John Stringfellow 1799 - 1883

c. 1820 - moves to Chard, Somerset, which was a centre of lace making. Within a few years establishes his own business as a bobbins and bobbin carriage manufacturer. As this provided him with a steady income, he spent much of his time on aeronautical experiments. 1831 and 1832 he launches hot air balloons at local festivals. 1837-1839 - William Samuel Henson (1812–1888) and Stringfellow test various model gliders. 1840 design a full-size passenger-carrying flying machine or ‘aerial steam carriage’. 1848 - Stringfellow builds a 10 foot wingspan steam engine powered model aircraft, and he considers that he had demonstrated the possibility of powered flight. 1868 - he enters a model steam-powered triplane and a model steam engine in the Crystal Palace aeronautical exhibition.