In the days of ancient civilizations, the idea of flying humans sounded ridiculous and even considered crazy. This concept is also what a scientist from Cordoba, Andalusia tried to realize named Ibn Firnas in the 9th century AD.
Abu al-Qasim 'Abbas bin Firnas bin Wardus, thus his full name, was born around 810 AD, in Ronda, Malaga, Spain. He was born at a time when forts were built around the city and Ronda began to experience rapid development after Islam entered Andalusia in 711 AD.
Phillip K Hitti in his book, History of the Arabs: From The Earliest Times to The Present in 1937, tells of Ibn Firnas' brilliant idea to realize flying humans.
"The story of Ibn Firnas has inspired many people to be able to fly," he wrote.
"Ibn Firnas was the first person in history to make a scientific attempt to fly, that makes him a legend," added Hitti.
Ibn Firnas was a great poet. His prowess made him often invited as a poet at the Palace of the Emirate, Cordova, Spain. Even so, the findings of the two wings made it legendary and better known to the world.
Trial Fly
As quoted from the Islamic application KESAN, Ibn Firnas made his first flight test with a loose robe supported by wood as wings. He jumped from the minaret of the Mosque of Cordoba and flew a moment then fell.
Despite failing, he only suffered minor injuries. This shows he had floated. With his first experiment, it can be said that Ibn Firnas was the first to try to make a parachuting device.
Failure never made him give up, Ibn Firnas redesigned his flying device. He perfected his flying tools to resemble the wings of a bird flapping with his hands, as well as a body covered with feathers.
At the age of 65, he tested his flying device in front of thousands of spectators, on Mount Al-'Arus, Rusafa, Syria. This time his attempt was almost successful. The high altitude allowed it to glide through the air, flying for more than ten minutes before a bad landing hit him.
The accident injured his back. Ibn Firnas suffered a broken spine and stopped him from developing further flight devices. The lesson is, he realized the importance of the tail on the bird when landing.
Mattias Paul Scholz in his book Advanced NXT: the Da Vinci Inventions Book, published in 2007, explains the theory of Ibn Firnas recorded by Leonardo Da Vinci.
"After a test flight accident, Ibn Firnas realized that the structure of the tail end is an important part for landing, and this is similar to how a bird uses its tail to reduce its speed. This structure was later named the ornithopter by da Vinci," Scholz wrote in his book.
In 1260 AD, Roger Bacon wrote about the ornithopter theory which was based on Firnas' experiments and ideas. Unfortunately, Bacon's manuscripts simply disappeared in Spanish libraries. This then had an effect on the reduced recognition of the discovery of the prototype of Ibn Firnas' aircraft.
In 1908 AD, the Wright brothers demonstrated flying an airplane in France, this discovery later drowned Firnas' role as the creator of the prototype.
Ibn Firnas died in 887 AD, to be exact at the age of 77 years. His theory was proven in various modern aircraft innovations centuries after.
The world of aviation today has become very complex in all its sophistication. The study of ornithopter has also become the talk of scientists, in addition to the wings, the tail of the plane is very important to make the plane land smoothly and perfectly.