"Cub Driver" wrote in message
...

Not at all. If I saw a plane "flying" out of control, I would not
define it as flight.

That's assuming that Mr. Ader, whose name unfortunately has never come
to my attention, is indeed credited with this feat. What sort of a
landing did his uncontrolled aircraft make?


In 1890 Clement Ader's "Eole" rose from level ground under it's own power
and traveled some 50 yards or so at an altitude of about one foot before
settling back down. Since Ader had not equipped the craft with any kind of
flight control system, this was obviously not controlled flight, but it was
the first time a manned heavier-than-air machine took off from level ground
under its own power.