Page "Aeronautics" Paragraph 4

The first mention of aeronautics in history was in the writings of ancient Egyptians who described the flight of birds.

Aeronautics also finds mention in ancient China where people were flying kites thousands of years ago.

The medieval Islamic scientists were not far behind, as they understood the actual mechanism of bird flight.

Before scientific investigation of aeronautics started, people started thinking of ways to fly.

In a Greek legend, Icarus and his father Daedalus built wings of feathers and wax and flew out of a prison.

Icarus flew too close to the sun, the wax melted, and he fell into the sea and drowned.

When people started to study scientifically how to fly, people began to understand the basics of air and aerodynamics.

Ibn Firnas may have tried to fly in the 8th century in Cordoba, Al-Andalus.