Who is really the first person to build an airplane?

If your answer is the Wright brothers, then you are not exactly right and not necessarily wrong. The first to build the Wright brothers (1900) - that is the most popular knowledge today.

However, the first person to fly an airplane is not the Wright brothers, but a man named Alberto Santos-Dumont. Is there any mistake here?

In fact, history's "firsts" are not always clearly defined. In order to know the first person to build an airplane, we need to consider all aspects such as: whether the plane is powered by energy, can it be controlled or not, how long does it have to fly, and how long does it take? or how high is it .

And below is a list of the most prominent "candidates" for the "first aircraft inventor" position as well as details of their ideas.

1. Architects, painters . Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo Da Vinci.

Through the hundreds of notes of this all-powerful Italian genius, one can clearly see his desire to wander in the sky. In 1485, he sketched the design of an airplane based on the structure of birds and bats.

A page outlining the plane of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519).

This machine includes very large wings attached to a wooden frame. The driver will have to lie down on the inside and control the moving wings up and down with a crank attached to many rods and pulleys.

However, there is no record confirming that he had built this aircraft. Moreover, according to experts today, because there is no motivation, the aircraft can hardly take off. And if Leonardo tries to fly down from above, chances are he will not be healed.

The structure of the aircraft was devised by the genius Leonardo da Vinci.

2. French engineer - Clément Ader

Clément Ader.

After 4 years of ideas and research materials, in 1886, French engineer - Clément Ader (1841 - 1925) designed a half-shaped plane, half a steam machine named Éole.

When commissioned in 1890, it rose a few meters thanks to the low-weight steam engine.

Aircraft "Éo le" by Clément Ader.

Later, Ader began to build a new aircraft called Avion II. Although Ader said he had tried it in 1892, no one believed him at all, and there was no evidence to prove it. It is even thought that this project was abandoned halfway through.

3. Astronomer Samuel Langley

Samuel Langley.

In 1891, the American astronomer - Samuel Langley (1834 - 1906) began to design the model of aircraft operated by steam engines and gasoline.

In 1896, he completed and named this unmanned aerial vehicle No. 5 Aerodrome. Using a one-cylinder steam system, it flew 1 km above the Potomac river and then landed. country.

Number 5 Aerodrome aircraft by Samuel Langley.

Six months later, its brothers, Aerodrome No. 6, could fly up to 1.5 km.

And its brother - Aerodrome Number 6.

Talk about Clément Ader. Learning from Langley, Ader released his third-generation aircraft, called Avion III. Having been conceived from 1982, it has a large, beautiful shape and looks more like Éole. But in 1897, although it had not taken off, it had a bad incident and damage; Since then Ader is no longer keen on making aircraft.

And so Langley became the world leader in aviation. Thanks to his political relationships, he was awarded $ 70,000 (more than 1.5 billion at current exchange rates) by the US Department of War and the Smithsonian Institution to continue research and manufacture of aircraft.

With that money, in 1898, Langley began to build a new plane called 50-hp Aerodrome A. After two runs, part of it was caught in the catapult and sunk into the river. In short, failure!

Samuel Langley's 50-hp Aerodrome A aircraft.

4. Karl Jatho - German inventor

Karl Jatho.

Also in 1897, a German inventor named Karl Jatho (1873-1933) built a three-layer plane, looking at it like a driver with several layers of discs. Although there was no control system, it flew about 1 meter and moved 18m.

In 1903, his only two-class aircraft achieved a height of 3m and traveled 60m but still had no control system. Jatho admitted that his plane was simply too weak to fly high and faster.

Karl Jatho's plane.

5. The Wright brothers

Wright brothers.

It would be missing without mentioning the Wright brothers in this list. From 1899 to 1902, the brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright designed, flew and completed their roller coaster versions in North Carolina. In 1903, they tested the modified Flyer aircraft from a roller coaster.

Wilbur drove the Flyer up 34 meters high. But when it landed, its front wheel was badly damaged.

The Wright brothers Flyer plane.

Three days later, after fixing the rudder, they set the sliding rails on a flat ground and flew 4 times. Orville and Wilbur take turns taking control. The next flight has a longer time than the previous flight and does not encounter any problems at all. The last turn reached a height of 3m and moved up to 260m.

Unfortunately, on the way back to the warehouse, the Flyer was overturned by the wind and badly damaged. The two Wright brothers did not fix the Flyer but made another plane, called Flyer II.

Aircraft Flyer II.

Flyer II was announced to the press in 1904. This time, they conducted test flights at Huffman Prairie flight school in Dayton. Because the wind here is quite light, they built a catapult. Flyer II has reached a record when flying around for 5 minutes.

In 1905, Flyer III officially took off. Wilbur drove it 40 km in 38 minutes before landing because of the fuel. It means that the pilot wants to stop at any time.

And the Flyer III.

A week later, the World Air Sports Federation (FAI) was founded in Paris. They rewarded items, such as flying over 25 m or up to 100 m. However, for unknown reasons, the Wright brothers plane did not meet the criteria for reward.

5. Pilot Alberto Santos-Dumont

This Brazilian pilot was the one who was honored at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. At that time, after successfully building an engine balloon, he switched to building aircraft at the end of 1905 with the aim of seeing FAI award.

In 1906, he tested his 14-bis aircraft. It moved about 7m in the applause of everyone around. More than a month later, she flew 60m and received the first FAI award.

Thanks to the addition of an extra wing for easier balance, the 14-bis then flew up to 220m.

Alberto Santos-Dumont 14-bis plane (1873-1932).

Many people have pointed to deficiencies in the awarding criteria of the 14-bis and believe that FAI has favored Santos-Dumont because he is now living in France.

Now you guessed the reason why Alberto Santos-Dumont was celebrated at the Olympic opening? Although the 14-bis was born and flew after the Wright brothers Flyer for up to 3 years, it had a shorter and more difficult flight time, but it was said to be the first successful flight in the world because accredited by FAI.

So who is the first person to build an airplane? The answer is yours. Anyway, science and history are not always the determinants of all problems.