Flying Machines

Illustration from Nouveau Larousse Illustré showing examples of famous flying machines throughout history.

Throughout history, humans have been fascinated with flight, and some of our more industrious brothers and sisters have dedicated their lives to achieving it. This has led to a rich lineage of ideas for flying machines, and the illustration pictured here shows some famous examples throughout said lineage. It’s interesting to note the commonalities throughout the examples, and the unique outliers.

The main commonality is the use of the wing, which is a broad surface meant to catch the wind and produce a lifting force. Wing use began from the observations of birds, and early flying machines usually required some sort of flapping motion, also like a bird (these designs are called ornithopters). Modern airplanes still use the concept of the wing, though they’re much more sophisticated than any of the examples shown here.

Another commonality in later examples is the use of a propeller. Propellers spin and force air to move in a certain direction, which propels the machine in the opposite direction, hence the name. Propellers became widely used in early aviation, but today they are less common than the preferred jet engine.

A 1910 illustration showing another assortment of flying machine designs throughout history. This one was also from an issue of Nouveau Larousse Illustré.

I love comparative illustrations like this, because they remind us that individual efforts of this kind are part of a larger context, and they fit into a body of knowledge that grows and evolves over time. Each of these designers were influenced by those that came before them, and in many cases they were working to refine an earlier design or idea in some way, each with the ultimate goal of human flight.

For individual write-ups of these and other flying machines throughout history, check out this page.