right|thumb|upright=1.2|A 1786 depiction of the [[Montgolfier brothers' balloon]]
Early flying machines include all forms of aircraft studied or constructed before the development of the modern aeroplane by 1910. The story of modern flight begins more than a century before the first successful manned aeroplane, and the earliest aircraft thousands of years before.
Primitive beginnings
thumb|240x240px|5th-century BC [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan bulla depicting Icarus]]
Legends
Some ancient mythologies feature legends of men using flying devices. One of the earliest known is the Greek legend of Daedalus; in Ovid's version, Daedalus fastens feathers together with thread and wax to mimic the wings of a bird. Other ancient legends include the Hindu Mythology's Vimana flying palace or chariot from the Puranas, the biblical Ezekiel's Chariot, the Irish roth rámach built by blind druid Mug Ruith and Simon Magus, various stories about magic carpets, and the mythical British King Bladud, who conjured up flying wings. The Flying Throne of Kay Kāvus was a legendary eagle-propelled craft built by the mythical Shah of Persia, Kay Kāvus, used for flying him all the way to China.
Early attempts
thumb|A reconstruction of Archytas' flying dove (5th c. B.C.), in [[Museum of Ancient Greek Technology|Kotsanas Museum of Ancient Greek Technology, Athens, Greece.]]
thumb|293x293px|Stained glass depiction of [[Eilmer of Malmesbury]]
According to Aulus Gellius, the Ancient Greek philosopher, mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and strategist Archytas of Taranto (428–347 BC) was reputed to have designed and built the first artificial, self-propelled flying device, a bird-shaped model (called Archytas's flying dove) propelled by a jet of what was probably steam, said to have actually flown some 200 metres around 400 BC. According to Gellius, this machine, which its inventor called The Pigeon (Greek: Περιστέρα "Peristera"), was suspended on a wire or pivot for its "flight" and was powered by a "concealed aura or spirit".
Eventually some tried to build flying devices, such as birdlike wings, and to fly by jumping off a tower, hill, or cliff. During this early period physical issues of lift, stability, and control were not understood, and most attempts ended in serious injury or death. In the 1st century AD, Chinese Emperor Wang Mang recruited a specialist scout to be bound with bird feathers; he is claimed to have glided about 100 meters. In 559 AD, Yuan Huangtou is said to have landed safely from an enforced tower jump.
The Andalusian scientist Abbas ibn Firnas (810–887 AD) reportedly made a glide in Córdoba, Spain, covering his body with vulture feathers and attaching two wings to his arms. The flight attempt was reported by the 17th-century Algerian historian Ahmed Mohammed al-Maqqari, who linked it to a 9th-century poem by one of Muhammad I of Córdoba's court poets. Al-Maqqari stated that Firnas flew some distance, before landing with some injuries, attributed to his lacking a tail (as birds use to land). The historian Lynn Townsend White, Jr. concluded that ibn Firnas made the first successful flight in history.