Who created the first plane

Man always aspired to rise in the air and feel freedom of flight on a par with birds. Since nature did not give people wings, dreams of flying embodied in the creation of special aircraft. The first plane was created by several inventors in different parts of the globe with small time gaps. Therefore, the owner of the palm tree in this matter has not yet been unequivocally established. History offers us a choice of three, to be exact even four applicants for the invention of the plane: the Wright brothers from the USA, Alexander Mozhaisky from Russia and Alberto Santos-Dumont from Brazil.

The most recognized progenitor of modern aircraft is still considered to be the Wright brothers' plane. Inventors from the USA - Orville and Wilbur Wright raised their airplane Flyer-1 in the morning on December 17, 1903. The first flight lasted only 12 seconds, and the device overcame a distance of 36 and a half meters, and the first pilot, respectively, was Orville Wright, who controlled the aircraft, lying on his wing.

Actually, it was not a self-flying device in its pure form, as the airplane slid along the guide rail and accelerated with the help of a catapult. But at the same time in its design was provided an internal combustion engine, which the brothers themselves had designed.

Following the first experiment, a series of improvements followed, and soon the Flyer-2 and Flyer-3 climbed into the air. In the autumn of 1905, the Wright brothers were able to fly almost forty kilometers. For all their primitiveness, their aircraft still had the right to be called airplanes, since they were equipped with engines, controlled by pilots and moved according to the laws of aerodynamics. True, the chassis such airplanes never got and climbed into the air with the help of a catapult.

Almost simultaneously with the Wright brothers, his plane was launched into the air by the Brazilian inventor Alberto Santos-Dumont. This happened in 1906 in France. The main difference of this aircraft was that it took off without additional devices, that is, it was completely self-propelled. The first aircraft, called "14-bis", had a fixed landing gear and flew only with the help of the thrust of its own engine.

Now the fact that the very first airplane was still built not in America, but in Russia for thirty years before the airplane of the Wright brothers, is becoming increasingly widespread. It was constructed by Rear-Admiral Mozhaisky, who for a long time conducted relevant studies. His flying machine looked like a small boat with several tubes, two small masts and a steam engine. He was called an aeronautical projectile, and a patent for a similar aircraft Mozhaisky received back in 1881.

The design of Mozhaysky can be attributed to fuselage type aircraft, which began to be fully built only 30 years later. The inventor was very limited in means, and the state tried to allocate as little money as possible for research, and, if possible, to categorize and stop all developments.

The documented first flight took place in the summer of 1882 near St. Petersburg, in Krasnoe Selo. A specially invited committee observed the flight of the aircraft, which Mozhaysky called an aerodynam. The first plane was dispersed on a wooden floor, flew a couple of meters and descended into the water, breaking the wing.

Modern studies have shown that at that time the aerodynamics was constructed correctly, but it lacked the power of the power plant for a longer flight.

Mozhaysky, overcoming bureaucratic and financial problems, continued his development. In 1890, he died, there was no one to develop his business, and the tsarist authorities preferred to quickly forget about the plane and permanently bury such research. Even a constructed aircraft was not necessary for anybody - he was transported to the Mozhaisky estate near Vologda, and in 1895 he burned there.

So who of the inventors can give the final priority? Everyone decides in their own way. Aviation is a very important page in the history of mankind, created by the work of many people: theoreticians, practitioners, engineers, dreamers. Therefore, they all have the right to recognition and memory.