This volume covers aviation from its earliest beginnings up to the outbreak of the First World War. It begins with the first theories and experiments in flight, including the attempts to fly by jumping from towers and the experiences of the lighter-than-air flight using balloons. It then analyses the experiments with kites and models in an attempt to understand the principles of aerodynamics. All this leads up to the first successful powered flights, culminating in the achievement of the Wright Brothers, whose flight at Kitty Hawk represented the first successful powered, sustained, and controlled flight. The remainder of the book covers the creation of an aeroplane industry – putting aeroplanes to work, refining airframes and engines, adapting aeroplanes to fly from water, and understanding safety issues.

The Series Editor Philip Jarrett, is a freelance author, editor and consultant specializing in aviation. He has been editor of Aeroplane, the Royal Aeronautical Society’s newspaper, assistant editor of Aeroplane Monthly, and production editor of Flight International.