History of Aviation: In 1487 Leonardo da Vinci designed his first flying machine. At first his designs were based on the way bird's flew. Later he realised this was impractical and produced drawings of machines with fixed wings. This website looks at these early experiments to produce flying machines that were carried out by people such as Francesco de Lana, Laurenco de Gusmao, Joseph Michel Montgolfier, Jean Pierre François Blanchard, George Cayley, Henri Giffard, Louis Charles Letur, Alphonse Pénaud, Alexander Mozhaiski, Otto Lilienthal, Clement Adler, Percy Pilcher and Samuel Pierpont Langley.

Evolution of Flight: In commemoration of the approaching 100th anniversary of flight, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) has launched the Evolution of Flight, a campaign to recognize the passionate men and women who have challenged history and defined aerospace achievement. This website celebrates the centennial of flight as well as providing information about the men and women who made it possible.

Aviation Pioneers: A collection of biographies of those people who played an important role in the history of aviation. This includes Clément Ader, William Bland, Frederick Brearey, Jean-Marie Le Bris, George Cayley, Octave Chanute, Glenn Curtiss, Henri Giffard, Lawrence Hargrave, William Henson, Otto Lilienthal, Etienne-Jules Marey, Louis Mouillard, Thomas Moy, Alexander Mozhaisky, Alphonse Pénaud, Horatio Phillips, Percy Pilcher, Charles Renard, John Stringfellow, Emmanuel Swedenborg, Victor Tatin, Felix du Temple de la Croix, Nikolaj Teleshov, Thomas Walker, Francis Wenham, John Wise and Wilbur & Orville Wright.

Flying Machines: Before the Wright Brothers achieved the first successful heavier-than-air controlled flight on December 17, 1903, hundreds of women and men attempted to fly, in airships, gliders and aeroplanes, and many did go aloft in gas and hot-air balloons. This website documents a number of those pre-Wright attempts at heavier-than-air flight, as well as significant events and thoughts which contributed to the ultimate success of powered, heavier-than-air human flight.

Domination of the Air: John Mackenzie Bacon died in 1904. His classic book, Domination of the Air is now available online. Topics covered include: Invention of the Balloon, First Balloon Ascent in England, Famous Early Voyagers, Charles Green and the Nassau Balloon, John Wise: the American Aeronaut, Commencement of a New Era, Henry Coxwell and His Contemporaries, Highest Ascent on Record, Scientific Voyages of Glaisher and Coxwell, Famous French Aeronauts, Adventure and Enterprise, The Balloon in the Siege of Paris, The Tragedy of the Zenith, The Coming of the Flying Machine, New Departures in Aerostation, The Modern Airship and The Possibilities of Balloons in Warfare.

The Aerodrome: Aces and Aircraft of World War I: Scott Hamilton is responsible for this beautifully designed and easy to use website. As the title suggests, the website contains details of all the main First World War aces and aircraft. The database includes biographies of aces from sixteen different countries. The entries are extremely detailed and very good use is made of hypertexted links. Other features include a Discussion, Forum and Today in History, where information is provided on all the significant events that took place on that particular date during the war.

Canadian Air Aces and Heroes is a set of biographies on Canadians who distinguished themselves in military aviation from WWI through WWII and Korea. Linked with the biographies are technical pages on the aircraft they flew and fought against. It is continually being updated and added to so check back occasionally to see if anything new has been added.

Zeppelin Raids in the First World War: Count von Zeppelin, a retired German army officer, flew his first airship in 1900. They were lighter than air, filled with hydrogen, with a steel framework. When the war started in 1914, the German armed forces had several Zeppelins, each capable of travelling at about 85 m.p.h. and carrying up to 2 tons of bombs. With military deadlock on the Western Front, they decided to use them against towns and cities in Britain. This website produced by the Public Record Office looks in detail on the Zeppelin raid on Hull in June 1915.

A History of Flight: The Science Museum's On-Line Exhibition starts with a time-line of the History of Flight. The user can use this as a base to explore both the aircraft and the people involved in the development of the industry. Thirty-one people have been chosen and they range from King Louis XIV, who witnessed the early flight of the Montgolfier balloon, to Bill Bedford, the test pilot of the first vertical and landing jet areoplane. There are a large number of aircraft on display. This usually includes a photograph, background information on its development and technical details (span, length, weight, speed, power and armament).

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