Enea Bossi , Sr . Enea Bossi , Sr . ( 29 March 1888 – 1963 ) was an Italian - American aerospace engineer and aviation pioneer . He is best known for designing the Budd BB - 1 " Pioneer " , the first stainless steel aircraft ; and also the " Pedaliante " airplane , disputably credited with the first fully human - powered flight . Personal life . Enea Bossi was born in Milan , Italy . He emigrated to the United States on the RMS " Oceanic " from Cherbourg , France , on 20 July 1914 , subsequently residing at 264 Riverside Drive in Great Neck , New York . Bossi declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States on 30 July 1914 and petitioned for naturalization on 9 December 1925 . He became a naturalized United States citizen on 16 March 1926 , though his two sons retained their inherited Italian citizenship , " jus sanguines " , as well their American citizenship , " jus soli " . He spoke fluent Italian , French , and English . Bossi married Flora Kehrer , a Swiss German from Lausanne who had migrated to the United States immediately prior to the outbreak of World War I and was living with her aunt and uncle in Connecticut . The two met through Enea Bossi ’ s professional relationship with her uncle , and the two eloped against the wishes of Flora ' s guardians . The couple had two children , Charles Bossi ( b . 1922 in New York City , d . 1989 in Ohio ) and Enea Wilbur Bossi . ( b . 1924 in Montclair , New Jersey , d . 1999 ) . They ultimately resided on Upper Mountain Avenue in Montclair , at its intersection with Watchung Avenue , and maintained a country house on North Wales Road in Lansdale , Pennsylvania . The Montclair house still exists , but the Lansdale residence has since been replaced by subdivided residential homes , located opposite the Montgomery Mall . Professional career . Bossi graduated from the Instituto Tecnico in Lodi , Italy , in 1907 , specializing in physics and mathematics . The Wright brothers ’ " Flyer " , having successfully flown in December 1903 , impressed Bossi so much that he devoted himself to aviation , becoming the second licensed pilot in Italy . Financed by his father , in 1908 he designed and built his own plane , modeled after the Wright " Flyer " . Bossi also used the plane to teach both himself and Giuseppe M . Bellanca how to fly . This design won a silver medal the following year at the first international aviation meeting in Reims , France . The plane became the first Italian - designed airplane to be mass - produced , built in Bossi ’ s own factory . In early December 1909 , the first flight of a fully Italian - designed and Italian - built aircraft was successfully completed alongside fellow engineers Giuseppe M . Bellanca and Paolo Invernizzi . Also in 1909 , Bossi developed the first landing gear braking system as well as the Italian Navy ’ s first seaplane – both of which turned out to be successful endeavors . During the early 1910s , Bossi served as an Italian representative of Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company – securing rights for local license production of the Curtiss Model F by the Zari brothers , who built eight examples at their workshop in ( today a zone of Milan ) . The first of these was demonstrated to the Italian Navy on Lake Como on 22 September 1914 . During this decade , Bossi also worked for the Italian Aviation Corps , assisting the Italian government with building and organizing its naval air forces . During World War I , Bossi served as both a bomber pilot and a flight instructor for the Italian Navy . Due to the economic and social difficulties in Italy following the war , in 1918 , Bossi emigrated to the United States , where he eventually became a naturalized citizen . In the 1920s , Bossi worked on a number of devices relating to fuel systems – leading to work in his later years on modern aerial refueling systems . In 1927 , Bossi was a cofounder of the company Société Continentale Parker in France together with Robert Deté , Louis Paulhan and Pierre Prier . The purpose was to transfer surface treatment technologies for the spreadling aerospace industry to Europe . Using his relationships he brokered a licence from Parker Rust - Proof in Detroit Parkerizing and in a later step the distribution rights of Udylite Corp for specialty chemicals in Electroplating . The company later became the European market leader in surface treatment via its successor organizations Chemetall GmbH and Coventya GmbH . American Aeronautical Corporation . In October 1928 , Bossi founded the American Aeronautical Corporation ( AAC ) , officially located at 730 Fifth Avenue in Port Washington , New York , to build Savoia - Marchetti seaplanes under license . Licenses were acquired for both the S - 55 and the S - 56 and both were tested at the Miller Army Air Field , but only the latter made it to production . The S - 56 became the first plane used by the New York City Police Department , which used it to enforce flying regulations , assist with sea rescues , and to chase rum - runners during the Prohibition era . A follow - up design , the more - powerful S - 56B , proved even more successful . Whereas the prices for the S - 56 and S - 56B were modest for the time , the Great Depression caused sales to drop significantly by 1933 . Two original AAC S - 56 planes exist today : one of which is on display at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City , New York . Bossi ’ s work was not without its setbacks . In early 1930 , he survived the crash of an experimental S - 56 off Port Washington which claimed the life of test pilot Peter Talbot . Bossi was rescued by the Coast Guard ’ s ship CG - 162 . Budd Company . The Edward G . Budd Manufacturing Corporation , of Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , was a major manufacturer of railroad cars , which resulted in significant experience in working with stainless steel . In 1930 , the company made its first foray into the aviation industry by signing contracts to manufacture aircraft wheels & stainless steel wing ribs . A close friend of Edward Budd , Enea