HOW IT ALL STARTED A.K.A EARLY ATTEMPT

(Early Man gazing at bird: rough translation of expression of man 😉)

What wonderful creatures these are!! They are not bound to the earth and can roam about so freely. I wonder how they do it!! I wish I could fly like them!! (Sigh)

This was probably how the dream of flying started; by watching birds fly. From the earliest times there have been legends of men mounting flying devices or strapping birdlike wings, stiffened cloaks or other devices to themselves and attempting to fly, typically by jumping off a tower. The Greek legend of Daedalus and Icarus is one of the earliest to come down to us. According to Ovid, Daedalus tied feathers together to mimic the wings of a bird. Other ancient legends include the Indian Vimana flying palace or chariot, Ezekiel's Chariot, various stories about Magic carpets, and mythical British King Bladud, who conjured up flying wings.

The earliest kites were built in China during 5th century. This spread to India, New Zealand, and finally to the West. Then came the time when human kites came into being (in China). To know more about human kites, and what happened after that, wait for my next post.