Henson's flying machine. Historical illustration of the aerial steam carriage, a flying machine designed by the English engineer William Henson (1805-1888). Although it was unsuccessful, this was the first heavier- than-air aircraft to have all the essential features for flight apart from a way of providing lateral stability. Henson filed a patent on The Aerial" in 1842 and set up the Aerial transit Company, a worldwide airline service, with John Stringfellow. However, a model of the steam carriage failed to fly. Engraving by W. L. Walton from Henson and Stringfellow: Their Work In Aeronautics by J.B. Davy, published in 1931."