Development of the Airplane - PDF

CHAPTER 3: DEVELOPMENT OF THE AIRPLANE GEORGE CAYLEY Sir George Cayley theorized on the problems of aerodynamics and addressed velocity, wing loads, bending movements and the necessity for combining lightness and strength He foresaw and wrote about the need for streamlin...

CHAPTER 3: DEVELOPMENT OF THE AIRPLANE GEORGE CAYLEY Sir George Cayley theorized on the problems of aerodynamics and addressed velocity, wing loads, bending movements and the necessity for combining lightness and strength He foresaw and wrote about the need for streamlining, and he realized that a cambered or curved wing was necessary for flight and that a flat wing could never do the job Father of Aerodynamics CAYLEY COIN In 1799, Sir George Cayley (1773-1857) designed an airplane that incorporated a fixed wing, a separate propulsion mechanism, and a tail for stability His design was revolutionary because he was the first to break lift and propulsion into two parts He understood that the wings would not generate the power by flapping or some other means. CAYLEY COIN Instead, Cayley envisioned a power source that was independent of the wings He also introduced the concept of camber – curvature – of the wing CAYLEY COIN Cayley engraved his design on a coin – known as Cayley’s Coin On one side of the coin he engraved a picture of his flying machine On the other he engraved a diagram of the four forces of flight at work The forces were lift, weight, drag, and thrust CAYLEY COIN Thrust and drag work in opposition to one another as thrust moves an object forward and drag works to slow that movement Lift and weight work in opposition to each other as lift brings an object aloft while weight is the force of gravity pulling that object toward the earth. CAYLEY COIN Sir George Cayley was the first to understand and articulate that an object will remain in the air only when all four forces – lift, weight, drag, and thrust – are in balance WILLIAM HENSON AND JOHN STRINGFELLOW John Stringfellow’s greatest challenge was to build a light steam engine to power an aircraft William Henson was an engineer before designing aircrafts who had a patent for an improved steam engine Henson designed a single-wing airplane, not following Cayley’s advise for a multi wing WILLIAM HENSON AND JOHN STRINGFELLOW When paired with Stringfellow they decided to sell stock of their company to raise cash The intended purpose of the company was to build and operate flying machines They wanted to launch an international airline known as the Aerial Steam Transit Company in 1843 WILLIAM HENSON AND JOHN STRINGFELLOW They wanted to launch an international airline known as the Aerial Steam Transit Company in 1843 An Aerial Transit Company Print (cropped) Depicting The Aerial Steam Carriage "ARIEL" - 1843 WILLIAM HENSON AND JOHN STRINGFELLOW WILLIAM HENSON AND JOHN STRINGFELLOW Stringfellow continued his work on the problems of flight He built a steam engine and a new model airplane with wingspan of 10 feet Some historians call this engine the first practical capable of successful performance WILLIAM HENSON AND JOHN STRINGFELLOW The glider on which the engine was mounted actually became airborne in a test flight in 1848 and flew a distance of 120 feet This proved to be the first successful power-driven airplane to be flown in free flight; however, no one was aboard the airplane He was never able to construct a full size airplane that could be successfully flown WILLIAM HENSON AND JOHN STRINGFELLOW The contribution of the two men was more significant than their failures Hensosn’s design was logically conceived and his aerial carriage was a plausible expression of what an airplane should be Even though the tests with the models were unsatisfactory, they were nonetheless, a serious attempt to fly a propeller-driven, engine powered airplane George Cayley was influenced by this machine ALPHONSE PENAUD In France was one of the brilliant airplane experimenters preceding the Wright Brothers He applied his training as marine engineer to aeronautical matters In 1870 he discovered the twisted rubber band as a power source for model airplanes He used his invention in a workable helicopter model which spurred toy makers to produce thousands of rubber band driven helicopter toys  ALPHONSE PENAUD In 1876 he patented his design Penaud was too far ahead of its time He committed suicide at the age of 30 since he was frustrated, discouraged and criticized for his work Experiments including the Wright Brothers would rank Penaud close to Cayley as one of the most significant 19th century