The First Man To Fly

• Ayesha Imran, Grade 4
• Short Story
• 2021

Since the beginning of time, humans dreamed to fly like birds. Do you know who was the first one to make that dream come true? Most people think Right Brothers were the first one to fly but actually someone flew about 1000 years before them. That great man was Abbas bin Firnas. He was a Muslim man who lived in Spain Cordoba. I am going to give you a small introduction of Abbas bin Firnas.

Abbas bin Firnas was an inventor, astronomer, physician, chemist, engineer, musician, and Arabic-language poet. He did a lot of good things that's why he is known for his great work and inventions today even after centuries. Abbas bin Firnas dreamed of what people thought was impossible, which was to fly. He thought if birds could fly why could not he? So he started research on birds but people thought that he was crazy. He ignored criticism and continues his work. He just kept on going. In the year 852 he tried to fly so he made something like a parashot with a thick piece of cloth and made it stable with pieces of wood. He jumped of the Great Mosque of Coraoba Spain, hoping that his invention would work . Unfortunately it did not work at all, but he did not get hurt that badly. Abbas bin Firnas did not quit, he continued to study the birds after he realized that the birds were flying because of their shape. The wings were round and thick at the top and it was thinner at the end. Abbas bin Firnas Built his wings once again. He tied bamboo with silk strips and covered it with eagle feathers. When he was done, he tried flying again. By then he was 70 years old. He was successful but the landing was not good so enough this time. He then understood he did not land because of the tail of the bird because it helped support the landing. By then he was too old to fix his mistake so he asked someone else to do it for him.

The world will always remember Abbas bin Farnas because he showed us that nothing is impossible, no matter what others think.