Buzz
This topic is a dream come true for list enthusiasts, packed with countless humorous and quirky flight experiments documented throughout history. After sorting through hundreds of contenders, I've handpicked the top 10 most peculiar – you're bound to enjoy them!
10. Chanute’s Glider
We're all familiar with the saying that 'less is more,' but apparently no one mentioned this to Monsieur Octave Chanute. He believed that more was better, as proven by his clumsy multi-winged flying machine! A French-born engineer, Chanute retired and settled in Chicago, Illinois, where he began exploring aeronautics. In 1896, he began testing his 'gliders' at Dune Park, Indiana, along the shore of Lake Michigan.
The odd design of this machine, with its wings that moved back and forth, led many to mock the idea – particularly as later 'classic' designs favored fixed, trussed wings. However, despite the glider’s failure, its design carried a concept that would later influence many military aircraft: the use of pivoting, movable wing surfaces (most notably in the F-111 and B-1).
The purpose of his glider was to test the concept of pivoting wings to control the center of wing pressure, offering better stability. Chanute also invented the “strut-wire” braced structure, which would become standard in all future biplanes. Before his aviation pursuits, Chanute was a highly respected railroad engineer who designed the Chicago and Kansas City stockyards. Later, he became a key supporter of the Wright Brothers, guiding them and providing them with cutting-edge aerial knowledge.
9. Alexandre Goupil’s Sesquiplane
Alexandre Goupil, a renowned French engineer, created this bird-inspired flying machine in 1883. The sesquiplane, which featured a monoplane structure with additional smaller wings, was intended to be powered by a steam engine housed inside the machine’s rounded body. The engine would drive a single tractor propeller, and the machine would be equipped with a wheeled landing gear. A rudder was to be positioned beneath the tail surface.
Goupil built and tested a prototype of his design without the engine. This test model had a wingspan of just over 19 feet 8 inches and surprisingly demonstrated significant lift – enough to elevate itself and two men into the air in winds of about 14 MPH. Goupil’s design was a precursor to today’s 'blended lifting body' concepts.
To the left is the original engine-powered design, while the image at the top shows the unpowered test version. (Click on the images for a larger view.)
8. Charles Ritchel’s Flying Machine
Charles Ritchel’s flying machine was publicly demonstrated for the first time in May and June of 1878. The structure was built from brass tubing, and it supported a gas bag made of rubberized fabric. Mabel Harrington was the first to fly this hand-cranked contraption, although Mark Quinlan is believed to have conducted most of the subsequent demonstration flights, including two that lasted over an hour each. Ritchel ultimately went on to build and sell five of these machines.
Ritchel envisioned a transcontinental airline, where aircraft would be hand-cranked by a team of 11 men. However, this idea never came to fruition. In addition to aviation, Ritchel was a prolific inventor, with his most notable invention being the funhouse mirror. He also created a mechanical money box where a coin placed in a monkey’s hand would be tilted back into a hole in its stomach. Some even credit Ritchel with inventing roller skates. Unfortunately, Ritchel passed away in poverty.
7. Thomas Moy’s 'Aerial Steamer'
Thomas Moy’s tandem-wing monoplane, named the 'Aerial Steamer,' was a large craft equipped with two six-foot diameter propellers. Powered by a steam engine of his own design, which produced 3 horsepower at 550 RPM, the machine featured a tricycle landing gear. In June 1875, Moy tested his invention at the Crystal Palace in London, where it reached a speed of 12 MPH on a track but failed to generate enough lift to take off. Despite this, elements of the design, such as the twin propellers and tricycle landing gear, influenced future aircraft. Some records suggest the plane may have lifted six inches off the ground, though this is unconfirmed.
6. Leonardo Da Vinci’s Flying Machine
Leonardo Da Vinci, an Italian polymath, was likely the first European to seriously explore the possibility of flight. He created numerous designs for various devices, including parachutes, and meticulously studied the flight patterns and structure of birds.
In 1485, Leonardo Da Vinci created a highly detailed design for a human-powered ornithopter, a wing-flapping machine intended for flight. There is no evidence that he ever tried to build this device. For the next four centuries, the idea of flight devices inspired by birds reappeared time and again. Leonardo was captivated by flight throughout much of his life, conducting extensive studies on birds' flight mechanics, including his 1505 Codex on the Flight of Birds. He also designed various flying machines, such as a helicopter and a light hang glider. While most of these designs were impractical, the hang glider has since been successfully built and flown. Leonardo also conceptualized a helicopter (pictured right), a tank, concentrated solar power, a calculator, the double hull, and even laid the groundwork for a rudimentary theory of plate tectonics.
