history of flight: Quick Facts

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Leonardo da Vinci's flying machine

Wright flyer, 1905

George Cayley's glider, 1853

Lilienthal glider

Langley aerodrome of 1903

first flight by Orville Wright, December 17, 1903

Alberto Santos-Dumont piloting his No. 14-bis biplane in flight, with boxy wings and tail structure visible against the sky.

Louis Blériot and Type XI monoplane

Watch testing of the B-47A Stratojet in 1953

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Early Aviation