeller. He flew for 12 meters in Paris without the aid of external takeoff mechanisms, such as a catapult, a point emphasized in newspaper reports in France, the U.S., and the UK. The possibility of such unaided heavier-than-air flight was heavily contested by the French Academy of Sciences, which had declined to assist Vuia with funding

Jacob Ellehammer, Denmark - September 12, 1906

Built monoplane, which he tested with a tether on the Danish Lindholm island.

Alberto Santos-Dumont, Brazil - October 23, 1906

The "14 Bis" at Bagatelle field, Paris. The Aero Club of France certified the distance of 60 meters (197 ft); height was about 2-3 meters (6-10 ft). Winner of the Archdeacon Prize for first official flight of more than 25 meters. Described by some scholars as the first "sportsman of the air". As reported in previous years and months by Ader, Whitehead, Pearse, Jatho and Vuia, the 14-Bis biplane flew and landed without a rail, catapult, or the presence of high winds, propelled by an internal combustion engine.

Tested Drachenflieger, tandem monoplane seaplane similar to Samuel Langley, which made brief airborne hops but could not sustain itself.

First publicized account of a flight by an aeroplane heavier than air propelled by its own motor - Whitehead No. 21. Reports were published in the New York Herald, and the Bridgeport (CT) Herald. The event was reportedly witnessed by several people, one of them a reporter for the Bridgeport Herald. Children and youngsters who were present signed affidavits about 30 years later about what they saw. Reports said he started on the wheels from a flat surface, flew 800 meters at 15 meter height, and landed softly on the wheels. Other reports said he never flew.

Gilmore claimed to be the first person to fly a powered aircraft (a steam-powered glider). No witnesses. But he was an able inventor, rotary snow plow, 8-cylinder rotary motor, etc.

Whitehead claimed two spectacular flights on January 17, 1902 in his improved Number 22, with a 40 Horsepower (30 kilowatt) motor instead of the 20 hp (15 kW) in the Number 21 aircraft and aluminium instead of bamboo. In two published letters that he wrote to American Inventor magazine, he said the flights took place over Long Island Sound and covered distances of about two miles (3 kilometers) and seven mi (11 km) at heights up to 200 ft (61 m), ending with safe landings in the water by the boat-like fuselage. Some later affidavits assert he flew, others that he never flew.

Completed development of the three-axis control system with the incorporation of a movable rudder connected to the wing warping control on their 1902 Glider. They subsequently made several fully controlled heavier than air gliding flights, including one of 622.5 ft (189.7 m) in 26 seconds. The 1902 glider was the basis for their patented control system still used on modern fixed-wing aircraft.

Several people reportedly witnessed Pearse make powered flights including one on this date of over 100 feet (30 m) in a high-wing, tricycle undercarriage monoplane powered by a 15 hp (11 kW) air-cooled horizontally opposed engine. Flight ended with a crash into a hedgerow. Although the machine had pendulum stability and a three axis control system, incorporating ailerons, Pearse's pitch and yaw controls were ineffectual. (In the mockumentary Forgotten Silver, director Peter Jackson recreated this flight, supposedly filmed by New Zealand filmmaker Colin McKenzie. The film was so convincing, Paul Harvey reported it as genuine on his syndicated News and Comment program).

On August 18, 1903 he flew with his self-made motored gliding aircraft. He had four witnesses for his flight. The plane was equipped with a single-cylinder 10 horsepower (7.5 kW) Buchet engine driving a two-bladed pusher propeller and made hops of up to 200 ft (60 m), flying up to 10 ft (3 m) high.

First recorded controlled, powered, sustained heavier than air flight, in Wright Flyer. In the day's fourth flight, Wilbur Wright flew 279 meters (852 ft) in 59 seconds. First three flights were approximately 120, 175, and 200 ft (61 m), respectively. The Wrights laid particular stress on fully and accurately describing all the requirements for controlled, powered flight and put them into use in an aircraft which took off without the aid of a catapult from a level launching rail, with the aid of a headwind to achieve sufficient airspeed before reaching the end of the rail.

First high altitude flights with Maloney as pilot of a Montgomery tandem-wing glider design. The glider was launched by balloon to heights up to 4,000 feet (1,200 m) with Maloney controlling the aircraft through a series of prescribed maneuvers to a predetermined landing location in front of a large public gathering at Santa Clara, California.

Wilbur Wright pilots Wright Flyer III in a flight of 24 miles (39 km) in 39 minutes (a world record that stood until Orville Wright broke it in 1908) and returns to land the plane at the takeoff site.

Fully self-propelled, fixed-wing aircraft using a carbonic acid gas engine and a single tractor propeller. He flew for 12 meters in Paris without the aid of external takeoff mechanisms, such as a catapult, a point emphasized in newspaper reports in France, the U.S., and the UK. The possibility of such unaided heavier-than-air flight was heavily contested by the French Academy of Sciences, which had declined to assist Vuia with funding

Built monoplane, which he tested with a tether on the Danish Lindholm island.

The "14 Bis" at Bagatelle field, Paris. The Aero Club of France certified the distance of 60 meters (197 ft); height was about 2-3 meters (6-10 ft). Winner of the Archdeacon Prize for first official flight of more than 25 meters. Described by some scholars as the first "sportsman of the air". As reported in previous years and months by Ader, Whitehead, Pearse, Jatho and Vuia, the 14-Bis biplane flew and landed without a rail, catapult, or the presence of high winds, propelled by an internal combustion engine.

Table of flying machines

Literature, Designs only:

More than design or literature

Note overlapping years in several cases, so all items in this list may not be in strict chronological order.

Historic records

Timeline of aviation
Aviation history
Accidents and incidents in aviation
World War I Aviation
Vaimanika Shastra
List of years in aviation
Incidents in Aviation
History by contract

Bibliography

Aerospaceweb - Who was the first to fly?
Aerospaceweb - Why do Brazilians consider Alberto Santos-Dumont the first man to fly if he didn't fly until 1906 and the Wright brothers did so in 1903?
Listing and descriptions of pre-wright flying machines
Prehistory of Flight
Octave Chanute, Progress in Flying Machines, 1891 - 1894
"The Maxim Flyer". http://www.bondle.co.uk/personal_pages/jon/maxim/. Retrieved 2007-06-26.
"Progress of Mechanical Flight". Flight. 2 January 1909. http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1909/1909%20-%200010.html.

More airplanes.

Source: WikiPedia