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Leonardo da Vinci made the first real studies of flight during the 1400's. The ornithopter was a design Leonardo da Vinci to show how man could fly. Although it was never really created, the modern day helicopter uses this concept.
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In 1783, Joseph M. and Jacques E. Mongolfier invented the first hot air balloon. the very first passengers of this great invention were a sheep, a duck, and a rooster. It went up to about 6,000 feet and traveled over 1 mile. After their success, there was the very first manned flight which happened in November 21, 1783.
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George Cayley was the first to identify the 4 aerodynamic forces of flight-weight, lift, drag, and thrust. He had a great impact on the history of flight by creating many different types of gliders.
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O. Lilienthal was a German engineer which was the first to design a glider that could fly both a person and long distances. After over 2500 flights, Lilienthal passed away in 1895 when a sudden strong wind blew and he lost control and fell to the ground.
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Langley was an astronomer who thought that power was needed to help man fly. He built a model of a plane he named the aerodrome with was steam-powered. In 1891, his plane flew 3/4's of a mile before running out of fuel. When he got his $50,000 grant, he built an aerodrome but it was too heavy and crashed.
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Octave Chanute published the book Progress in Flying Machines in 1894. It gathered as much technical knowledge about aviation accomplishments. The Wright Brothers used this book as a reference to much of their experiments.
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Orville and Wilbur Wright's flyer lifted from level ground to the north of North Kill Devil Hill at 10:35 am, December 17, 1903. Orvile flew this 605 pound plane.