Clément Ader (1841–1925) was a French inventor. He improved on the telephone invented by Alexander Graham Bell, then established the telephone network in Paris in 1880. The following year he invented the "théâtrophone", in which listeners received sounds from the stage of the Paris Opera through a separate channel for each ear: the first stereo transmissions. He then became interested in the problem of mechanical flight and constructed his first flying machine, Éole, in 1886.

Flying machines

In designing his flying machine, Ader made studies of flight in birds. The end result looked a little like a giant bat. Éole was powered by a lightweight steam engine Ader had invented himself. On 9th October 1890, 13 years before the Wright Brothers made their maiden flight, it took off, reaching a height of 20 centimetres, (8 inches) and flying for approximately 50 metres (160 feet). Unlike the Wrights' attempt, the flight was uncontrolled, however. Ader's later flights, in a series of similar-looking aircraft called Avion II and III, were unsuccessful.