The German civil engineer, Otto Lilienthal perfected the man-carrying glider and became one of the world's foremost glider pioneers.

Lilienthal developed 18 different models (15 monoplanes and three biplanes), over a span of just five years. Each model was a glider, controlled by the pilot shifting his weight, rather than through the use of any active controls.

Recognised internationally in his own lifetime, Lilenthal was the first to put his most successful craft, the 'normal glider' into serial production in 1894. Flying by the same principles that apply to other aircraft, the glider flies by using upcurrents of air and gently floats to the ground.

Lilienthal's first glider had no tail and was little more than a pair of wings, tested by jumping off a board! However, Lilienthal's experiments were soon to get more sophisticated. He built an artificial conical hill near Berlin, so he could launch his gliders into the wind no matter which direction it was coming from.

Tragically, Lilienthal died on 10 August 1896, from injuries inflicted during a crash of one of his hang gliders. Only a few years later, the Wright Brothers would adopt Otto's 'from jump to flight' strategy - only to go down in aviation history.