List of Italian inventions and discoveries - Wikipedia Alphabetical list of Italian Inventions A. Aircraft with tractor configuration propeller: the world's first airplane having a "Tractor" configuration, propeller on the front, was the Goupy No.2 (first flight on 11 March 1909) designed by Mario Calderara and financed by Ambroise Goupy at the French firm Blériot Aéronautique. At the time, it was the fastest airplane in existence.