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There is one natural power that people have longed to have for thousands of years, but will never possess it- and that is the power of flight! Since the days of the mythical bird man Daedalus in ancient Greece, people have longed to fly like birds. For centuries, some believed that if they could mimic the birds and their flapping wings, they too would be able to fly. |
In the middle ages in Europe, many a reckless experimenter strapped on wings and lunged into the air from towers and cliff tops- only to plummet to the ground, often fatally. Then in the 15th century, the brilliant Italian artist and thinker Leonardo too believed people could fly but realised that human arms are too weak to flap wings for long. So he sketched designs for flapping wing machines. These designs would never had flown but his ideas may be one of the earliest scientific attempts to invent a flying machine.
Today, over the last 200 years, humans have made some extraordinary flying machines to carry themselves up into the air. Many famous flights were done during this period, where among some of the world's most famous early aviators were Australians. Powered flight now affects our every aspect of life, especially in travel, business and communications.
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