Sir George Cayley
He can fairly be called the father of the science of aeronautics
Virtually everyone, of course, knows that Leonardo da Vinci wrote about and drew flying machines in the Renaissance, but . . .
. . . far fewer have ever heard of the Englishman Sir George Cayley who published similar but updated information in 1809. His calculations are perhaps more scientific than Leonardo's, but his theory, and reason for believing in it is based on the same thing, the flight of birds. Like Leonardo, he was aware that the fact of bird flight proved without a doubt the possibility of flight within the laws of nature.
Cayley's three treatises published in "Nicholson's Journal", 1809-1810, contain the most important points of his discoveries, and are called collectively "On Aerial Navigation". They show a clear grasp of the principal of lift, and discuss one thing which Leonardo did not conceive of or have access to, steam power, and even early internal combustion of tar, gunpowder, or "gaslight gas." Although his discussion of general principals is perfectly applicable to winged flight, and he mentions a small unmanned glider of his own construction, He also discusses a wind up toy helicopter which he says could be built on a scale large enough to lift humans, and powered by steam.
He did eventually build a glider capable of a short manned flight, and tested it with a young boy aboard in 1849. The boy's name appears to be lost to history, which is very unfortunate since he could justly be called the first human to fly in a heavier than air craft. A few years later Cayley built another glider which carried his coachman aloft for a short distance, but the coachman's name is not recorded either.
Cayley had all the principles right, and he is sometimes called the founder of the science of aeronautics. He knew the basic requirements for an airplane in 1809, but lived until 1857 without building a practical airplane. In his defense, he was also busy founding a polytechnic school on Regent Street in London, serving in Parliament, and also experimenting with lighter than air ships and early internal combustion. He was active in every field of science, and also invented a steam powered vehicle with caterpillar tractor treads which he called "the universal railroad" since it didn't need rails. His drawings and writings give him clear credit for the concepts of lift and drag, rudder control, and a wheeled undercarriage.
He was a true aerial pioneer, and a renaissance man in both the same and a different sense than Leonardo. His work contributed to the eventual success of the Wright Brothers.
