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Who Invented The Airplane? |
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Sometimes an invention starts with having the “idea.” A man has the idea that people might want a certain kind of machine or product, and then he proceeds to “invent” it.
But when it comes to the airplane, the “idea” has been one of man’s oldest dreams. The idea of flying has fascinated men since ancient days. In fact, one of our most famous legends tells of Icarus, who fastened wings to his body with wax and flew off! As he soared toward the sun, however, the wax melted and he fell to his death. Icarus is a symbol of man’s striving to new heights.
Leonardo da Vinci, who was also quite an inventor, made sketches of a flying machine that used manpower, and other artists and “dreamers” had the idea of an airplane hundreds of years ago.
The earliest flying machines that were made had no power. |
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They were actually huge kites or gliders, and during the 19th century many experi ments with these were carried on.
But nobody had yet made a heavier-than-air machine that was equipped with its own power. In fact, there was some question that such a machine could actually be built. The first man to demonstrate that it could be done was Professor Samuel Langley, who was secretary of the Smithsonian Insti tution of Washington, D.C. He built two machines, each 3.5 metres wide and 4.5 metres long, driven by 14-horsepower steam engines. In 1896, these two models made successful flights. 1903, when Langley’s, full-sized flying machine was tested, it was wrecked. This was on October 7, 1903.
On December 17, Orville and Wilbur Wright succeeded in making man’s first flight in a heavier-than-air machine with its own power. At Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, they made one flight of 30 metres in 12 seconds, and a second flight of 260 metres in 59 seconds. The airplane was born! |
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