AHC/WI Earliest Plausible Aircraft

I was wondering how early could someone build a successful non-engine powered aircraft, with successful defined as being able to take off (obviously), fly 500 feet and land without receiving damage beyond repair or breaking any of the pilot's bones. Also if this vehicle could be built how much could it be improved and what could it be used for before the development of an on board engine.
 
Otto Lilienthal, 1890s OTL, was the first recognized. If they knew it could be done, it could date back to 2300 BC. Chinese kites and old Greeks talked the talk. Until someone grasps the science of aerodynamics, it's a great way to die. It could have been the real reason the pyramids were built.
 

Driftless

Donor
Sir George Cayley had the theory of aerodynamics and control in the 1850's, but lacked a viable engine. He had a working man-carrying glider in that era and Cayley's coachman was the less-than-enthusiastic pilot, who resigned after his short flight.
 

Sycamore

Banned
I was wondering how early could someone build a successful non-engine powered aircraft, with successful defined as being able to take off (obviously), fly 500 feet and land without receiving damage beyond repair or breaking any of the pilot's bones. Also if this vehicle could be built how much could it be improved and what could it be used for before the development of an on board engine.

Non-engine powered? Not sure that'd be possible, even if you somehow managed to tame birds which could potentially be strong enough to pull an aerial glider-chariot in tandem (eg, multiple Haast's Eagles, each of which could have potentially been capable of carrying a load of somewhere between 10 to 30kg in flight)...
 
Several men flew viable hang-gliders before 1900.
Nowadays gliding is limited to recreation.
What practical application could gliders perform?
Crossing mountain valleys?

What practical applications are there for kites?
Aerial recce?
Lifting wind turbines?
Lifting radio antennas?
Lifting cameras?
Cross-decking cargo between ships at sea?
 
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