1901 in aviation

July
July 31 - German meteorologists Berson and Süring climb to 10,800 m in a free balloon.

August
August 14 - in Fairfield, Connecticut, Gustave Whitehead reportedly flew his engine-powered Whitehead Number 21 800 meters at 15 meters height, according to articles in the Bridgeport Herald, the New York Herald and the Boston Transcript. No photographs were taken, but a sketch of the plane in the air was made by a reporter for the Bridgeport Herald, Dick Howell, who was present. This date precedes the Wright brothers' Kitty Hawk, North Carolina flight by more than two years.

October
October 3 - Wilhelm Kress trials his Drachenflieger seaplane that makes a short hop before capsizing.

October 19 - Alberto Santos-Dumont, a Brazilian, flies his dirigible Number 6 around the Eiffel Tower to collect an FF100,000 prize.

October 29 - the Royal Aero Club of Great Britain is established.

November-December
The Wright brothers optimise their No. 3 Glider wing design with the help of wind tunnel measurements