7 milestones in the history of flight

1. 400BC - The Chinese create kites for ceremonial purposes and to test weather conditions
2. 1500 - Leonardo da Vinci develops the Ornithopter, although never actually built, modern helicopters are based on his concept
3. 1783 - Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier fly the first hot air balloon
4. 1799 - George Cayley develops the glider with tail and recognized that there would be a need for power if flight was to be sustainable
5. 1891 - Otto Lilienthal developed a glider that was able to fly long distances, and wrote a book in 1889 on the concepts of aerodynamics
6. 1891 - Samual P Langley built the Langley's Aerodrome, a model plane with a steam-powered engine. The model frew for 3/4s of a mile before running out of fuel
7. 1903 - Orville and Wilbur Wright take the first aeroplane flight in the Wright Brother's Flyer