Orville and Wilbur Wright are generally credited with being the first to set flight. It depends on your definition of flight. If it’s controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air flight then that’s what the Wright Brothers are known for, but others have tried to set flight in the 19th Century.
The Wright Brothers aren’t the only famous flight engineers out there. Here are some others who contributed to the world of aviation. Felix du Temple de la Croix received a patent for a flying machine in 1857; although Felix’s never flew, his engine design was later used for power boats. Alexander Fedorovich Mozhaysky tackled the challenge of flight 20 years before the Wright Brothers did. His 60-100 foot hop in 1884 helped him have a breakthrough in steering and propulsion. Clement Ader was the first to achieve self propelled flight with a batwing aircraft powered by a steam engine. Ader’s first flight was around 50 meters on October 9, 1890, a full 13 years before the Wright Brothers. In the next seven years Ader made a better version but crashed it which made him lose his funding. Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim invented several things besides the Maxim Flyer. It had a 104 foot wing-span and a 40 foot center “kite” section. It was also equipped with two 18 foot propellers. Augustus Moore Herring made a man-supporting, controllable flying machine in 1899. He flew 50 feet in a glider with a compressed air engine and 11 days later he flew 73 feet. Gustave Whitehead built several planes before the Wright Brothers took their first flight. There have been accounts that he’s flown a gas powered plane on August 14, 1901. Karl Jatho tested his flat-winged airplane in 1903. His longest flight was 200 feet and about an altitude of 10 feet, though it was still motorized flight before the Wright Brothers. Rev. Burrell Cannon made the Ezekiel Airship around the 1900’s, but sadly the first model was destroyed and no one knows if the second ever flew. Richard Pearse worked on the power of flight in the beginning of 1899 and developed an aircraft that resembled a modern ultra light. He would have beaten the Wright Brothers if he hadn’t crashed at the end of his 140 meter flight on March 31, 1903.
The Wright Brothers aren’t the only famous flight engineers out there. Here are some others who contributed to the world of aviation. Felix du Temple de la Croix received a patent for a flying machine in 1857; although Felix’s never flew, his engine design was later used for power boats. Alexander Fedorovich Mozhaysky tackled the challenge of flight 20 years before the Wright Brothers did. His 60-100 foot hop in 1884 helped him have a breakthrough in steering and propulsion. Clement Ader was the first to achieve self propelled flight with a batwing aircraft powered by a steam engine. Ader’s first flight was around 50 meters on October 9, 1890, a full 13 years before the Wright Brothers. In the next seven years Ader made a better version but crashed it which made him lose his funding. Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim invented several things besides the Maxim Flyer. It had a 104 foot wing-span and a 40 foot center “kite” section. It was also equipped with two 18 foot propellers. Augustus Moore Herring made a man-supporting, controllable flying machine in 1899. He flew 50 feet in a glider with a compressed air engine and 11 days later he flew 73 feet. Gustave Whitehead built several planes before the Wright Brothers took their first flight. There have been accounts that he’s flown a gas powered plane on August 14, 1901. Karl Jatho tested his flat-winged airplane in 1903. His longest flight was 200 feet and about an altitude of 10 feet, though it was still motorized flight before the Wright Brothers. Rev. Burrell Cannon made the Ezekiel Airship around the 1900’s, but sadly the first model was destroyed and no one knows if the second ever flew. Richard Pearse worked on the power of flight in the beginning of 1899 and developed an aircraft that resembled a modern ultra light. He would have beaten the Wright Brothers if he hadn’t crashed at the end of his 140 meter flight on March 31, 1903.
“If we worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true really is true, then there would be little hope for advance”
- Orville Wright