The first aero plane ever to fly was built by a French naval officer, Felix du Temple de la Croix. In 1874 his monoplane, powered with a hot-air engine, took off from the top of a hill near Brest in France. It did not get far, just a short hop, but it was a beginning. A few years later, in 1890, Clement Ader of France flew his own plane, Eole, entirely under its own power for about 50 meters. It was a world record.
The first truly successful aero plane flight was in 1903. In December of that year Orville Wright flew his chain-driven plane Flyer I at a speed of 8m.p.h and at an altitude of 12 feet for 12 seconds in North Carolina, United States. It was several years before the Wrights’ achievements were fully appreciated in America.
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