Alexander Graham Bell

Although now best known for inventing the telephone, in the early twentieth century many people believed that Alexander Graham Bell invented the first airplane. His first flight, in fact, was in 1908, five years after the Wright brothers’. In any case, Bell was among the principal researchers trying to develop a heavier-than-air flying machine.

     Bell’s great contribution to this research is the development of the tetrahedral kite. The tetrahedron is the strongest, most rigid symmetrical structure that can exist in nature. Cover any two sides with fabric, and you have the basic cellular structure Bell used. Combining cells produces a kite that does not require extra bracing, is strong and is stable. In 1907 Bell’s 3,393-cell kite flew for seven minutes and lofted a man 168 feet into the air.

Bell's Tetrahedron Kite

     Along with his wife, Mabel Hubbard Bell, Bell founded the Aerial Experiment Association whose purpose was “to get into the air.” Eventually the group abandoned tetrahedral kites for more conventional airplane forms.
     Alexander Graham Bell was also trying to invent the first powered aeroplane. He knew of the work being undertaken by Hargrave, and he also experimented with kites to determine the most suitable lifting surface. He finally settled on a cellular kite made of regular tetrahedrons (the shape is best known now as that of the tetra pack that Sunny Boys and similar icy poles come in, a "pyramid" with four triangular sides).

      Later, he and a number of like minded people set up an association with the express purpose of developing an aeroplane. This association included Tom Selfridge, who later became the first person to die in an aeroplane, when he and Wilbur Wright crashed whilst conducting trials for the United Stated Army, and Glenn Curtis, who later became one of the first aircraft manufacturers in America. Curtis later had to defend himself in court against the Wright brothers, who claimed an exclusive patent on the aeroplane.