Free Flight Sport By Don DeLoach | ddeloach@comcast.net As seen in the August 2024 issue of Model Aviation. THE FIRST STABLE, powered flight of a heavier-than-air flying machine did not take place in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903. It took place a full 32 years earlier, when Alphonse Pénaud, a young, inventive Frenchman, flew his diminutive rubber-powered Free Flight (FF) Planophore an impressive 131 feet in 11 seconds. The stunned crowd at the Tuileries Gardens in Paris witnessed this surreal feat on August 18, 1871. Alphonse’s revolutionary flights would greatly influence the dreams of…
You've read your 3 free articles
Sign in with your AMA account for unlimited access, or join AMA to become a member.