31 July – In a 7½-hour flight from Berlin-
Tempelhof to
Briesen, Germany, German meteorologists Arthur Berson and
Reinhard Süring climb to 10,800 meters (35,433 feet) in the free balloon Preussen, setting a world altitude record for human flight which will stand until
27 May 1931.[5]
3 October –
Wilhelm Kress trials his
Drachenflieger twin-hulled tandem
triplaneseaplane, the first powered marine aircraft, in
Austria-Hungary. It begins to become airborne when Kress slows and tries to turn to avoid an obstruction, capsizing the aircraft.[7]
29 October – The Aero Club of the United Kingdom, predecessor of the
Royal Aero Club, is established.[9]
22 November – The
Wright brothers begin
wind tunnel experiments at
Dayton,
Ohio, to optimise the
wing design of what will become their
1902 glider. During their experiments, which last into December, they will in essence develop the modern understanding of
aerodynamics.[10]
^Layman, R.D., Before the Aircraft Carrier: The Development of Aviation Vessels 1849-1922, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1989,
ISBN0-87021-210-9, p. 15.
^Layman, R.D., Before the Aircraft Carrier: The Development of Aviation Vessels 1849-1922, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1989,
ISBN0-87021-210-9, p. 17.
^Crouch, Tom, The Bishop's Boys: A Life of Wilbur and Orville Wright, New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1989, p. 207.
^Crouch, Tom, The Bishop's Boys: A Life of Wilbur and Orville Wright, New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1989, p. 208.