The First Aeronautical Engineers

The First Aeronautical Engineers

Lyle N. LongAERSP 306

Copyright © 2006

The First “Birds”• Archaeopteryx , 150 million years ago

http://www.anthro.psu.edu/shipman.htmlShipman, P. Taking Wing; Archaeopteryx and the Evolution of Bird Flight.Simon & Schuster, NY, New York.

Considered by many to be the first bird

Forms a link between reptiles and birds

“Although it is currently thought that Archaeopteryx could sustain powered flight, it was probably not a strong flier; it may well have ran, leaped, glided, and flapped all in the same day.”http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/diapsids/birds/archaeopteryx.html

Birds and Insects• Flapping flight is probably the most efficient way

to fly at very small sizes• The aerodynamics of insects (eg mosquitoes,

bees, dragonflies, ...) is quite complex since it is at relatively low Reynolds numbers

• Many birds have moderate Reynolds numbers (~100K), and can be predicted using fairly traditional unsteady aerodynamics

“The Simple Science of Flight: From Insects to Jumbo Jets” by HenkTennekes

Large scale ornithopters are under development by Jim Delaurier at Univ. Toronto

http://www.ornithopter.net/

Greek Myth• ~3000 years ago• Daedalus and his son

Icarus• Imprisoned on island

of Crete• Built wings using wax• Icarus flew too close to

sun and fell to death

Flapping Flight• All early interest in manned flight

involved mimicking (now called biomimetics) bird flight. Flapping devices are called ornithopters

• Many disastrous results with men trying to fly

• Leonardo da Vinci was fascinated by flight (35,000 words and 500 sketches)

• But da Vinci never really made any important aeronautical contributions

da Vinci Ornithopter

da Vinci wing device

~1485

da Vinci sketches ~1485

Balloons• Nov. 21, 1783 hot air

balloon carrying de Rozier and d’Arlandestravels 5 miles across Paris

• First human flight• Charles had a

hydrogen-filed balloon in 1783 also

• These triggered public’s interest in flight

Balloons

Joseph Montgolfier (born 1740) and Étienne Montgolfier (born 1745)

Sir George Cayley(inventor of airplane)

• Born Scarborough, England• Dec. 27,1773—Dec. 15,1857• 1799 design• Fixed wing for lift, surfaces for

propulsion, and other surfaces for control

• Realized flapping would not work

• 3 papers 1809-1810 “On Aerial Navigation”

• Surface at angle of attack would produce lift

• Flew full-sized gliders


First sketch of a now traditional airplane, 1804


1848

Sir George Cayley

(inventor of airplane)

1852

Aeronautics• Aeronautical Society of Great Britain, 1866• Royal Aeronautical Society,

http://www.raes.org.uk/• American Rocket Society• Institute of Aeronautical Sciences• American Institute of Aeronautics and

Astronautics, www.aiaa.org

William Henson (1812-1888)

Very influential designs, but he never flew them

John Stringfellow(friend of Henson)

1848 monoplane

John Stringfellow(friend of Henson)

1868 triplane

Felix Du Temple (1823-1890)

First successful powered model airplane.Had some full-sized airplanes but they did not achieve sustained flight

Alexander Mozhaiski

Russia1825 - 1890

Steam powered. Launched from Ski ramp.Did not sustain flight.

Otto Lilienthal (1848 – 1896)Germany

http://invention.psychology.msstate.edu/i/Lilienthal/library/Lilienthal_Practical_Exp.html

2000 successful glider flights. He died in 1896 in a glider crash. “sacrifices must be made” on tombstone. May have beat Wright brothers if he had lived longer. Book: “DerVogelflug”

Picture I took at Munich Museum of Lilienthal’s Vehicle, 2003

Percy Pilcher (1867 – 1899)From Glasgow, Scotland

Worked with Lilienthal, made glider flights

Determined that a 4 hp 40 lb engine and a 5 foot propeller would be needed for manned flight

Died while testing a glider in 1899

Octave Chanute (French-born lived in Chicago, 1832 – 1910)

Book: “Progress in Flying Machines”

First serious aviation historian

Wright brothers read his work carefully

Samual Pierpoint Langley (U.S., 1834 – 1906)

Pilotless Airplane 1896

Langley

Charles Manly and Samuel Langley1903

Launching platform on Potomac1903

Samual Pierpoint Langley (U.S., 1834 – 1906)

Airplane breaks apart, Dec. 8, 1903

Nine days later on December 17th, Wilbur and Orville Wright succeeded where so many other had failed.

Samuel Langley never recovered from his failure; he died demoralized on February 28th 1906.

NASA Langley named after him

Wright Brothers

Wilbur, 1867 - 1912 Orville, 1871 - 1948

Wright Brothers• Great aeronautical engineers• Learned from people before them• Niether graduated from high school• Wilbur was born in Millville, Indiana and Orville was born

in Dayton, Ohio• Father was a bishop in United Brethren Church• Mother was well educated and very mechanical• Started a bicycle sales and repair business in 1892 in

Dayton• In 1895 they were making their own bicycles• The publicity of Lilienthal’s death renewed their interest

in aeronautics, they had followed his work closely

Wright Brothers• Wilbur studied bird flight, and learned about wing twist

there, which is similar in effect to ailerons• By 1899 they were both reading all they could (e.g.

