Breaking Earth's Bonds

Man has probably dreamed of flying free and unfettered from the bonds of gravity for as long as he has watched birds fly. Leonardo Da Vinci, brilliant artist and scientist of the Renaissance, conceived many innovative, but unworkable designs for flying machines. This model based upon several of Leonardo's drawings, hangs in the Hall of Fame.

Mythology and the archeological remains of civilizations as early as 3500 B.C. offer evidence of man's continuing interest in flight. Winged creatures abound in early fables, in legends and in the religions of many early societies. The ancient Egyptians portrayed the soul as a human-headed bird. Earlier yet, was the Greek myth of Daedalus and Icarus. With wings made of wax and feathers, Icarus disobeyed his father Daedalus and flew too close to the sun, whereupon his wings melted and he fell into the sea.

Folklore and myths aside, man has been conducting both practical and impractical flying experiments throughout his existence. Of the records documenting man's early experiments, none is more impressive than those of Leonardo da Vinci, who provided us with the first detailed treatise on the mechanism of flight in 1505. This singularly gifted Renaissance artist and inventor conceived the notion of the helicopter as well as Ornithopters, which were aerial machines with wings that flapped like a bird. Late in his career, da Vinci also became intrigued with the design of a fixed-wing glider. However, history fails to record whether any of his designs were successful.

After da Vinci, many dreamers and inventors were fascinated with the possibility of flight, and they, too, conducted experiments; many were fatal and none were to enjoy any real measure of success.

It was not until the Frenchman Joseph Montgolfier perfected a reliable hot-air balloon that man's first aerial journey could take place. On November 21, 1783 a balloon created by Joseph and his brother Etienne, rose above Paris. On board were Pilatre de Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlandes. Their flight lasted approximately 20 minutes, and covered only about five miles but it established an aeronautical milestone. Cayley devoted much of his life ascertaining the nature of flight. His scientific investigations into air pressure, ballistics and the importance of a wing's shape were documented in a number of historic papers; the first was published in 1809. Earlier, in 1804, this inventive Englishman built what is commonly regarded by historians as the first successful airplane, a five-foot long glider. His later machines included one which carried his manservant across a valley. This flight confirmed the accuracy of Cayley's conclusions about flight, notwithstanding his servant's expressed displeasure at the thought of flying.

A scale model of the brothers De Montgolfier balloon hangs in the Hall of Fame to honor these two famous French aero pioneers.

Later, in the 19th century, the German engineer Otto Lilienthal left his mark on aviation history by being the first to fly consistently long distances in a heavier-than-air glider. After many years of experimentation and study, Lilienthal made some 2,500 flights in unpowered gliders of his own design. It was in one of these gliders that he met his death. Many aviation historians believe that had Lilienthal lived longer, he would have perfected a powered, fully controllable airplane -- perhaps even before the Wright brothers.

Octave Chanute also deserves a place in aviation history because, like Cayley and Lilienthal, Chanute experimented scientifically, and he documented his experiments with published results. An engineer by profession, Chanute developed and applied innovative concepts in the construction of his gliders which greatly strengthened the machines while conserving weight. His most successful craft was a biplane glider which, while it resembled the machines of other earlier experimenters, was structurally superior. Chanute's thoughts, aerial experiments, and particularly his book titled "Progress in Flying Machines," which was published in 1884, profoundly influenced the Wright brothers. By 1903, after countless centuries of dreaming, of visualizing, of building, of trying and of failing, successful manned flight in a powered machine was almost at hand. One important piece of the puzzle -- powered sustained flight -- remained to be solved. That solution would be found by two talented brothers named Wright who, at the time, were manufacturing bicycles in Dayton, Ohio.

A diorama of Octave Chanute depicts him testing one of his early glider designs, circa 1896.