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While the Wright brothers are often credited with being the first in flight, another inventor managed to get off the ground before them.
In 1886, Clement Ader designed his first flying machine. Its design mimicked that of a bat and ran on a steam engine producing 20 horsepower. The plane’s wings had a span of almost 50 feet and the entire machine weighed 660 pounds. Four years after initial development, Ader “took-off” at a height of 7.6 inches off the ground for a distance of 160 feet.
While Clement may have been first to “fly,” the Wright brothers are widely recognized as having “the first sustained and controlled heavier-than-air powered” flights in 1903.
By 1905, the Wright brothers developed a plane capable of fully controllable, stable flights called the Wright Flyer III. Then, in 1906, Alberto Santos-Dumont claimed the first airplane flight unassisted by a catapult and set the first flight world record for speed, traveling 720 feet in less than 22 seconds.
Airplane innovation grew rapidly during WWI, where planes’ observation and direct combat benefits were discovered. Soon after WWI, the first international commercial flights took place between the US and Canada in 1919. By WWII, airplanes had a large presence in all major battles.
In the middle of WWII, Howard Hughes of Houston, Texas patented a novel plane design. While his design looks very practical, it was never built at scale. Hughes patent was an ornamental design, meant for toys or other decorative items. This wasn't Hughes’ only patent, he was approved for over 80 others throughout his lifetime.