Alexander F. Mozhaiski, born March 9 (21), 1825, died March 20 (April 1) 1890, was a Russian naval officer, aviation pioneer, researcher and designer of heavier-than-air-craft. Mozhaiski was developing concepts for heavier-than-air flight 20 years before the Wright Brothers' first flight. In 1884, Mozhaiski's monoplane design made what is now considered to be a power assisted take off or 'hop' of 60-100 feet (20-30 meter). His feat is generally distinguished from that of the Wright Brothers on the basis that his design appears to have relied upon a ramp rather than wings to generate lift. This conclusion is supported by the fact that Mozhaiski's wing design lacked the curvature necessary to generate lift. While it is possible that Mozhaiski's wings slowed down the monoplane's descent, they were unlikely to have ever provided upward movement unless used at angles of attack that would have been unsustainable given the engines available to Mozhaiski. Although Soviet propagandists later overemphasised Mozhaiski's role in aviation by claiming his hop as the first powered flight, Mozhaiski's achievements in aviation, particularly with regard to flight control and propulsion, were considerable given the limits of the technology available to him and have only recently received the attention they deserve. March 9 is the 68th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (69th in Leap years). ... 1825 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... March 20 is the 79th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (80th in Leap years). ... 1890 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Navy is also:- shorthand for Navy Blue the nickname of the United States Naval Academy A navy is the branch of the armed forces of a nation that operates primarily on water. ... Any holder of an office or of a post may bear the title officer. ... ... An aircraft is any machine capable of atmospheric flight. ... A monoplane is an aircraft with one main set of wing surfaces, in contrast to a biplane or triplane. ... In computing, WinG (pronounced Win Gee) was an API to provide fast graphics performance on Windows 3. ... An airfoil (in American English, or aerofoil in British English) is the shape of a wing or blade (of a propeller or ships screw) as seen in cross-section. ... Soviet redirects here. ...

See also

• First flying machine

Depending on the criteria, the Wright brothers may or may not have been the first to invent a flying machine There exist different views on what was the first flying machine. ...

References

• Flying Machines - Aleksandr Fyodorovich Mozhaiski
• schoolnet Alexander Mozhaiski
• The Pioneers : An Anthology : Alexandr Fyodorovich Mozhaisky