In 1853 Sir George Cayley
managed to build a flying machine that could carry the weight of
a man. Later that year he persuaded his coach driver to fly 900
feet (275 m) across a small valley. This was the first recorded
flight by a person in an aircraft and Cayley has been described
as the "true inventor of the aeroplane".
Inspired
by this achievement, Louis Charles Letur, of France, built a parachute-glider.
When it flew in 1853 it became the first pilot-controlled, heavier-than-air
machine to be tested in flight. He made several successful flights
before crashing in London. He died of his injuries on 27th June,
1854.
