Well, it’s like they say, never send a locksmith to do a plane ... smith ... er ... designer guy’s job.
French locksmith Jacob Besnier manages to fly short distances using a flying machine which consists of two hinged paddles covered with fabric, circa 1678.
“Manages to fly short distances” seems an extremely generous description of Jake’s contraption here—if I jump off a small boulder, for instance, then technically I have managed to fly a short distance, no wings necessary.
Probably this was the result of a wager following a night at the pub.