The earliest attempts at flights by man have been by extended wings in imitation of those of bats or birds, all of which have ended with failure, or fatal accidents.

The bird-wing type for supporting a man and mechanism in air must extend at least 60 feet from end to end, and be very light and strong, for carrying the weight—an impracticable construction. All this is fully explained in a paper read by me in 1866 at the first meeting of the Aeronautical Society of Great Britain, of which I was the pioneer.

Perceiving that a single pair of far- extended wings was impossible for man flight, I evaded lateral extension by placing a system of five aëroplanes, or webs, above each other. The upper one slightly in advance.