According to Aulus Gellius, Archytas, the Ancient Greek philosopher,
mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and strategist, was reputed to
have designed and built, around 400 BC, 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 metres.
This machine, which its inventor called The Pigeon, may have been
suspended on a wire or pivot for its flight. The 9th century Muslim
Berber inventor, Abbas Ibn Firnas's glider is considered by John Harding
to be the first attempt at heavier-than-air flight in aviation history.
In 1010 AD an English monk, Eilmer of Malmesbury purportedly piloted a
primitive gliding craft from the tower of Malmesbury Abbey. Eilmer was
said to have flown over 200 yards (180 m) before landing, breaking both
his legs. He later remarked that the only reason he did not fly further
was because he forgot to give it a tail, and he was about to add one
when his concerned Abbot forbade him any further experiments. Bartolomeu
de Gusmão, Brazil and Portugal, an experimenter with early airship
designs. In 1709 demonstrated a small airship model before the
Portuguese court, but never succeeded with a full-scale model. Pilâtre
de Rozier, Paris, France, first trip by a human in a free-flying balloon
(the Montgolfière), built by Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne
Montgolfier, . 9 km covered in 25 minutes on October 15, 1783. (see Le
Globe below for first unmanned flight, 2 months earlier) Professor
Jacques Charles and Les Frères Robert, two French brothers, Anne-Jean
and Nicolas-Louis, variously shared three milestones of pioneering
flight: Le Globe, the first unmanned hydrogen gas balloon flew on 26
August 1783. On 1 December 1783 La Charlière piloted by Jacques Charles
and Nicolas-Louis Robert made the first manned hydrogen balloon flight.
In 1951, the Lockheed XFV-1 and the Convair XFY tailsitters were both
designed around the Allison YT40 turboprop engine drivin
