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| Otto Lilienthal: 1848 - 1896 |
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| Lilienthal with a double-decker, Berlin-Lichterfelde (around 1895) |
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Otto Lilienthal
Dreams of flying
Today we fly in planes from one continent to another with barely a second thought. And yet human flight is rooted deep in the past. According to Greek mythology, Daedalus is said to have risen into the air on wings he built himself. Italian scientist and artist Leonardo da Vinci designed flying machines in which he tried to copy the flight of birds. The pilot was supposed to use his arms as the means of propulsion. However, the first person who did manage to fly significant distances was Germany's Otto Lilienthal.
Birds as the model
Otto Lilienthal was born on 23 May 1848 in Anklam, a town on the Baltic Sea. At the age of 8, Otto started school at the Anklam Grammar School. He showed an interest in nature and engineering at an early age. Indeed, he was so fascinated by birds that he spent much of his time observing them in flight, together with his brother Gustav. This hobby encouraged him to dream of flying himself. As early as 1862, the two brothers built their first flying machine.
Over the next few years, Lilienthal used birds, especially storks, as models for his flight research. He made careful studies of their flight patterns for over 20 years, sketching detailed drawings of the different phases of a bird's flight. Over and over, the researcher tested his observations in experiments and by building models.
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