who was the first person to fly a powered aeroplane?

Answer 1

In 1856, Frenchman Jean-Marie Le Bris made the first powered flight, by having his glider "L'Albatros artificiel" pulled by a horse on a beach.

Answer 2

The first person to fly an aeroplane was Ian Wright, he went on to become an English footballer.

Answer 3

Sorry guys, the first guy to fly an aeroplane was in fact Richard Pearse - Kevin H is absolutely correct. Richard Pearse completed his flight on the 31 March 1903, nine months before the Wright brothers. It was a short flight of several hundred metres and ended when he flew into a hedge and he did it right here in little old New Zealand. The reason why it is debated over who actually flew first was because of the poor documentation of the flight and little or no newspaper coverage.

Answer 4

First define "fly", "powered" and "aeroplane". Depending on your definitions you'll get a different answer. There are many candidates:

Clement Ader
Richard Pearse
Gustav Whitehead
Santos Dumont

Look them up on wikipedia if you're interested. However, I will say, Orville Wright was almost certainly not the first person - the Wrights were merely the best publicists, and the "Wright Flyer" was not capable of taking off under it's own power, nor was it capable of particularly "controlled" flight.

Answer 5

The Wright brothers, Orville (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur (April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912), were two Americans who are generally credited with building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight on December 17, 1903. In the two years afterward, they developed their flying machine into the first practical fixed-wing aircraft. Although not the first to build and fly experimental aircraft, the Wright brothers were the first to invent aircraft controls that made mechanical fixed wing flight possible

wikipedia

Answer 6

A number of pioneers managed little hops, or unmanned flights but it is generally accepted that the Wright brothers were the first to manage controlled flight in 1903, ie going where they wanted to go. The previous flyers had only gone where the machine wanted to go. Possible exception was Santos-Dumont who was an early builder of airships/powered balloons and flew in 1901.

Answer 7

Wow, it is pretty funny to read through most of these answers and see the huge variety of responses. However, assuming that you are talking about manned, heavier-than-air, powered airplanes, this is the detailed definition that is generally accepted by historians:

December 17, 1903

Orville Wright was the first person to make a successful flight in a powered aircraft that, by using its own power, lifted itself into the air, flew forward *without a reduction in speed*, and landed at a point as high as it had taken-off from.

Answer 8

Wilbur and Orville Wright.

The Wright brothers made the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air flight on December 17, 1903.

Answer 9

There's only going to be a blazing row about this, because most of us believe it must be one of the Wright Brothers, but which?

In addition to all of the above, well publicised and proven historical fact etc., there is the issue of a Victorian gentleman here in England who took to the air in powered flight, but only in a straight line back in the 1890s. Yup, it happened.

Even earlier, and boy you won't even believe this, there was a Victorian railroad co. here in UK who actually built steam powered aircraft which they planned to use to fly from London to Manchester. These machines actually worked, but sad to say the money ran out.

Imagine, coal fired steam engined aircraft! Nuts or what? Only in England.

Answer 10

Yeah i thought the Wright brothers were the first to fly a powered aeroplane... ???

Answer 11

The Wright Brothers. Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim built a plane in 1910!! it never flew. He did invent a machine gun.