Indeed,whilst the Chinese allegedly strapped prisoners on to kites in the sixth century, ,itwasnotuntilthestartofthe1900sthatscientificattemptsaremadetogetamanoffthegroundunderhisownsteam.Thesebicycles-on-wheelsmightseemcomicaltotoday’saeronauts,butin1912theyaregoodenoughtohelpGabrielPoulainscoopaprizeof10,000francs,havingallegedlyflownhiscontraptionmorethanametreoffthegroundfordistanceof10metres.