Humanity's desire to fly possibly first found expression in China, where people flying tied to kites is recorded (as a punishment) from the 6th century CE. Subsequently, the first glider flight was demonstrated by Abbas Ibn Firnas in al-Andalus in the 9th century CE. Leonardo da Vinci's (15th c.) dream of flight found expression in several designs, but he did not attempt to demonstrate flight. It was in Europe during the late 18th century that serious attempts at flight would first take place.

Tethered balloons filled with hot air were used in the first half of the 19th century and saw considerable action in several mid-century wars, most notably the American Civil War, where balloons provided observation during the battle of Petersburg.

Experiments with gliders laid a groundwork to build heavier than air craft, and by the early 20th century advancements in engine technology made controlled, powered flight possible for the first time. Since then, aircraft designers have struggled to make their craft go faster, further, fly higher, and be controlled more easily.

Important factors involved in building an airplane are:

• Control: Initially glider were controlled by moving the entire body (Otto Lilienthal) or warping the wings (Wright brothers). Modern airplanes use control surfaces such as ailerons and elevators. On some aircraft these control surfaces are stabilized by a computer system to the extent that stable flight is not possible without the computer.

• Power: Aircraft engines have become lighter and more efficient, from Clement Ader's steam engine to piston, jet and rocket engines.

• Material: Initially made of canvas and wood, aircraft materials moved to doped fabric and steel tubing, all-metal monocoque construction as early as 1915, with similar all aluminum construction pioneered in 1918, and widely used (around WWII), and increasingly today, composites.

Early Flight

The dream of flight is illustrated in myths across the world (e.g. Daedalus and Icarus in Greek mythology, or the Pushpaka Vimana of the Ramayana). The first attempts to fly also often drew on the idea of imitating birds, as in Daedalus' building his wings out of feathers and wax. Attempts to build wings and jump off high towers continued well into the seventeenth century.

Ancient Greece

Around 400 BCE, Archytas, the Ancient Greek philosopher, mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and strategist, may have designed and built the earliest known flying device based on a bird-shaped model and it is claimed to have flown some 200 meters. This machine, which its inventor called The Pigeon ( "Peristera"), may have been suspended on a wire or pivot for its flight.