Transcript FLIGHT

A brief history of flight.
Mythology – 2
Greek Myths
There are several myths around the
world dealing with the notion of
flight.
Daedalus and Icarus – Greek
myth that notes how the inventor
Daedalus flew to Naples with
wings made of wax and feathers.
His son Icarus flew too close to the
sun and fell to his death when the
wax melted.
Pegasus – A winged horse that
Bellerophon, the king of Corinth,
flew to fight the three headed
Chimera.
Alexander the Great – It was said
he tied 4 Griffons to a basket and
used them to fly around his vast
realm.
Early Experiments
 The Chinese are credited with some of the earliest
contributions to flight with the invention of the kite
(around 400 B.C.)
 Hero of Alexandria (Ancient Greek engineer) invented
a device known as the Aeoliphile. Using steam he
invented a device that could create sustained,
rotational thrust. At the time this had few
applications.
 For centuries humans tried to attain flight by building
wings and mimicking birds. Our muscles were not
sufficient and our bodies ill designed for the task.
Hero’s Aeoliphile
1485 – Leonardo da Vinci’s
Ornithopter
 Over the years Leonardo da Vinci created hundreds of
illustrations and designs dealing with the concept of
flight.
 His most famous contribution is the Ornithopter.
 Though this device was never built its concept led to
the creation of the modern day helicopter.
1783- Montgolfier Brothers
 Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier designed and constructed
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the first known hot air balloon (utilizing the principle that
hot air rises).
A silk balloon was filled with warm smoke (air) and
attached to a basket.
In 1783 the first passengers to take flight in a balloon were a
rooster, a sheep and a duck.
They attained a height of 6000 feet and flew about a mile.
Nov. 21, 1783, Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier and Francois
Laurent, became the first humans to fly in a balloon.
Montgolfier’s Balloon
1799 – 1850 George Cayley
 George Cayley spent many years exploring the concept
of gliders and building many designs that used human
movement to control flight.
 Over 50 years he worked to perfect glider designs. His
work led to many wing designs that maximized air
flow, rudder attachments for directional control and
the concept of a biplane style glider (two wings; one
atop the other).
 He hypothesized that powered flight was necessary for
long distance sustained flight.
George Cayley and His Designs
1891 - Otto Lilienthal
 Otto Lilienthal was a German engineer who was
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fascinated with flight.
His work led to the first gliders that could carry a
person.
Over the years he wrote a definitive book on
aerodynamics, improved his glider designs and made
over 2500 flights.
He tragically died during one of his flights.
His designs, book and flights were pivotal to the
efforts of the Wright Brothers.
1891 - Samuel P. Langley
 Samuel P. Langley was one of the first people to
successfully add a power plant (engine) to a glider
design.
 His miniature, steam powered glider flew for ¾ mile
before it ran out of fuel (called it an aerodrome).
 He was given a grant of money from the U.S.A. to
create a full sized version of his model.
 It was too heavy to fly and after several failures Langley
abandoned the project.
1894 - Octave Chanute
 Octave Chanute was fascinated with aviation.
 He gathered up and analyzed all the aviation
accomplishments he could find.
 He focused on the technical aspects.
 His book was called, “Progress In Flying Machines.”
 The Wright Brothers would come to rely heavily upon
this book. They also communicated with Octave
Chanute about their work.
1903 – Orville and Wilbur Wright
 The Wright Brothers were very determined to achieve
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flight.
They meticulously studied the history of flight, the failures
and successes of the past, read all the available literature
and even retested past designs.
Cayley’s designs were carefully examined.
They built a wind tunnel to test wing designs.
After deciding on a design they added a 12-horsepower
engine.
On December 17th, 10:35 a.m. 1903 Orville Wright made the
first recorded, powered flight at Kitty Hawk.
Image of the Wright Brothers’
Engine and Plane
Chuck Yeager and the X-1
 Served as a pilot during WWII where he became one of the
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Allies ace pilots and one of the few people to shoot down a
Me-262 jet plane.
He then became one of the most well known test pilots in
the history of aviation.
Oct. 14, 1947 - Piloting the Bell X-1 plane, Chuck became
the first person to break the sound barrier (travel faster
than sound).
He would return to military service for awhile.
Oct. 14 1997 – On the 50th anniversary of his achievement,
Yeager was able to repeat his triumph while piloting a
modern F-15 fighter jet.
Chuck Yeager and the X-1