aeronautical thinkers OTTO LILIENTHAL Father of glider experiments, German engineer As a small boy playing with his brother Gustav, they noticed storks took off against the wind His brother later wrote: “rising against the wind might be easier than with the wind” OTTO LILIENTHAL Lilienthal recognized the superiority of a curved wing to the flat type In a book published in 1889 titled Birdflight as the Basis of Aviation that became a classic of aeronautical aviation OTTO LILIENTHAL He crashed because his machine Otto Lilienthal’s greatest was unstable and controllable achievement was to arouse the only by human strength and interest in others who continued agility the advancement of man’s effort to develop the airplane These qualities were not adequate for successful sustained flight, nor could they readily be incorporated in a practical flying machine OTTO LILIENTHAL He performed a great deal of He proved the superiority of research into the problems of curved wings over flat wings flying He brought the art of gliding to He was able to find real answers an everyday accepted fact by actual flying He is regarded as one of the greatest pioneers of aviation OTTO LILIENTHAL For all his practical experience, Lilienthal had one misconception He believed that flapping wings On August 9, 1896 a sudden were the answer to aerial gust tossed him upward at a locomotion sharp for which he could not recover and plunged to the ground He died the next of a broken spine OCTAVE CHANUTE He was a learned successful civil engineer His approach to the problem of flight was carried through on a scientific level He was the president of the American Society of Civil Engineers and had designed and constructed the vast Union Stock Yards in Chicago OCTAVE CHANUTE Aeronautics was simply a hobby for Chanute until he reached his middle sixties Prior to this his activities in aviation were confined to gathering and writing information on the subject In 1894 he published a book called Progress in Aviation which was a large volume and discussed the history of aviation up to that time  OCTAVE CHANUTE Whereby Lilienthal tried to control his gliders by shifting his weight, Chanute proposed a mechanism that would control the glider by moving the wings Chanute introduced to airplane building the civil engineering concept of strut and diagonal wire bracing OCTAVE CHANUTE The best flight by one of his pilots was 359 feet in 14 seconds but Chanute was convinced that further experiments with gliders would lead to stable controllable aircraft that could be driven by an engine He published his findings in the Journal of Western Society of Engineers and invited other experiments to improve upon his results OCTAVE CHANUTE No one accepted the invitation until1900 when Wilbur Wright wrote to Chanute inquiring about his construction, materials, and experiments on airplanes Wright in his letter, said that he had no ideas of his own but could think of no better way to spend his vacation OCTAVE CHANUTE Chanute was happy to comply with Wilbur’s request and this was the beginning of a long relation with the Wright brothers When the Wright brothers were experimenting with their gliders at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903, Chanute was present OCTAVE CHANUTE Chanute felt as a proud father to the Wright Brothers’ experiments and remained interested in their efforts until his death in 1910 Octave Chanute had given the Wright brothers guidance and inspiration They made true to his greatest wish, the hope and belief that the goal of useful airplanes could be reached SAMUEL P. LANGLEY Langley was a mathematician, astronomer and physicist In 1889, Dr. Samuel Langley went to the Smithsonian Institution as its secretary It was at the Smithsonian that he began publishing his aerodynamic findings and was recognized as the country’s leading authority in aviation SAMUEL P. LANGLEY Wilbur Wright said that Langley’s knowledge and position as the head of such a scientific institutions was an influence which further led them to investigate the possibility of flying SAMUEL P. LANGLEY He directed his experiments using all kinds of engines such as:  Hot air  Compressed air  Gas  electricity  Carbonic acid  Gunpowder SAMUEL P. LANGLEY Before Langley could launch a successful airplane he needed a lightweight, high-powered engine He decided steam had the greatest possibilities and directed a program to perfect a steam engine SAMUEL P. LANGLEY It was October 7, 1903 and Charles Manly, a Cornell University graduate SAMUEL P. LANGLEY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-5DeIvOJ7Y