According to Greek mythology, around 1200 B.C., Daedalus was the first to master the art of flying. The legend describes how Daedalus and his son, Icarus, escaped from an island prison by flying to freedom with bird-like wings covered with feathers and held together by twine and wax.

Even though stories like this are ficticious, they symbolize man's early interest in flight. But the fact remained that man had yet to fly.

In the 15th century, the first recorded scientific experiments with flying models were conducted by Leonardo da Vinci. The Italian inventor left behind manuscripts containing about one hundred sixty pages of descriptions and scetches of flying machines. These included discussions about the center of gravity, center of pressure, and streamlining. The progress of aviation was, in all likelihood, slowed by the fact that his writing were not pu

The dirigible was the next logical step after the balloon. A dirigible was a lighter-than-air aircraft that was engine-driven and steerable. Dirigibles were normally designed in the shape of a fat cigar, rather than the round shape of a balloon. The two most memorable designers of the first dirigibles include Henri Giffard and Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin.

The rigid airship gained recognition when Count von Zeppelin's was test flown July of 1900. This flight was to become the begining of a long period of German dominance in the development of large, rigid airships. Count von Zeppelin continued to build improved versions of his original design, and in 1910, the LZ-7 became the world's first commercial airship.

Professor Jacques Charles, a French chemist, made a sinificant contribution to ballooning when he added dissolved rubber to silk fabric and demonstrated the use of hydrogen gas instead of hot air to obtain lift in his balloons.

Until his death in 1857, Cayley maintained his passion for flight and left behind a number of important contributions. He noted that birds could soar great distances by twisting and dipping their extended, arched wings, rather than by flapping them. This observation led to his design of the fixed-wing glider. In other experiments, he identified the forces of lift, drag, and thrust. Cayley made many aerodynamic discoveries, as well as the necessity of a tail for longitudinal stability aand control. He also saw the need for a light engine for propulsion and the significance of power-to-weight ratio. Although Cayley never succeeded in flying a powered aircraft, his research and scientific papers proved to be of great value to those who followed him.

The Montgolfier brothers of France are credited with sending the first live passengers aloft in a balloon. The Montgolfiers attached a cage to the bottom of a paper and linen bag; the bag or balloon contained hot air that was introduced through an opening at the bottom.

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2036
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)