Which edition of this programme - just shown on the UKTV History
Channel had a short piece about the replica of Stringfellow's steam
driven 'heavier than air' aircraft? And does anyone know if they ever
managed to fly it? It kind of never gets off the ground in the prog.
Many thanks - Chris Brady.

William Hart-Davies said in another post:

"Well... Otto Lilienthal was indeed a pioneer; in effect he invented
the hang glider, and made many flights in the 1890s (and probably
1880s). See for example my book Eurekaaargh! or Leonard de Vries's
Victorian inventions. However, the chap who did the first real
aeronautical experiments and in 1853 flew a man in what could
reasonably be described as a heavier-than-air aircraft was Sir George
Cayley, and it was to Cayley that the Wright Brothers paid a handsome
tribute when they flew in 1903. Just to complicate the issue, the
first powered flight (of a model aircraft, with a  10-foot wingspan)
was by John Stringfellow in 1848".