Pioneers of Aviation 1900-10

During the years 1900 - 1910 a number of inventors made or claimed to have made short flights.

One of those who missed the record books was Jacob Christian Ellehammer, as Danish engineer and inventor, whose kite like bi-plane flew a distance of 137 feet at a height of about 20 ins off the ground at Lindholm Island in September, 1906.  The 'flight' was most probably a series of hopping glides, but had it been officially witnessed and recorded, Ellehammer may well have been the first to fly an aeroplane in Europe.  That distinction was won by Santos-Dumont a month later!

Stamp issued  by Denmark in 1956 to mark the 50th anniversary of J.C. Ellehammer's flight.

Ellehammer's later inventions included a successful triplane and helicopter. His helicopter was a coaxial machine. A famous photo shows it hovering in 1914, though there is no evidence that it was successful in achieving translational flight.

1914 photo of Ellehammer's coaxial helicopter hovering