Editing History of aviation (section)

===Kites===
[[File:Fier Drake (1634 kite woodcut).png|thumb|left|Woodcut print of a kite from John Bate's 1635 book ''[[The Mysteryes of Nature and Art]]'']]
The [[kite]] may have been the first form of man-made heavier-than-air aircraft.<ref name="wings-tom" /> It was invented in [[China]] possibly as far back as the 5th century BC. by [[Mozi]] (Mo Di) and [[Lu Ban]] (Gongshu Ban).{{sfn|Deng|Wang|2005|p=122}} Evidence to support this finding stands with materials commonly found and ideal for kite building located in China.  These are materials such as "silk fabric for sail material, fine, high-tensile-strength silk for flying line, and resilient bamboo for…framework"<ref name=":4" /> The reason these materials were so perfect for building kites is largely due to the structure of the materials themselves. Bamboo being a strong, hollow material, largely resembled the hollow bones in birds, which allow for less weight, making flight easier. Some kites were fitted with strings and whistles to make musical sounds while flying.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cambodiaphilately.blogspot.com/2010/01/amazing-musical-kites.html |title=Amazing Musical Kites |website=Cambodia Philately |access-date=7 January 2014 |archive-date=13 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813023023/http://cambodiaphilately.blogspot.com/2010/01/amazing-musical-kites.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1907/07/21/104991903.pdf|title=Kite Flying for Fun and Science|year=1907|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=14 June 2018|archive-date=2 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802201440/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1907/07/21/104991903.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://subvision.net/sky/planetkite/asia/cambodia/khmer-kitebook.htm#VariousKinds |title=Khmer Kites |first1=Sim |last1=Sarak |first2=Cheang |last2=Yarin |website=Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, Cambodia |year=2002 |access-date=7 January 2014 |archive-date=3 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503233930/http://www.subvision.net/sky/planetkite/asia/cambodia/khmer-kitebook.htm#VariousKinds |url-status=live }}</ref> Ancient and mediaeval Chinese sources describe kites being used to measure distances, test the wind, lift men, signal, and communicate and send messages.{{sfn|Needham|1965a|p=127}} Later designs often depicted images of flying insects, birds, and other beasts, both real and mythical.

Kites spread from China around the world. After being introduced into the rest of [[Asia]], the kite further evolved into the [[fighter kite]], which has an abrasive line used to cut down other kites. The most notable fighter kite designs originated in [[India]] and [[Japan]]<ref name=":4" />

====Man-lifting kites====
[[Man-lifting kite]]s are believed to have been used extensively in ancient China for civil and military purposes and sometimes enforced as a punishment. An early recorded flight was that of the prisoner [[Yuan Huangtou]], a Chinese prince, in the 6th century AD.<ref>Hallion (2003) page 9.</ref> Stories of man-lifting kites can be found in Japan, following the introduction of the kite from China around the seventh century AD. For a period, there was a Japanese law against man-carrying kites.<ref name="pelham">Pelham, D.; ''The Penguin book of kites'', Penguin (1976)</ref>