Otto Lilienthal

Otto Lilienthal, a German engineer, became known as the "Flying Man" for being the first person to make repeated, successful, and documented glider flights. His systematic aerodynamic research, published in his 1889 book *Birdflight as the Basis of Aviation*, laid the crucial foundation for the Wright Brothers.

Lilienthal's gliders did not have mechanical flight controls, so he used a method known as weight-shifting. To pitch or roll the aircraft, he would physically swing his legs and lower body beneath the glider, effectively changing the center of gravity.

Throughout his aviation career in the 1890s, Lilienthal designed and built at least 16 different variations of hang gliders. These included both monoplane and biplane configurations, which he tested rigorously from his custom-built hill in Berlin.

On August 9, 1896, Lilienthal lost control of his No. 11 "Normal Segelapparat" glider during a test flight from Gollenberg Hill in Germany. The glider stalled and crashed from a height of about 15 meters (50 feet), and he died from a broken spine 36 hours later.