Clement Ader (1841-1926),French engineer and aviation pioneer. Ader's early career was spent inventing numerous electrical and mechanical devices. He is famous for making several powered flights in the years before the Wright brothers,though,unlike those made by the Wright brothers,Ader's flights are considered uncontrolled flights. Ader constructed his first flying machine,the Eole,a steam-powered bat-like design,in 1886,flying 50 metres in it in 1890. Ader later built the Avion II and the Avion III,to a similar design. The Avion III is said to have flown 300 metres in 1897,but the French Army were not impressed and withdrew funding |