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"Ibn Firnas was the first man in history to make a scientific attempt at flying."
—Philip Hitti, History of the Arabs.


A thousand years before the Wright brothers an Arabian poet, astronomer, musician and engineer named Abbas ibn Firnas made several attempts to construct a flying machine. In 852 he jumped from the minaret of the Grand Mosque in Cordoba using a loose cloak stiffened with wooden struts. He hoped to glide like a bird. He didn't. But the cloak slowed his fall, creating what is thought to be the first parachute, and leaving him with only minor injuries. In 875, aged 70, having perfected a machine of silk and eagles' feathers he tried again, jumping from a mountain. He flew to a significant height and stayed aloft for ten minutes but crashed on landing - concluding, correctly, that it was because he had not given his device a tail so it would stall on landing.

Statue in his memory on the way to Baghdad International Airport and a crater on the moon are named after him. (sources - NASA's MOON MAPPING SOCIETY)

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When I was young my father told me about this man and his acomplishments, which inspired me to follow in his footsteps and become a pilot.
I remember when I was at the University here in Michigan studying Aviation and in one of my courses we had to wright an essay about history of flight, I chose to wright about him and the professor told me that neither he or his entire faculty in the Aviation Depertment heard of this man untill I mentioned him!!

It occured to me how in different regions in the World people never view "HISTORICAL FACTS" but their version of it :)

I use the olympus E-1 to photograph orginal slide an slightly adjust copy to match orginal in CS2.