The Birth of the The Birth of the AirplaneAirplane
Dr. Charles H. MarstonDr. Charles H. MarstonProfessor EmeritusProfessor Emeritus
Department of Mechanical EngineeringDepartment of Mechanical EngineeringVillanova UniversityVillanova University
The Wright BrothersDecember 17, 1903
• 3-Axis control
• Learn to fly
• System
Cayley’s Silver Disc1799
Lift and Propulsion Separated
Cayley’s Whirling Arm Lift ~ sin(alpha)
Cayley’s Model Glider 1804 Low aspect ratio fixed wing Adjustable tail
Henson’s Aerial
Steam Carriage
1843
London to India
30 Passengers
30 HP
Otto Lilienthal Tested Airfoils Hang gliding Inspired the Wrights
One of Lilienthal’s Gliders
Controlled by shifting weight
Fatal crashAug 1896
Octave Chanute
Civil Engineer Pratt Truss
The Race forTrue Powered Flight
Charles Manley
and
Samuel Langley
Drawing of Langley AerodromeDihedral for Lateral Stability
Balzer-Manley Engine52 HP/207 lbm
Wilbur Orville
The 1900 Glider Flown as a Kite Note the angle of the tie line (enhanced)
1/3 of Lift
1901Glider
Adverse yaw
Discouragement
Presentation to Engineer Society
Must find causes of reduced lift
Balance for measuring
CL
in the Wind Tunnel
’02 Wright Glider Flown as a Kite
’02 Glider in Flight
Vertical Rudder to correct adverse yaw
Wright Brothers’ Engine 12 HP/179 lbm
The Wright Brothers’ Propellers Designed as a series of airfoils Modern Copy tested at 80% efficiency
Crunch Time
Fall 1903
Langley was aware of the Wright Brothers
(and vice versa)
• Invited Wright’s to Washington
• No invitation to visit Kitty Hawk
• Chanute was a friend of both teams
Aerodrome Ready for First LaunchOctober 1903
Aerodrome First LaunchOct 1903
Aerodrome Second Launch
Dec 1903
Langley Doomed
• Scaleup design
• Wrong priorities
• “All up” public testing
• Remote management
• Overhead expenses
Kitty Hawk, NCNovember 28, 1903
Wilbur won the toss Over controlled Shaft failed
Side View of Flyer
First FlightDec 17,1903
Success
• Step-by-step “airman” R&D Progam
• Complete System
• Built on work of others
• Remarkable insights
• Gliders easy to repair
• Less than $1000 out of pocket
Plaque mounted near the Wright Flyer
. . . the world's first power driven, heavier-than-air machine in which man made free, controlled, and sustained flight . . .
By original scientific research the Wright brothers discovered the principles of human flight . . .
Bleriot Headed for EnglandJuly 1909
100 th Anniversary
The aerodrome flies, pilot: Curtiss
Aerodrome Restored
Now on display at the SmithsonianUdvar-Hazy Museum (Dulles Airport)
The World
Learns to Fly
Derrick Catapult
Lower air density in Dayton
’05 Flyer in Flight
Santos DuMont 14bis1906
Delagrange in Voisin-FarmanFirst flight in a closed circle in Europe May 1908
Curtiss’ June Bug, 1 Km Flight for Sci. Am. Prize
July 1908
1908 Back in the Air
• Test fly new airplanes at Kitty hawk
• Wilbur to France
• Orville to Washington, DC
Wilbur over
FranceAug 1908
Orville over Fort Meyer Sept. 1908
Army Contract
Hubert Latham in Antoinette Ready to Fly the Channel
Bleriot Headed for EnglandJuly 1909