Download AS-History-8-Progress-in-Flight

WORLD POWER
Progress in Flight
PROGRESS IN FLIGHT
Civil War Balloons
– First use by Union, but not very successful
– Telegraph sent messages from balloon to ground
– Mostly private owners/operators that volunteered services
and equipment
– First 2 years of war then disbanded due to lack of interest
and accidents
– South appreciated use, but no resources
– No military balloon activity, 1863-1890
– England, Germany, Spain, Russia, Italy and Japan had all
established programs by 1884
Spanish-American War Balloons
1 balloon in army at start of war
Directed artillery fire at the Battle of San Juan
PROBLEMS OF FLIGHT
Problems
Develop lift
Build “lighter than air” aircraft
Light materials, hot air or hydrogen
1 cubic foot of air weighs roughly 28 grams (~ 1 ounce)
...air heated to 180 degrees weighs about 21 grams
1 cubic foot of air in a hot air balloon can lift about 7
grams, that's not much, and this is why hot air balloons
are so huge -- to lift 1 pound, you need about 65 cubic
feet of hot air (4x4x4)
Helium available by 1905, but not used until after 1935
Sustain lift
Drop weight
Maintain fire
Hydrogen
PROBLEMS OF FLIGHT
Problems
Control flight
Up or down to find wind in ~ the right direction
Still problem for balloons
Problem lasts for almost 100 years
1783 to at least 1885
PROBLEMS OF FLIGHT
Dirigibles Shape Changes
Dirigibles are rigid and hold their shape…blimps are not
rigid and require gas to hold their shape
Jean-Baptiste Meusnier
French general; suggested shape of football, several
compartments and passenger car
Henri Giffard
Small steam engine w/ propeller on cigar shaped
balloon; 1852
Renard and Krebs
Electric motor; limited range because of weight and
battery life, 1884
PROBLEMS OF FLIGHT
Internal Combustion Engine
Paul Haenlein
German engineer, coal gas from balloon
More gas used, less available for lift
Non-rigid and Rigid
Alberto Santos-Dumont
15 small, blimps w/ gas engines, 1898
Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin
Improved for public use
Interested during American Civil War
Dr. Wolfert applied gasoline engine, 1896
Schwartz, Austrian engineer, constructed rigid airship,
1897
Zeppelin built/flew first rigid airships, 1900
PROBLEMS OF FLIGHT
Heavier-than-Air Flight
Internal Combustion Engine
Paul Haenlein
German engineer, coal gas from balloon
More gas used, less available for lift
Used ~ 250 cubic feet of gas per hour replaced by air
Dr. Karl Wolfert applied gasoline engine, 1896
PROBLEMS OF FLIGHT
Scientific Study
George Cayley (1857)
Built whirling-arm device to measure force on a
lifting surface
Built gliders
Proposed fixed wings for lift and a separate system
to give power
Proposed wings in front w/ tail and wings in shallow
“V” made it easier to keep wings level in flight
Identified “lift”, “drag”, “thrust”, and curved upper
surface on wings
PROBLEMS OF FLIGHT
Scientific Study
Hiram Maxim
Built huge airplane weighing 7,000 pounds
360 horsepower steam engine
Wing area more than 4,000 sq feet
2 rails, one to support it, other to keep it from rising
more than a couple of inches, “test vehicle”
Actually flew, but lost control and was damaged
Gave up experiments, claiming propulsion and lift
were solved problems
PROBLEMS OF FLIGHT
Unpowered Flight
John Montgomery
Invented new glider (1905) that could do sharp
dives and turns in 20 minute flight
Otto Lilienthal
Started gliding school in 1890s
Could soar, sometimes reaching heights greater
than his starting point
PROBLEMS OF FLIGHT
Powered Flight
William Henson and John Stringfellow
Designed airplane (1842); practical design, 150 ft
wingspan, 2 6-bladed propellers, powered by a 25horsepower engine
10 foot model (1848) w/ superb light weight steam
engine, may have flown 120 feet
PROBLEMS OF FLIGHT
Powered Flight
Dr. Samuel Pierpont Langley
First worked on models with rubber bands
Constructed (1857) whirling-arm device to measure air
pressure against moving surfaces
Built planes that flew (1896) 1/2 and 3/4 of mile, steam
In 1903, built airplane, but never got it launched,
unknown if it would have flown
PROGRESS IN FLIGHT
American Developments in Aviation
The United States was slow to realize the
military significance of aviation.
First official recognition was the creation of
the Aeronautical Division of the Signal Corps,
1907 (1 officer, 1 enlisted)
Then, Aviation Section of the Signal Corps,
July 1914 (60 officers, 260 enlisted)
The airplane, invented in 1903 by the Wright
Brothers, was destined to change established
procedures of war
PROGRESS IN FLIGHT
American Developments in Aviation
The Wright Brothers
Had access to the knowledge about flight
gained by others before them
However, this knowledge was often wrong
Lived at a time when first practical motor
(engine) had been developed
Possessed a combination of attitudes and
aptitudes
PROGRESS IN FLIGHT
American Developments in Aviation
The Wright Brothers’ First Powered Plane
Biplane with a wingspan of 40 feet, 4 inches
21 feet long and 8 feet high
605 pounds
Dec, 1903
Kitty Hawk, N.C.
PROGRESS IN FLIGHT
American Developments in Aviation
Glen Curtiss
Light, powerful gasoline
motorcycle engines
W/ Alexander Graham Bell
built several airplanes,
first ailerons and first
seaplane
PROGRESS IN FLIGHT
European Developments in Aviation
– Igor Sikorsky
Russian born
2 unsuccessful helicopter-like
machines, 1909-1910
1st successful 4-engine
airplane, 1913
Fully enclosed cockpit
Landing gear
Tandem pairs?
Separate
PROGRESS IN FLIGHT
Worldwide Developments in Aviation
By the end of 1911, aviation had grown and
spread
353 pilots in France
57 pilots in Britain
46 pilots in Germany
32 pilots in Italy
27 pilots in Belgium
The United States ranked sixth in the world
with only 26 pilots
PROBLEMS OF FLIGHT
Powered Flight
Charles Manly
5-cylinder, fixed-radial, water-cooled engine, 52
horsepower, 125 pounds
One of most efficient engines up to WWII