1 Into the sky

The Story of Flying

Chapter 1 Into the sky Not so long ago, people were stuck on the ground. They could only watch as birds soared above them. But some men were determined to fly.

In 1487, an Italian inventor named Leonardo da Vinci drew plans for a flying machine. He was sure it would fly. Ha, ha, Leo! It's your silliest idea yet! But he couldn't build one that worked, so no one believed him.

Twenty years later, a man called John Damian decided to copy the birds. "I shall fly from Scotland to France!" he declared. Wearing a pair of wings made from real feathers, he climbed to the top of a tower.

But John Damian didn't reach France. He didn't even reach the next village. Instead, he dived headfirst into a dung heap. A French inventor, Clement Ader, decided to copy bats. He built an enormous pair of bat wings and stuck them to a steam engine. But that didn't work either.

Some people attached wings to their bikes. Did you ever see a bird with wheels? But they could never pedal fast enough to lift off.