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>In 1900, there was no evidence of the kind you seek that lighter [sic]-than-air flight was possible.

Presumably you meant heavier than air? Also, I'm pretty sure that birds existed in the years leading up to 1900.

Heavier-than-air aircraft, yes. It is instructive to read actual contemporary arguments. Flighted birds seem to be limited in size well below human loading capacity; Helmholtz power-to-weight ratio calculations suggest that vultures are at about the size limit; birds are all muscle with very little relative carrying capacity; bird reflexes vastly outpace the reaction times available to a human operator; etc.

Please show us actual evidence from 1900 or earlier that human flight will be practical or even possible.

Birds are neither real evidence nor real at all[1].

[1]:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birds_Aren't_Real

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