Bossi joined the company as the head of stainless steel research to supervise the design and construction of the 4 - seat Budd BB - 1 " Pioneer " – the first aircraft with a structure built out of stainless steel . Occurring in 1931 , this was the first aircraft for the Budd Company . Built under Restricted License NR749 , its design utilized concepts developed for the Savoia - Marchetti S - 31 and was powered by a single Kinner C - 5 motor . The stainless steel construction process for the BB - 1 was patented in 1942 . At the time , stainless steel was not considered practical ; and only one BB - 1 was built . In 1934 , this plane was stripped of its fabric covering and mounted outside the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia , where it remains to this day as the longest continuous display of any airplane . The plane has been memorialized in the children ’ s book " Spirited Philadelphia Adventure " by Deirdre Cimino . In 1931 , Bossi sold the controlling interest of the AAC to Dayton Airplane Engine Company . The success which came from the technical innovations of the BB - 1 prompted the Budd Company to employ Bossi as its European representative . Pedaliante . In 1932 , Bossi heard of an airplane which had successfully flown while powered only by a 1 - horsepower ( 0 . 75 kW ) engine . This prompted Bossi to calculate the minimum power that a manned aircraft would need to fly . The calculation yielded a value of approximately 0 . 94 - horsepower ( 0 . 70 kW ) , which convinced Bossi that Human - powered flight might be possible . During a trip to Philadelphia , Bossi tested the speed at which a glider would take off under tow . The experiment consisted of hiring a professional bicyclist to tow a glider . A spring scale was attached to the tow line to sense the force exerted by the bicyclist . This same experiment procedure was later repeated as part of the development of the " Gossamer Condor " and the " Gossamer Albatross " . The results confirmed that a speed at which the necessary lift could be obtained was indeed attainable . A second experiment conducted during a trip to Paris involved a propeller - driven bicycle designed by Bossi . The test rider achieved a speed of 23 miles ( 37 km ) per hour , but one drawback was noted : the gyroscopic effect of the propeller generated so much torque that the bicycle became unstable . Bossi concluded , erroneously , that a successful human - powered aircraft would therefore require two counter - rotating propellers to cancel out the effects of torque – similar to the design of a helicopter . In light of these findings , Bossi decided to design an aircraft incorporating this difficult requirement . In 1933 , the Frankfurt Polytechnische Gesellschaft ( Frankfurt Polytechnic Society ) offered a prize to promote human - powered flight . During this period , many German activities were copied by Italy , and in 1936 the Italian government offered an equivalent contest : offering 100 , 000 lire for a 0 . 62 mile ( 1 kilometer ) human - powered flight made by an Italian citizen . Bossi was aware that he could not receive the prize due to his American citizenship , but he opted to attempt to win it , anyway . Bossi ’ s design for the contest was named the " Pedaliante " , Italian for “ Pedal Glider ” – so named because it utilized conventional glider configuration and construction . The design was introduced in 1937 and Vittorio Bonomi , an Italian sailplane manufacturer , was contracted to build the plane . Bossi and Bonomi enlisted Emilio Casco to pilot the " Pedaliante " . Casco was a major in the Italian Army and a very strong bicyclist . After several weeks of trials in early 1936 , Casco took off in the " Pedaliante " and flew approximately 300 feet ( 91 . 4 m ) completely under his own power , marking the first achievement of an aircraft obtaining and sustaining flight completely via human power . Although subsequent calculations have verified that this flight was physically possible , most agree that it was Casco ’ s considerable physical strength and endurance which performed the accomplishment ; not a feat which could be attained by a typical person . Incorporating a catapult launch to a height of 30 feet ( 9 m ) , the " Pedaliante " made a flight on 13 September 1936 which traveled several hundred meters . On 18 March 1937 , at Cinisello airport near Milan , the plane was launched at a height of 29 . 5 feet ( 9 m ) and Casco successfully pedaled the craft for its full 0 . 62 miles ( 1 km ) . This set a world record for human - powered flight , but as a catapult launch was not permitted in the rules of the competition , the " Pedaliante " did not win the prize for which it was designed . The plane was retired the following year having made a total 80 flights – 43 without the assistance of a catapult launch . At this time , the " Mufli " and the " Pedaliante " were the most advanced Human - powered aircraft ever built . Later work . Initially developed at Delgado Trades School and completed by Enea Bossi , the two - place side - by - side single - rotor Higgins EB - 1 helicopter was completed in 1943 and built by Higgins Industries , Inc . , of New Orleans , Louisiana . Plans for larger versions were terminated following the downturn in the military aviation industry following the end of World War II . The fuselage was covered in its entirety by a metallic skin , with the tail covered in fabric . A two - bladed vertical tail rotor was included in its design to counter the effects of torque and the landing gear was configured in a fixed tricycle form . The four - bladed main rotor consisted of two pairs of blades mounted one above the other . The interior featured controls similar to those of a conventional airplane . Bossi further developed helicopter technology , particularly with regards to contra - rotating dual - propellers and tail rotor s – work which was also , to a limited degree , furthered by his two sons . Bossi , a resident of West Orange , New Jersey , died at the age of 74 at Miami Valley Hospital while visiting a friend in Dayton , Ohio .