In 1889, a Japanese serviceman Ninomiya Chūhachi invented the concept of hikōki, an unmanned model aircraft, after witnessing a gliding crow. He failed to earn support from military higher-ups, but continued to work on his idea and successfully created a functioning four-bladed propeller in 1891. Now determined to invent the world’s first manned aircraft, Chūhachi struggled to raise research funds after leaving the army to work at a pharmaceutical company. In 1908, he was sufficiently financed and about to start working on his latest craft when he belatedly learned about the…
