[Onkel Neal]

Originally Posted by Catfish

Already in 1910..

"The dove flew extremely intrinsically stable by the based on the winged seeds of Zanonia Rankpflanze airfoil shape. A statement of the instructor in Wiener Neustadt to their students was that this, they should come in difficult flight conditions, the control should just let it go until the dove flew by itself is stable again. In one anecdote is reported that a mechanic at launch preparations the throttle a pigeon accidentally pushed on full throttle and fell off the plane. The aircraft lifted without pilot itself off and landed after the fuel was exhausted after 200 km on a smooth lawn."

In reality it was the pilot, Mr. Hirth, who had climbed out to start the engine but had left the throttle at the "full" position. When the engine sputtered to life, he did not manage to get into the seat in time, and saw his bird fly away.
Famous story here..

Man, can you imagine having to live that down?