“A sea captain, Jean Marie Le Bris (1817-1872) observed the flight of the Albatross. He caught some of the birds and analysed the interaction of their wings with air. Le Bris built a glider, inspired by the shape of the Albatross and named L’Albatros artificiel. During 1856 he flew briefly on a beach, the aircraft being placed on a cart towed by a horse. He flew reportedly to a height of 100 m for a distance of 200 m.– Wikipedia