The first plane to "turn" in the air was a stable aircraft built by Henri Farman in France. He flew around a field in one minute 28 seconds. His plane only had a tail rudder and Farman had to swing the plane around by its tail in a long flat turn. The wings did not tip.

The Wright brothers built planes that were unstable (less safe) so they could try different ideas to make their airplanes turn. A few months later, in France, Wilbur Wright flew their new Wright type A biplane around another field. He was able to fly around the field twice in the same time Farman had flown around once. Also, Wilbur's plane had a new patented wing design called "wing warping" (twisting the wing tips). Wilbur was able to bank (tip) and turn easily. The European aviators were amazed and admitted that Wilbur's designs were superior (better).

The European designers started using the Wright brothers' ideas, but they didn't want to give up the idea of a stable (safe) airplane. They took the Wright brothers' ideas and added another invention called "ailerons" (a French word for the tips of a bird's wings). Ailerons gave the same turning capability as wing warping, but was much safer. By 1910, the European planes began to surpass the Wright's machines.

From that time until the 1970's the idea of building stable planes was foremost. Then, because of the computer, fighter aircraft were built to be unstable so they could make quick turns. An unstable airplane design requires that constant adjustments be made to moveable surfaces. The computer and electronic motors make these adjustments possible without the pilot's constant attention.