The Birth of Flight - Page 1

	Leonardo da Vinci, 1480 Helical Aerial Screw				The First Aerial Balloon Voyage

From the beginning of time, humans have dreamed of achieving flight. Stories from Greek and Roman mythology have examples of gods who were able to fly. Religions tell stories of chariots that fly through the air and winged angels that join humans in the heavens. The ancient Chinese invented spinning toys that were the earliest helicopters, and their designs may have influenced the great artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci.

Leonardo discovered and examined several of the basic principles of aerodynamics and physics, then designed machines that applied these principles. One of the most well-known of Leonardo's flying machines was the aerial screw. It has almost the same concept as the helicopter and was the first drawing of a helicopter-like flying machine. The machine was a flat screw, and when turned it would create lift.

Many years later, in 1783, the first recorded flying device, a hot-air balloon made by two French brothers, rose up from the royal Chateau La Muette in Paris. The cloth balloon was flown by the first human fliers. It was the first untethered hot-air balloon flight, rising 84 feet (25m) into the air, flying across 5.5 miles and staying aloft for almost four minutes. The sky had at last come within reach of humankind!