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The first recorded human flight was made on November 21st 1783 in a rural part of France. The Montgolfier brothers designed and tested a craft which could carry a human aloft. Their design was very similar to today's modern hot air balloons.

When asked who invented the first aircraft, most respond with the Wright brothers. However, they were inventors of the first airplane, not aircraft. The ancient Chinese recorded designs for several types of unmanned aircraft, and there is mounting evidence that the Nazca people of ancient South America may have had the use of primitive hot air balloons.

Many great thinkers and scientists have also contributed to our understanding of aircraft and aerodynamics. Leonardo DaVinci is well known for the "air screw" design, even though it is non-functional.

Man's history is full of tales that exemplify our obsession with flight, such as the Greek tragedy of Daedalus and Icarus. Even now, our obsession has spread beyond our own horizons and into space itself, but had it not been for the true pioneers of human flight, we may never have gotten off the ground.

Learn more about this author, Michael Carleton.
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