Tableau d’Aviation

Illustration from 1894 by Emmanuel Dieuaide showing the variety of flying machines designed throughout history, with Dieuaide’s own invention from 1879 included. Originally appeared in an 1894 issue of Le Petit Parisien.

The creativity and ingenuity on display throughout the history of flying machines is amazing. A quick survey of the table above shows the wide variety of designs that made attempts before we humans successfully learned how to fly. One thing I love about this table is that it includes fictional flying machines as well as real prototypes. This shows that fictional designs can, and have, influenced the history of flight just as real prototypes have. I also love that the illustrator, Emmanuel Dieuaide, includes his own design in the table. It begs the question whether the table was an attempt to establish himself in the history of flight, or if he created it independently, then decided to include himself later on. Food for thought.

Read more about other ideas for flying machines here.