I know, I know, it's a silly question, however it is a question with a fair bit of controversy. If you were to ask most people, they would say that it is the Wright brothers who flew the first plane, but not all of them would say that. Some would say that the person who holds that title is a particular Santos Dumont. Yet others will tell you that it was Gustave Whitehead. The list of claiments to the title goes on.
So, I want to see what this eclectic collection of nerds think.
Definitions are important. The Wright Brothers were certainly not the only people who invented the concepts, pieces and parts required for an “airplane”. But they were the ones to first incorporate them and build the first successful heavier than air manned aircraft capable of controlled, powered, sustained flight. Santos-Dumont certainly was close to doing so in December of 1903, as was Samuel Langley. Santos-Dumont achieved the same feat independently, but not until 1906. It has to be understood, though, that media was not as widely disseminated or pervasive as it is today, so if SD...and the entire nation of Brazil (Brasil!)...doubted the WBs’ achievement, it’s understandable. Samuel Langley was U.S. government sponsored and also close to success in late 1903, but missed when his “Aerodrome” came off its houseboat-mounted launching mechanism/catapult and went straight into the Potomac River, along with its unfortunate pilot, Charles Manley (who was also the chief engineer and survived). Langley’s engine was much more powerful than the WB engine, but the Aerodrome’s control system and structure was lacking. None other than the Smithsonian Institute sponsored Langley’s subsequent effort to rework the Aerodrome and then fly it in 1914 in an attempt to claim that Langley had first invented the successful airplane, but, clearly, the WBs had already done so and aircraft were far more advanced and developed by 1914. Note that the term “heavier than air manned aircraft capable of controlled, powered, sustained flight” is very specific...we are not talking about lighter than air balloons or dirigibles, gliders or (essentially unmanned, uncontrolled) model aircraft, all of which had flown a long time prior to 17 December, 1903. However, to make the airplane a useful invention, all of these features had to be incorporated together and lead the way for today’s aircraft. That is what is meant by “inventing the airplane”.
@FishMiner Beware angry Brazillians! In defense of the Wrights, their early flying machines were much more maneuverable than other pioneering aviators. Their first visit to France was a revelation to the european enthusiasts.
@F104Deathtrap I was asking because something similar happened in MP lol.
I believe this relates to your question.
I'd give the title to Archimedes. He created mechanical wings!
Icarus.
Does the first ever matter? Because I don't think that was a race to be the first but a race to be the best. So in my opinion the best was Dumont.
Do you mean like the first plane that was capable of at least gliding? Carrying humans? First attempt? There's a lot of factors but the Wright Brothers have their claim cause they were able to create a plane that carried a human but also was able to fly under it's own power.
well an airplane is something flyable, so probably the Chinese with their kites. Realistically, the Wright Brothers had the first controlled flight
the wright brothers were the first to sustain powered flight with a heavier than air vehicle
the first person to actually fly were the Montgolfier brothers in like 14 something
but it wasn't a plane
me