Lilienthal, Chanute, ...), and getting info from Smithsonian

• They corresponded with Chanute• Kitty Hawk was chosen through their discussions with

the U.S. Weather Bureau• They had a glider by Sept. 1900• They followed closely Langley’s attempts at flight• Langley did not take the Wright brothers serioulsy

Wright Brothers• No. 1 Glider• Kite• 1900

Wright Brothers

Oct., 1900

Wright Brothers

Orville and Wilbur flying glider kite, 1901

Wright Brothers

Wilbur Gliding, 1901

Wright Brothers

Wilbur gliding 1902

Wright Brothers

1903

Wright Brothers

1903 Motor, 12 Hp, 200 lbs. Designed and built by Wrights.

Wright Brothers

Wilbur in damaged aircraft Dec.. 14, 1903

Wright Brothers

Getting ready for flight.They flipped a coin to see who would fly,

Wilbur won but crashed on Dec. 14, 1903

Wright Brothers

First flight

Dec. 17, 1903

120 feet12 seconds

Orville as pilot

Later that daythey reached852 feet and 59 sec. flight

Wilbur was 36Orville was 32

Wright Brothers

89th flight in 1904

Wright Brothers

Flight of 1 hour 31 minutes in 1908

Wright Brothers

Click here for video of flight in 1907with Wilbur as pilot.

from: http://invention.psychology.msstate.edu/

Wright Brothers• There was not a lot of press regarding the 1903 flight• There was some in 1904• They kept their design fairly secret until patents were

granted and the Army decided to buy some of their aircraft (in 1908)

• They had a huge display and flight in Europe in 1908• Louis Bleriot explaimed it was a new era• Wilbur made 104 flights in Europe in 1908• A crash by Orville in 1908 killed his passenger and

injured him• Recent studies on the Wright propeller showed it had up

to 84% efficiency

Wright Brothers

1911 Glider

Wright Brothers• Wilbur died at 45 (in 1912) of typhoid fever• Orville sold his company and retired in

1915• He lived until 1948• The Wright Flyer is displayed in the

Smithsonian Air and Space Museum

Glenn Curtiss

1924

1878 – 1930

Started competing with Wright brothers in 1908, he was famous by 1910

Did not graduate high schoolWorked for Eastman (Kodak)Was into bicycle racingBuilt motorcycles. world speed record in 1904 (67 MPH)

Visited Wrights in 1904 in Dayton, led to friction between them later on.

“Red Wing” flew in 1908“White Wing” flew in 1908 also“June Bug” won Scientific American prize in 1908 for flying 1 mile

Glenn Curtiss

Glenn Curtiss

June Bug, 1908

Glenn Curtiss• 1908 Lead designer and pilot of "June Bug"• 1908 "Flight engineer" for 1st Army dirigible trial• 1909 Produced and sold first private aircraft in US• 1909 Won first international air speed record with 46.5mph--Rheims,Fr.• 1910 Long distance flying record of 150 miles from Albany to New York• 1910 Established Flying School and Exhibition Company• 1910 Trained Blanche Stuart Scott, the first American female pilot• 1911 PILOT'S LICENSE NUMBER ONE for "June Bug" flight• 1911 First successful pontoon aircraft in America• 1911 "Father of Naval Aviation", Hydroaeroplane A-1 purchased by USN• 1911 First dual pilot control• 1911 First retractable landing gear (Hydroaeroplane)• 1912 Developed and flew first flying boat--(Lake Keuka) World War I• 1914-1918 Produced 6,000 "Jennys", trainer for WW I Post World War I• 1919 Curtiss NC-4 flying boat--first to cross the Atlantic• 1919 Commenced private aircraft production with the Oriole

http://web.linkny.com/~curtiss/

Glenn Curtiss• Wright brothers thought Curtiss stole their technology

(filed suit in 1909), Curtiss lost and had to pay royalties in 1914

• Wright brothers chose not to participate in Scientific American contest (they could have won)

• Curtiss worked closely with Alexander Graham Bell and the Aerial Experiment Association (AEA)

• The Wright’s sold their company in 1915• In 1929 the Wright company was merged into the

Curtiss-Wright Corporation, which produced the P-40 dring WWII. Closed in 1948.

Curtiss Jenny (1914 – 1927)

Curtiss Jenny. Model T of the skies. The Jenny was the first aircraft purchased in quantity by the American military, and consequently was the first mass-produced American aircraft. Used to train over ninety percent of American pilots during WW I, it played a key role at the beginning of what would become the most powerful air force on Earth. ( http://www.airventuremuseum.org/ )

Propulsion• Manned flight had to wait for engines with proper

Hp/weight ratios• By 1865 Lenoir had 400 engines in Paris• 1867 Otto and Langen developed 4-cycle engine

in Germany• Daimler and Benz also developed 4-cycle

engines in Germany• The Wright brothers designed and built engine in

1903 was crucial to their success• By 1945 there were 2200 Hp engines and

aircraft were going 500 MPH

Lets look at a few interesting aircraft

P-51 Mustang (1940)

B-52 (1955-present)

NOT!

U-2

NOT!

CH-47 Chinook (1962 – present)

Comanche

Predator: Unmanned

Xhawk: Flying Jeep (concept)

Conclusions• It is important to recognize that the Wright

brothers built upon the work of many people, which is usually true in science and engineering

• If you have never been to the US Air Force museum in Dayton, you really must go there

• The future:– What vehicles will you work on?– What are places such as the Skunkworks working on

today?– What is flying at Area 51?

The First Aeronautical Engineers

Documents

Transcript of The First Aeronautical Engineers