In the 19th century, several projects for heavier-than-air flying machines were most likely created in the territory of Lesser Poland, and some of them may have been built and tested in flight. It is unknown how much truth there is in these accounts, but — legend is indeed the worst historical source, yet it is still a source.
Work on building — at least in concept — wings was carried out, according to the data of Prof. Tadeusz Seweryn, by a builder, sculptor, and blacksmith named Wojciech Kułach, known as “Wawrzyńczak,” who hailed from Gliczarów near Biały Dunajec. This talented blacksmith was also written about by Seweryn Goszczyński in his “Diary of a Journey to the Tatras” from 1832. According to him, Kułach built mighty wings and tried to fly on them, but failed to take off. Goszczyński also described the attempts of an elderly highlander to build a hang glider and fly on it. Repeating this account, one can assume that it is sufficiently unembellished to have concerned real events — the highlander began his attempts with jumps from the roof of his own cottage, and since he did well, he climbed a high rock, spread his wings, and jumped into open space, but could not stay aloft, fell to the ground, and broke both legs. Another tale says that he reportedly intended to build wings for flying, which he planned to cover with sheepskins, but since they were expensive, he gave up on his project.
