On this day in 1910, just seven years after thee Wright Brothers' first sustained flight, for the first time, a seaplane took off from water and flew 1650 feet. The plane ~ called a Hydravion ~ was created by Frenchman Henri Fabre and flew near the French city of Martigues. The plane used a 50 horsepower Gnome rotary engine, and looked like a giant dragonfly flying backwards.

A Brief Bio. Fabre graduated in Engineering. With his father's encouragement, he devoted himself to his dream: building a seaplane.

If You Build It, Will It Fly? Fabre studied the specs for boats: aerofoil, aerodynamics, slide blocks and engines. He assembled these on a car to study propeller propulsion.

Try, Try Again. After several difficult attempts, the first seaplane, Le Canard, took off from a pond near Martigues.

Le Canard Flies Again... Fabre continued his flights, buzzing over the waves for short distances, until May. That's when his hydravion took a dive into the Mediterranean, where it was almost totally destroyed. Fabre emerged unscathed.

It's Baaaack. The following year, Fabre's machine reappeared in Monaco for a series of aquatic races. The seaplane's engine proved inadequate, and development proceeded no further.

But... Fabre's lightweight, hollow wooden floats, which added lift in the air as well as on the water, continued to be supplied in various forms to other hydroaeroplane manufacturers in Europe.

Presenting... The Hydravion was presented at the Show of Aeronautics. Two months later, it was flown to America.