5. Le-Bris’ Artificial Albatross
Le Bris constructed a glider, modeled after the Albatross bird, and named it L’Albatros artificiel ('The Artificial Albatross'). In 1856, he briefly flew on the beach of Sainte-Anne-la-Palud (Finistère), being pulled by a horse running into the wind. This flight marked a historic moment as he flew higher than his starting point—an achievement for heavier-than-air flying machines—reaching a height of about 100 meters (300 ft) and covering a distance of 200 meters (600 ft).
In 1868, with the backing of the French Navy, Le Bris constructed a second flying machine, which he tested three times in Brest, though with limited success. This new version closely resembled his first creation but was lighter and featured a system for adjusting weight distribution. Remarkably, his flying machine became the first to be photographed, though only while stationary, by the photographer Nadar in 1868.
Le Bris developed flight controls capable of adjusting the incidence of the wings. This innovation was patented in March 1857. His commitment to soaring flight, his creative interpretation of nature's designs, and his ability to transform those concepts into mechanical devices—rather than simply mimicking natural forms—was an extraordinary accomplishment. Despite facing personal injuries, challenges, and financial difficulties, he persisted in his experiments and found some measure of success.
4. Cayley’s Glider
Sir George Cayley is regarded as one of the most influential figures in the development of aeronautics. Widely considered the first true scientific investigator of flight, he was among the first to grasp the fundamental principles of aviation. His initial device, a model helicopter, was built in 1796 and featured contra-rotating propellers. Three years later, he engraved a medallion illustrating the forces involved in flight and, on its reverse, sketched plans for a monoplane glider.
In 1804, Cayley designed and built a model monoplane glider that looked surprisingly modern for its time. The design featured an adjustable cruciform tail, a kite-shaped wing set at a high angle of incidence, and a movable weight to shift the center of gravity. It is considered one of the first gliding devices to achieve significant flight. Above is a replica of Cayley’s glider.
3. Gusmão’s Lighter-than-air Airship
Bartolomeu de Gusmão (1685, Santos, São Paulo, Brazil – November 18, 1724, Toledo, Spain), a Portuguese priest and naturalist born in Colonial Brazil, is best known for his pioneering work on the design of lighter-than-air airships. In 1709, he submitted a petition to King John V of Portugal, requesting a privilege for his invention of an airship, which he believed had great potential. The petition, along with an image and description of his airship, has been preserved.
The airship was designed to be powered by magnets, which Gusmão believed would be enclosed in two hollow metal spheres. Although a public test was scheduled for June 24, 1709, it never took place. However, reports from the time suggest that Gusmão may have conducted several smaller, less ambitious experiments with his machine. The main idea behind his invention was based on the principle of the kite (aeroplane). It's likely that he didn’t use magnets in the metal spheres, but instead relied on gases and hot air produced by the combustion of various materials. [Wikipedia]
This article is licensed under the GFDL due to the inclusion of quotations from two Wikipedia articles referenced above.
2. Clement Ader’s “Bat” Planes
Clement Ader, widely regarded as a brilliant inventor, was a self-taught engineer. His passion for aviation took flight in 1870 when he built a gas balloon. In addition to his work in aeronautics, Ader also invented several electrical communication devices. However, he is most famous for his two notable flying machines: the Ader Eole (shown in the image above) and the Ader Avion No. 3 (below).
Clement Ader asserted that on October 9, 1890, while aboard the Ader Eole, he achieved a low-altitude flight powered by a steam engine, covering a distance of about 160 feet in the suburbs of Paris, from a flat field on his friend’s estate. He further claimed to have flown roughly 900 feet in his Avion No. 3, a feat witnessed by two individuals. The Avion No. 3 was a remarkable engineering achievement inspired by nature, resembling a bat not only externally but also incorporating a wing structure that mimicked that of the bat. To many, the Ader Eole and Ader Avion No. 3 symbolize the ambitious, yet ultimately flawed, attempts at powered flight during the Victorian Era.
Though the claim made by Ader regarding his flight in the Avion 3 has been largely debunked, both of his aircraft remain extraordinary in several respects, and many in France still regard him as the founding father of French aviation.
1. Giffard’s Airship
Henri Giffard, a French engineer, invented both the injector and the powered airship, which was equipped with a steam engine weighing over 400 lb. This airship was the first to carry passengers, known as a dirigible. It was both practical and steerable, filled with hydrogen and powered by a 3-hp steam engine driving a propeller. The engine included a downward-pointing funnel designed to mix the exhaust gases with the combustion stream to prevent sparks from reaching the gas bag, and he also fitted a vertical rudder.
On 24 September 1852, Giffard achieved the first powered and controlled flight, covering a distance of 27 km from Paris to Trappes. Although the wind proved too strong for him to make the return trip, he demonstrated that the airship could be steered and controlled by executing turns and circles. Giffard, who faced declining eyesight, tragically took his own life in 1882, leaving his estate to the nation for the advancement of humanitarian and scientific endeavors. His legacy endures, as his name is inscribed among the 72 names on the Eiffel Tower. Above is a model of Giffard's airship. [Wikipedia]
