Daedalus Daedalus, and he to Hephaestus, son of Zeus." This suggests that Daedalus was related to Hephaestus, the god of blacksmiths, and therefore to Zeus himself. Daedalus is first mentioned by Homer as the creator of a wide dancing-ground for Ariadne. He also created the Labyrinth on Crete, in which the Minotaur (part man, part bull) was kept. In the story of the labyrinth as told by the Hellenes, the Athenian hero Theseus is challenged to kill the Minotaur, finding his way with the help of Ariadne's thread. Daedalus' appearance in Homer is in an extended metaphor, "plainly not Homer's invention",
MIT Daedalus aircraft suffered damage to the right wing, fuselage, and propeller. "Daedalus 87" was repaired and returned to service to act as a backup airplane to "Daedalus 88". "Daedalus 87" was on display in the lobby at the Museum of Science, Boston until 2009, and is now on display above the tram stop for Terminal B at Dulles Airport outside Washington, DC. The final aircraft in the MIT Daedalus series, "Daedalus 88", was used in the flight from Crete. Pieces of "Daedalus 88" are now in storage at the Smithsonian's restoration facility. Both Daedalus aircraft were constructed with a framework of