Several aviators have been claimed to be the first to fly a powered aeroplane. Much controversy surrounds these claims. It is generally, although not universally, accepted today that the Wright brothers were the first to achieve sustained and controlled powered manned flight, in 1903. It is popularly held in Brazil that their native citizen Alberto Santos-Dumont was the first successful aviator, discounting the Wright brothers' claim because their Flyer took off from a rail, and in later flights would sometimes employ a catapult. An editorial in the 2013 edition of Jane's All the World's Aircraft supported the claim of Gustave Whitehead. Claims by, or on behalf of, other pioneers such as Clement Ader have also been put forward from time to time.
Significant claims
Several aviators or their supporters have laid claim to the first manned flight in a powered aeroplane. Claims that have received significant attention include: Clément Ader in the Avion III (1897) Gustave Whitehead in his No's. 21 and 22 aeroplanes (1901–1903) Richard Pearse in his monoplane (1903–1904) Samuel Pierpont Langley's Aerodrome A (1903) Karl Jatho in Jatho biplane (1903) The Wright brothers in the Wright Flyer (1903) Alberto Santos-Dumont in the 14-bis (1906)
In judging these claims, the generally accepted requirements are for sustained powered and controlled flight. In 1890 Ader had made a brief uncontrolled and unsustained "hop" in his Éole, but such a hop is not regarded as true flight. The ability to take off unaided is also sometimes regarded as necessary, while the minimum necessary distance flown to qualify has been the subject of contention. Air historian Charles Gibbs-Smith has said that, "The criteria of powered flight must remain to some extent a matter of opinion." Mythical or entirely fictional claims are not considered here.
History
Antecedents
Some notable powered hops were made before the problem of powered flight was finally solved.
In 1874 Félix du Temple built a steam-powered aeroplane which took off from a ramp with a sailor on board and remained airborne for a short distance. This has sometimes been claimed as the first powered flight in history but the claim is generally rejected because takeoff was gravity-assisted and flight was not sustained. It is however credited as the first powered takeoff in history.
Ten years later in 1884 the Russian Alexander Mozhaysky achieved similar success, launching his craft from a ramp and remaining airborne for . The claim that this was a sustained flight has not been taken seriously outside Russia.
Clément Ader's Éole of 1890 was a bat-winged tractor monoplane which achieved a brief, uncontrolled hop, becoming the first heavier-than-air machine in history to take off from level ground under its own power. However his hop is not regarded as true flight because it was neither sustained nor controlled. Ader would later make a controversial claim of a more extended flight.
The 1901 Drachenflieger of Wilhelm Kress was a triple-tandem winged floatplane. It had been inspired by Samuel Pierpoint Langley's experiments and, like his later designs, was powered by an internal combustion engine. It demonstrated good control when taxiing, but was too underpowered and failed to take off.
The period of claimed flights
Few of the claims to powered flight were widely accepted, or even made, at the time the events took place. Both the Wrights and Whitehead suffered in their early years from a lack of general recognition, while neither Ader nor Langley made any claim in the years immediately following their work. Indeed, Langley died in 1906 without ever making any claim of success.
The pioneer Octave Chanute promoted the Wrights' work, some of which he witnessed, in the United States and Europe. The brothers began to gain recognition in Britain, where Colonel John Edward Capper was taking charge of Army aeronautical work. On a visit to the U.S. in 1904 Capper befriended the Wrights and subsequently helped foster their early recognition. He also visited Langley, who openly discussed his failure with Capper.
In 1906 the U.S. Army rejected a proposal from the Wrights on the basis that their machine's ability to fly had not been demonstrated. Thus, when Alberto Santos-Dumont made a brief flight that year in his 14-bis aeroplane, there was no acknowledged antecedent and he was acclaimed in France and elsewhere as the first to fly. Ader responded by claiming that he had flown in his Avion III back in 1897.