[5] Following his work with V8 engines, Ader turned to the problem of mechanical flight and until the end of his life gave much time and money to this.

Using the studies of Louis Pierre Mouillard (1834–1897) on the flight of birds, he constructed his first flying machine in 1886, the Ader Éole.

It was a bat-like design run by a lightweight steam engine of his own invention, with 4 cylinders with a power rating of 20 hp (15 kW), driving a four-blade propeller.

Ader's later claim that he flew the Avion II in August 1892 for a distance of 100 m (330 ft) in Satory near Paris,[12] was never widely accepted.

It resembled an enormous bat made of linen and wood, with a 15 m (48 ft) wingspan, equipped with two four-bladed tractor propellers, each powered by a steam engine of 30 hp (22 kW).

Using a circular track at Satory, Ader carried out taxiing trials on 12 October 1897 and two days later attempted a flight.

The commission released in November 1910 the official reports on Ader's attempted flights, stating that they were unsuccessful.

His idea for an aircraft carrier was relayed by the US naval attaché in Paris[14] and was followed by the first trials in the United States in November 1910.