Among other things, he was the first to identify the importance of streamlining, cambered wings and pilot-controlled rudders and elevators—all innovations that the Wright Brothers would later incorporate into their own planes.
While Cayley died just a year later in 1854, his scientific research into heavier-than-air flight would later serve as the theoretical backbone for many early aircraft designs. Among other things, he was the first to identify the importance of streamlining, cambered wings and pilot-controlled rudders and elevators—all innovations that the Wright Brothers would later incorporate into their own planes.