Aviation: A Bare Bones History

In the year 1010, a Benedictine monk named Eilmer of Malmesbury fastened on a set of home-made wings and hurled himself from the tower of Malmesbury Abbey. The flight did not, presumably, go as planned. Eilmer's efforts resulted only in him crashing to the ground, suffering two broken legs for his troubles.

The fledgling world of aviation would prove to be a dangerous one. The Wright brothers made history with the world's first powered aeroplane flight in 1903. Five years later one of their machines would be involved in the world's first fatal aeroplane crash. Things would only get more dangerous with the advent of World War One as aircraft evolved the ability to blast each other from the sky.

Aviation: A Bare Bones history is a fascinating fast-paced history of flight - from the very first passenger-carrying hot air balloon in 1783 through to the space race and beyond.