ONE hundred and fifty years ago, coachman John Appleby felt the wind on his face as he sat at the top of a gently sloping hill, unaware that what he was about to do would change the world forever.

He had to be coaxed into the latest contraption built by his employer, Sir George Cayley, and would have taken little comfort from the knowledge the frail machine was about to hurtle down the hill in a seemingly a forlorn hope that it would fly.

But such was Cayley's genius that fly it did - and on that summer's day in 1853, man had taken his first tentative step towards making an impossible dream come true.

Today, the majority would credit the Wright brothers, rather than Cayley, as the fathers of flight, despite the fact the U.S. duo always credited the Englishman's designs as the inspiration for their machine which made the first powered flight more than 50 years later.

On Saturday, another reluctant pilot was strapped into a replica of Cayley's contraption and stared down the same hill at Brompton Dale, heart thumping while he waited for the rushing wind of the launch. This time, though, he was no servant.

Determined to play a part in winning Cayley the international recognition he deserves, entrepreneur and adventurer Sir Richard Branson was at the somewhat basic controls.

He said: "They keep telling me I should learn to fly, but I have never bothered. Right now, I wish I had."

But he needn't have worried; the few minutes' instruction he had from seasoned glider pilot Alann McWhirter proved enough.

The multi-millionaire, dressed in clothes chosen to resemble John Appleby's, coaxed the replica flyer into a 50ft glide, landing to the tumultuous applause of the thousand or so spectators who had gathered to watch. The pride on the faces of the team behind the project said more than words ever could.

Bankrolled by Sir Richard's Virgin Atlantic airline, current and former staff from BAE Systems were given five months to design and build the modern Cayley Glider in the company's workshops at Brough, near Hull.

Saturday was also special for three generations of Cayleys, there to witness the recreation of a chapter in the family's history.

Sir Digby Cayley, who lives in Marlborough, Wiltshire, said: "It has been very exciting, but a bit spooky in a way.

"It was fantastic to see the glider fly, but it almost feels as though the ghosts of the Cayley family are watching, too."

Sir Digby paid tribute to Sir Richard's role in a high-profile celebration of Cayley's achievements.

Of course, the day had the flamboyance you would expect from the founder of the Virgin empire - including a flypast by the Red Arrows and one of his own Virgin Atlantic 747s.

Sir Richard's involvement also ensured the 150th anniversary of the Cayley Flyer's maiden flight achieved its aim - drawing attention to the North Yorkshire village where Sir George's descendants hope to build a memorial to him.

Amanda McCrystal, his great, great, great, great granddaughter, said: "It was not just aeroplanes.

"People don't realise he also invented tank tracks, prosthetic limbs and the first polytechnic."

Well, perhaps now they will.