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Apr 15, 1452
Leonardo Da Vinci
One of Leonardo Da Vinci’s most famous inventions was the “Ornithopter”. This Design was inspired by the flight of animals. It replicated bats, kites and birds. The wingspan was over 33 feet and the frame was to be made of pine covered in raw silk to give it a light and sturdy shell. The pilot laying down in the centre and pedalling a crank attached to the wings powered the Ornithopter. This invention may have had enough power to fly once it was in the air but it never made it off of the ground. -
Sir George Cayley
Sir George Cayley is known as the father of Aviation. He was credited for being the first person to make a key advance in heavier-than-air flight. He was the first to acknowledge the four aerodynamic forces of flight, weight, lift, drag and thrust. He was also the first to build a successful human-carrying glider. Cayley successfully flew a model glider in 1804 with a design of a modern aircraft. During one point before 1849 he designed a biplane that was later flown by a ten year old boy. -
Otto Lilienthal
Before 1881, there were few attempts to develop airplanes or gliders. Otto Lilienthal was the first person in history who was able to make sustained and replicable flights. After Lilienthal, it seemed possible to fly and his efforts marked the beginning to an experimental period in an attempt to fly a heavier-than-air airplane. -
Otto Lilienthal Creates Tailless
Lilienthal created eighteen different models of gliders over a span of five years. Fifteen of Lilienthal’s gliders were monoplanes and three were biplanes. Each of his models were hand gliders, which were controlled by the pilot shifting his weight and not using an active control system. Lilienthal built an artificial hill near berlin to launch his gliders into the wind no matter which direction it was coming from. He launched his first glider, Tailless, in 1891. -
The Wright Brothers First Flights
The Wright Brothers made four flights in their flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Orville Wright attempted the first flight. It flew 37 metres and lasted 12 seconds. This is considered to be the first controlled, powered heavier-than-air flight and it was also the first flight to be photographed. Wilbur Wright attempted the fourth flight. This flight was 260 metres and lasted 59 seconds. These attempts were followed by many years of research and development of heavier-than-air flights. -
Sir Frank Whittle
Sir Frank Whittle was a British Royal Air Force Engineer Officer. He is known for inventing the turbojet engine. He began constructing his first engine in 1935 and it was successfully tested in April 1937. -
Count Ferdinand Von Zeppelin
Count Ferdinand Von Zeppelin is the inventor of the rigid airship or dirigible balloon. It was completed in 1900 and he made the first directed flight on July 2, 1900. In 1910, a Zeppelin provided the first commercial air service for passengers. Some were used to bomb London During World War I, but they were too slow and explosive a target during wartime and they could not withstand bad weather. -
Igor Sikorsky Builds the First Four-Engine Plane
Igor Sikorsky built the first four-engine plane on May 13th, 1913. After many years of improvement, he built the first working helicopter and tested it in 1939. He received many honours but he passed away on October 26th, 1972 in Easton, Connecticut. -
Charles Lindbergh Flies Across the Atlantic Ocean
Charles Lindbergh heard about a prize of $25,000 that was going to the first pilot to complete the journey from New York to Paris without stopping. Lindbergh took off on May 20, 1927 from Roosevelt Field in Long Island, New York flying a monoplane named Spirit of St. Louis. Lindbergh made it across the Atlantic Ocean in 33.5 hours and landed at Le Bourguet near Paris. After his huge accomplishment, Lindbergh became well known and respected and he received many impressive honours. -
Amelia Earhart Becomes the First Woman to Solo Across the Atlantic
In 1928, Amelia was invited to be the first female to fly across the Atlantic Ocean but only as a passenger. She became very famous for this, even though she knew that she did nothing on this trip besides being a passenger. On may 20th, 1932, She became the first woman and the second person to solo across the Atlantic Ocean. -
Amelia Earhart Goes Missing
On June 1st, 1937 Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan, began their journey across the world. The morning of July 2, 1937 was the last time we ever heard from her. -
Chuck Yeager Breaks The Sound Barrier
Chuck Yeager was the first person in Aviation History to ever fly faster than the speed of sound. Immediately after he graduated from high school, he enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps to serve in World War II. On October 14th, 1947 Yeager broke the sound barrier in the rocket-powered X-1 fighter plane. In 1952 he set a new speed record of 1650 mph. This was more than double the speed of sound.
