Joseph-Michel Montgolfier and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier were the inventors of the hot air balloon. The brothers were born into a family of paper manufacturers in Annonay, France.

 

It was Joseph who first contemplated building machines as early as 1777 when he observed laundry drying over a fire incidentally form pockets that billowed upwards.

Joseph set about building a box-like chamber out of very thin wood, and covering the sides and top with lightweight taffeta cloth. He crumpled and lit some paper under the bottom of the box. The contraption quickly lifted off its stand and collided with the ceiling. Joseph then recruited his brother to balloon building by writing, "Get in a supply of taffeta and of cordage, quickly, and you will see one of the most astonishing sights in the world."

 

The brothers decided to make a public demonstration of a balloon in order to establish their claim to its invention. On 4 June 1783, they flew this craft as their first public demonstration in front of a group of dignitaries from the États particuliers. Its flight covered 2 km, lasted 10 minutes, and had an estimated altitude of 1,600-2,000 m.

 

Otto Lilienthal was a German pioneer of aviation who became known as the Glider King. He was the first person to make well-documented, repeated, successful gliding flights.

 

Lilienthal was fascinated by the idea of manned flight. He did research in accurately describing the flight of birds, especially storks, and used polar diagrams for describing the aerodynamics of their wings. He made many experiments in an attempt to gather reliable aeronautical data.

 

While his lifelong pursuit was flight, Lilienthal was also an inventor and devised a small engine that worked on a system of tubular boilers. His engine was much safer than the other small engines of the time. This invention gave him the financial freedom to focus on aviation.

During his short flying career, Lilienthal developed a dozen models of monoplanes, wing flapping aircraft and two biplanes. His gliders were carefully designed to distribute weight as evenly as possible to ensure a stable flight. Lilienthal controlled them by changing the centre of gravity by shifting his body, much like modern hang gliders.

 

In 1896 he died of injuries sustained when his glider stalled and he was unable to regain control; falling from about 15 m (50 ft), he fractured his neck and was transported to a hospital. His last words to his brother Gustav were "Opfer müssen gebracht werden!" (Sacrifices must be made!)

Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin (also known as Graf von Zeppelin, and in English, Count Zeppelin) was a German General and later aircraft manufacturer. He founded the Zeppelin Airship company.

 

After his resignation from the army in 1891 at age 52, Zeppelin devoted his full attention to airships. He hired the engineer Theodor Gross to make tests of possible materials and to assess available engines for both fuel efficiency and power-to-weight ratio. He also had air propellers tested and strove to obtain higher purity hydrogen gas from suppliers.

 

On 2 July 1900, Zeppelin made the first flight with the LZ 1 over Lake Constance near Friedrichshafen in southern Germany. The airship rose from the ground and remained in the air for 20 minutes, but was damaged on landing.

 

Up until 1914 the German Aviation Association (Deutsche Luftschiffahrtsgesellschaft or DELAG) transported 37,250 people on over 1,600 flights without an incident. Within a few years the zeppelin revolution began creating the age of air transportation.

This was changed in 1937 with the famous Hindenburg accident. This incident shattered public confidence in the giant, passenger-carrying rigid airship and marked the end of the airship era.

The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, were two American brothers, inventors, and aviation pioneers who were credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane.

 

They gained the mechanical skills essential for their success by working for years in their shop with printing presses, bicycles, motors, and other machinery. Their work with bicycles in particular influenced their belief that an unstable vehicle like a flying machine could be controlled and balanced with practice.

 

The first powered flight was at Kitty Hawk, were the brothers did most of their experiments. Wilbur won a coin toss and made a three-second flight attempt on December 14, 1903. They made several flights later that week, and on December 17 their altitude was about 3 m (10 feet) above the ground. The distance over the ground was measured to be 852 feet; the time of the flight was 59 seconds.