GREATEST FLYING MACHINES EVER CREATED

BAMBOO-COPTER

One of the world´s oldest flying machines, the

bamboo-copter (also known as bamboo dragonfly or 

Chinese top) is a toy helicopter rotor that flies up when

its shaft is rapidly spun. Invented in China around

400 BCE, the bamboo-copter consisted of feathers at

the end of a bamboo stick, which was rapidly spun

between the hands and released into flight.

SKY LANTERN

The sky lantern is a small hot air balloon made of paper

and a wooden frame with an opening at the bottom

where a small fire is suspended. It is estimated the

Chinese experimented with sky lanterns from as early

as the 3rd century BCE, but traditionally, their invention

is attributed to the sage and military strategist 

Zhuge Liang (181–234 AD).

HOT AIR BALLOON

The hot air balloon is the first successful human-carrying

 flight technology. The first untethered manned hot air

balloon flight was performed by Jean-François Pilâtre de

Rozier and François Laurent d’Arlandes in 1783 in Paris

in a balloon created by the Montgolfier brothers. Modern

hot air balloons can travel thousands of miles. In fact,

the longest recorded hot air balloon flight was

 7,672 km (4,767 mi) from Japan to Northern Canada.

SOLAR BALLOON

Technically a type of the hot air balloon, the solar balloon

gains buoyancy when the air inside is heated by solar

radiation, usually with the help of black or dark balloon

material. The heated air inside the solar balloon expands

and has lower density than the surrounding air. Usage

of solar balloons is mostly in the toy market, but some

solar balloons are large enough for human flights.

ORNITHOPTER

Inspired by the flight of birds, bats, and insects, the 

ornithopter is an aircraft that flies by flapping its wings.

Most ornithopters are unmanned, but manned ornithopters

have also been built. One of the earliest ornithopter

concepts were designed by Leonardo da Vinci as early

as in the 15^th century. In 1894, Otto Lilienthal, German

aviation pioneer, performed what is considered the first

manned ornithopter flight.

PARACHUTE

Made from light strong cloth such as nylon, the 

parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an

object through an atmosphere by creating drag 

(or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic

 lift). The oldest parachute design appears in an

anonymous manuscript from the 1470’s Renaissance

Italy. These days, parachutes are used with a variety

of loads, including people, food, equipment, space

capsules and even bombs.

KITE

Originally constructed by stretching silk over a split

bamboo framework, the kite was invented in China in

the 5^th century BCE. Over the course of time, many

other cultures adopted the device, and some of them

even further developed this simple flying machine.

For example, man-carrying kites are believed to have

existed in ancient China and Japan.

AIRSHIP

The first aircraft capable of controlled powered flip, the

 airship is a type of a lighter-than-air aircraft that can

navigate through the air under its own power. In

early airships, the lifting gas used was hydrogen, but

in most airships built since the 1960’s, helium has

been used as the lifting gas. The airship might also

have engines and crew and/or payload accommodation,

typically housed in one or more “gondolas”

suspended below the gas bag.

GLIDER

The glider is a heavier-than-air aircraft that is supported

in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against its

lifting surfaces, i.e. it does not depend on an engine.

Therefore, most gliders do not have an engine, although

 some gliders might have engines to extend their

flight when necessary and also to take off. Most

gliders exploit meteorological phenomena such

as ridge lift to maintain or even gain height.