It was during the period of the early 1700's that Emanuel Swedenborg developed many ideas which were as far ranging, from idea on a method to calculate longitude based on the position of the moon, to plans for a submarine and a practical design for an airplane. In September of 1714, Swedenborg wrote to his brother-in-law Erik Berzelius, about an idea for a flying contraption, mind you no one really thought about this idea. But as an inventor and pioneer himself, Emanuel Swedenborg had his own and was very advanced for theoretical design. This design had many characteristics similar to a modern aircraft, with features such as curved lifting surfaces, wheeled landing gear, cockpit, and even a bladed propulsion system. This was some of the most groundbreaking work of its kind, especially when considering the fact that the only other form of man flight, was in the form of balloon travel.
It didn't take long for a version of this same flying machine to end up in the 4th edition of "Daedulus Hyperboreus" which was Sweden's first scientific journal, started by Swedenborg himself. This early scientific journal would also provide the first look at how a modern wing would work with concave surfaces to provide lift. This would be done by having two different surfaces of the aircraft move the air, at different speeds using one flat surface and the other concave, in order to create two different pockets of air, with the top pocket of air being that of lower pressure, to pretty much, suck the aircraft up. The crafts had a variation of shape with some being oval shaped, as well as circle designs drawn as well. The design called for much more primitive materials to be used compared to the materials we see today in modern aircraft, such as birch, cork, leather, and cotton sail material as well. However, these flexible materials allowed for a process known as wing warping, which would be the same idea the Wright Brothers would go on to use in their aircraft. The wood was used to make a frame lateral and horizontal beam, which could be manipulated, much like in "Wing Warping." The cockpit of Swedenborg's flying vehicle was to be constructed out of a basket material, much like on a hot air balloon. Attached to this basket was a weighted pendulum, to aid in giving the vehicle a more stable center of gravity. There was also a set of wheels that could have been attached to the base of this machine to act as landing gear yet were said to not be needed.
As previously mentioned, Da Vinci had made his own drawings of flight machines, but his designs required laborious work, to either flap wings or turn a propeller. Swedenborg's method was different from Da Vinci, in a sense it relied on "the power of the wind" for lift, as well as some required work from the pilot. Because of this, is was sighted that the best place to test this type of aircraft would be a place of higher elevation, much like where hang gliders are launched from. To put into perspective how potent and versatile Emanuel Swedenborg's works were, the king of Sweden at the time, Charles XII, appointed Swedenborg, to be the head of the "Assessor Extraordinary at the Royal College of Mines," where Swedenborg, oversaw the mining of metals for thirty years in Sweden.
While Swedenborg idea for a flying contraption never got off the ground, it did, however, provide, some of the ground for the field of aviation, which was still to come, due to his scientific theories and ideas, that were also stated with his technical drawings. It provided the foundation in theory, for the science of aerodynamic lift. Swedenborg device was never built for testing, only for replica purposes postmortem. However, his work was hidden away and forgotten about by most aerospace historians. It wouldn't be until 1799 when the first fixed wing craft would be design again by Sir Geroge Cayley. Later in the field of experimental aviation, there would also be other aerospace companies, even before World War one, that would go on to chase the idea of making oval, circular, and other disk shape.
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