Who was the first person to fly a plane in the world?

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yankiwi

Richard Pearse flew before the Wright Brothers. His first flight was near Waitohi, New Zealand, March 31, 1902. By July 1903, Pearse had achieved flights of around one kilometre. However, some playfully relate that he spent all his time on his airplanes and not trimming his gorse hedges, which he subsequently kept running into.

Richard William Pearse spent much of his lifetime building light, powerful aero-engines and constructing aircraft for his numerous attempts at powered flight.

His most spectacular flights were those made after the turn of the 20th century using a horizontally opposed twin-cylinder engine fitted to a high-wing mono-plane; both plane and engine were built by Pearse using materials available in the locality.

The last of his planes with its unusual engine is now on view at the Museum of Transport and Technology in Auckland, but only parts of two earlier engines remain; these were recovered from a rubbish dump after being buried and lost for many years.

A question often asked is: "Did this man, a farmer's son with no technical training and with severely limited facilities and funds, really succeed where so many others had failed?" The proof can be seen in the advanced design of his engines and aircraft, which had many original features not then found elsewhere; and although many of his ideas were never developed to their full extent nevertheless his engine produced more than adequate power for the purpose of getting his plane airborne.

The motor car did not appear in his locality until some years after Pearse had built and run his petrol engine; his design was based on the steam engines and early oil engines in use in the district, supplemented by information gathered from engineering books...

It is probably now impossible to establish without doubt if Pearse flew before the Wright Brothers. However, there is no doubt that Pearse's definition of flying was far more rigorous than that of the Wright Brothers, and that flights he made prior to the Wright's attempts were never classified by himself as, "actually flying". Pearse invented the aileron and variable pitch air-screw many years ahead of others researching control surfaces.

His Patent Specification was years ahead of its time, and features the improvements he felt were truly revolutionary.

So although Wilbur and Orville got the credit, I think it was Pearse.

Dart Swinger

One of the Wright Brothers. I think it was Groucho.

toocan

recorded would be orville wright. although there are historic ancient depictions of flying machines in Aztez, Inca, Toltec, Egyption and CHinese artifacts.

xgamestar23

the Wright brothers

lil'oleJewler

If you mean successful, powered, flight, it was one of the Wright Brothers, Wilbur I think.

If you mean a glider, that is a lot harder. Many people made gliders that flew adequately. Landing results were variable.

ruler

The wright brothers. A little side fact, houdini was the first person to fly a plane in australia.

eL Magnifico

the wright brothers~~

The Wright brothers, Orville (August 19, 1871 â€“ January 30, 1948) and Wilbur (April 16, 1867 â€“ May 30, 1912), were two Americans who are generally credited with inventing and 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.