Diego Marín Aguilera

Diego Marín Aguilera (1757–1799) was a Spanish inventor who was an early aviation pioneer. Born in Coruña del Conde, Marín became the head of his household after his father died. Marín was forced to take care of his seven brothers, and worked as an agricultural laborer, tending his animals and fields. Marín spent long afternoons and days herding sheep in the surrounding fields.

Marín devised, early on, several labor-saving devices, including a gadget that improved the functionality of a watermill on the Arandilla river; another that improved the working of a fulling-mill; and another used to improve the cutting of marble in the quarries of Espejón. He also came up with a device with which to whip horses during the process of threshing, and another that made cloth pads.

Marín was inspired by the eagles he spotted while tending his animals and fields: he wanted to build a flying machine. For six years, he worked on one of his own inventions. The machine was built out of wood, iron, cloth, and feathers. He gathered eagle and vulture feathers by setting up special traps on which he placed rotting meat to attract these birds.

Marín made calculations regarding the weight, volume, size, dimensions of the feathers, as well as the weight of the bodies of these birds. He also carefully studied the movement of their wings and tail and constructed, with the assistance of the local blacksmith, Joaquín Barbero, a pair of wrought iron "joints" that moved about like a fan. He also built stirrups for his feet and hand-cranks that controlled the direction of the machine.

On the night of May 15, 1793, accompanied by the blacksmith Barbero and one of Marín's sisters, Marín placed his glider on the highest part of the castle of Coruña del Conde. In the light of the full moon, he remarked (roughly): "I’m going to Burgo de Osma, and from there to Soria, and I’ll be back in a couple of days."

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