Introduction to flight Humans have looked at the sky for as long as we have been on this earth and wondered how we could fly like a bird. Our knowledge and use of flight technology has come a long ways. It all started back around 400 BC when humans developed a flying kite. Many times after that, humans tried to fly using wings as a bird would, but they quickly discovered that birds can fly with their wings much better than we can. Eventually gliders and hot air balloons were made which were cool and somewhat useful, but not quite as practical as an airplane as we know today. The first successful heavier than air aircraft (not a glider or hot air balloon) was created and flown by the Wright brothers in 1903. Ever since then, airplanes have made extreme improvements to what we see and use often today.    Up next: Parts of an airplane