FLIGHTA brief history of flight.

Mythology – 2 Greek MythsThere 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 ExperimentsThe 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 OrnithopterOver 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 BrothersJoseph and Jacques Montgolfier designed and

constructed 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 CayleyGeorge 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 LilienthalOtto Lilienthal was a German engineer who

was 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. LangleySamuel 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 ChanuteOctave 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 WrightThe Wright Brothers were very determined to

achieve 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-1Served as a pilot during WWII where he became one

of the 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