The idea of flight was not new by 1903 when the Wright brothers took off from Kitty Hawk. In fact, several inventors had attempted flying experimental air machines, some more successfully than others. Many of the inventors in this section did experiments that greatly contributed to the final practical model airplane but did not actually succeed in creating a practical model. Others, as many people debate, actually created flight machines just as successful as the Wright's flyer and invented them before the Wrights revealed their airplane. So who was first? You can decide.