17. Hezerfan Ahmed Çelebi, who lived in the first half of the 19th century, is considered the first person to fly or try it. However, when we go back a few hundred years, we come across another name, Ibn-i Firnas. Unfortunately, we learn from western sources that Ibn-i Firnas, whose signature has not survived, tried to fly in the 9th century and that you actually stayed in the air for a long time.
Known as Armen Firman by the Westerners, Ibn-i Firnas is one of the greatest scholars of his time, even a true scientist from today’s point of view. He realized the act of flying, which he began to think about after seeing an acrobat, shortly before his death, and succeeded in flying hundreds of years before the Wright brothers invented the airplane. Let’s get to know Ibn-i Firnas a little more closely.
Who is Ibn-i Firnas?
Although his exact date of birth is not known, Ibn-i Firnas, who is thought to have been born in 810, with his full name Abban bin Firnas Abu’l-Abbas, was born in the city of Rodan during the Andalusian Umayyad State. He is a Muslim scholar who took science courses in the city of Cordoba and later devoted himself to the study of science. It is known from different sources that he had hundreds of scientific works and wrote poems, but none of his writings have survived.
Ibn-i Firnas developed the technique of making glass from sand and made a revolutionary work for the industry of his time. It is even said that he made glasses by processing this glass. He worked on many chemicals, made astronomy maps, wrote poems and carried out flying experiments, which is the subject of this article. Yes, Ibn Firnas really flew, albeit for a short time.
He thought it was possible to fly, but how?
Ibn-i Firnas first got the idea that humans could fly, thanks to an acrobat. Seeing the acrobat making flying movements using sticks and fabrics on a rope, Ibn Firnas began to think that it was possible for humans to actually fly by using similar apparatus, and of course, immediately began to study birds.
He made his first flight test in 852 at the Cordoba Mosque. Unfortunately, the primitive flight system he built could not enable him to fly as he thought, but he reduced his fall speed so much that he escaped from this jump with minor injuries. From this point of view, Ibn Firnas is also the first person in the world to perform a parachute jump.
A machine that will enable us to fly:
A true master of natural sciences, Ibn-i Firnas analyzed the results of his experiments and made it possible for people to fly rather than a simple piece of cloth. It turned out that he needed more. That’s when he realized he had to invent a machine. This machine looked like the wings we know and was made of silk fabrics and eagle feathers.
Ibn-i Firnas was ready this time. The news of the flight was announced to the whole city. This time, Cebel-i Arus hill, where he could adjust the ascent distance, was chosen as the flying place. Final preparations were made, the crowd gathered. Ibn Firnas began his second flight attempt with his machine, which resembled real birds.
Ibn Firnas is flying, but what about his landing?
The second attempt started off very successfully. Ibn Firnas really took off and began to fly. According to manuscript sources written at that time, Ibn Firnas remained in the air for about ten minutes. After a successful flight, Ibn-i Firnas, who wanted to land on the ground, unfortunately suffered a fall that broke his spine.
He took off like a bird, he flew like a bird; well, why couldn’t he land like a bird? Ibn Firnas himself gave the answer to this question, tail. Birds stand on their feet by landing on their tails, not directly on their feet. In other words, the wings of Ibn Firnas’ machine also needed a tail. If you watch the planes take off, you will first see them land on their rear wheels.
Unfortunately, although it is not known exactly, Ibn-i Firnas lost his life in 887 and made another attempt by attaching a tail to his machine. However, hundreds of years before the Wright brothers invented the airplane, he succeeded in making a flying machine, albeit primitive, and succeeded in writing his name in history as the first person to fly. It is obvious that the tail discovery has shaped today’s aviation world.
Why is Ibn Firnas unknown?
Actually, scientists and engineers on the subject know the name Ibn-i Firnas very well. It is possible to see Ibn Firnas in the names of aviation-related buildings in many Arab Muslim countries. It is even known that a crater discovered on the Moon was named Ibn-i Firnas by NASA. So we can say that he knows.
The most important reason why he is not known among the public is that no original copy of his work has survived. We learn all of our information about him from different sources written at that time. Unfortunately, it is described in only a few sentences in those sources. However, even the foundations of Leonardo Da Vinci’s works, which we admire today, were laid by Ibn Firnas.
We answered the question of who is the Muslim scholar Ibn Firnas, who managed to write his name in history as the first person to fly, and talked about his flight story and his work. Who knows how many more scholarly names like Ibn-i Firnas are waiting for their work to be discovered.
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