A Brief History of Flying

Since ancient days, people have longed to soar and fly like the birds. Leonardo da Vinci in the 15th century believed that we could learn how to fly by imitating the birds. In fact, bird flight is very complex and not well suited to the study of human flight.

Kites were known in Chine over 3000 years ago, but Europeans didn't learn of them until the 14th century. The humble kite was most likely the first attempt to build a flying machine of some kind.

The principles which allow kites to fly apply to all types of flight. In the early 1800s, a British engineer - Sir George Cayley - used kites to learn how wings are lifted on air. He even built a human size kite which was a kind of early glider.

Experiments with gliders continued throghout the late 1800s. Then in the 1890s, a German named Otto Lilienthal built a series of gliders made of willow ribs and cotton cloth much like modern hang gliders. He succeeded in controlled flights and is considered the world's first real aviator. He died when a gust of wind blew one of his craft out of control.

The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, adapted a biplane design from a glider and added a gas powered engine to it. On a December day in 1903 at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, they succeeded in making the world's first powered, controlled and sustained airplane flight. Their flight was short (120 ft) and slow (35 mph) but the world of the airplane had begun.

By 1917 most World War I fighters were still biplanes but vastly improved over those of the pioneers. The years between the wars saw development of single wing designs, all metal fuselages, helicopters and powerful engines. With increases in speed and range airplanes had become real fighting machines.

After World War II, the propreller driven fighters and bombers were soon replaced by jet aircraft. The invention of the jet engine revolutionized aviation by making supersonic transports, long range bombers and even jumbo jets a reality.

Smaller, more powerful engines and space age materials influence today's airplane designs. These sleek modern jet fighters and stealth aircraft are what we like to use as models for paper airplanes.