>>1405597
must have been scary to ride something that was not on a stable surface...

>>1405597
yeah but did they really fly the first airplane?

>>1405865
I think that people in Germany were the first to fly what would be considered an airplane.

>>1405865
You see, what the Wright Brothers did was be the first to fly something that was controlled, heavier than air, and powered.

There had been aircraft that were controlled and heavier than air, but not powered. They're called gliders.

There had been aircraft that were controlled and powered, but not heavier than air. They were called airships.

There had been aircraft that were heavier than air and powered, but not controlled. Some French guy built an unguided glider with a steam engine and successfully flew it in 1890.

What the Wright Brothers did was get together all of the features that actually made an aircraft useful.

>>1405597
First airplane in modern times you mean.

>>1405597
>>1405892
Santos Dumont flew the first aircraft without the need of either strong winds, a ramp or a catapult system in 1906. The Wright Bros started flying their gliders in 1903.
Dumont also used to share his creations/inventions with other people and didn't make a single patent.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santos-Dumont_14-bis