Chapter 2 Wright Brothers 1896 1914 Section A

Chapter 2 Wright Brothers (1896 -1914) Section A – Heavier Than Air Section B – Wright Bros. Section C – Wright Patent Section D – Wright Airplanes

Section A Heavier Than Air Two technologies that influenced aviation were much older than their aeronautical application: the kite, and the windmill.

The Kite and The Windmill Kite Invented by the Chinese n Can be seen as a primitive airplane, or Wings n Windmill Invented by the Romans n Form that influenced aviation appeared in 12 th century Europe n Can be seen as a propeller, or “airscrew” n

Sir George Cayley Englishman who first conceived the modern airplane design, 1804. n His model glider had… n n A paper kite for wings An empennage, or tail assembly n n Rudder and Elevator A pole that connected all parts, a fuselage He shifted the Center of Gravity for control Cayley built gliders that was able to carry people

Henson and Stringfellow William Henson and John Stringfellow worked on several aviation projected together from 1835 to 1847. n Built and flew a model glider known as a monoplane. n Unique about with wings were that they were cambered, or curved.

Other Innovations n Felix du Temple French naval officer n Built a glider with powerplant consisting of a tractor propeller. n n n Tractor – prop on front, pulls aircraft Pusher – prop on back, pushes aircraft

Otto Lilienthal German Engineer who published an important book on bird flight. n Came up with the bat-wing design n Built glider where control was achieved by the pilot shifting his weight n Died in a glider crash, last words were… “Sacrifices must be made. ”

Octave Chanute Began building man-carrying gliders in 1896 n Improved Lilienthal’s design be scraping the “Bat-Wing”…thank God!! n Also used a Cayley-type tail unit. n Wrote a book on the history on Progress in Flying Machines

Nineteenth-Century Aeronautics Cayley, Henson, Stringfellow, Lilienthal, and Chanute were influential in the development of heavier-than-air aviation. Another was Alphonse Penaud n Planophore – rubber band power n Dihedral – upward angle of the wing

End of Section A

Section B Wright Brothers

Wright Bros. n n Lived in Dayton, Ohio Handcrafted bicycle makers Death of Lilienthal sparked Wilbur’s interest in aviation, later spread to Orville Constructed first biplane kite, August 1899 n Kite had aeronautical controls Fixed horizontal rear stabilizer n Wings could move back and forth to adjust CG n Cords allowed with wings to be warped for lateral stability, “Wing-Warping” n

The Problem of Mechanical Flight The Wrights recognized the whole problem of mechanical flight. Plane and pilot, stability and maneuverability n n Stability- tendency to return to equilibrium Maneuverability – ability to turn, climb, descend, roll, and yaw

The Problem of Mechanical Flight n n A Plane too stable is hard to maneuver Unmanned gliders need to be stable, but manned gliders need to be control n Many glider pilots had to be athletically fit As a result, the Wrights intended to built an unstable airplane so the pilot could control and maneuver the aircraft.

Gliders n Wrights’ first full-size glider built in 1900 Unstable, required a pilot to fly n “Wing Warping” n n n The winds in Dayton were too mild for the bros. The moved to Kitty Hawk, NC n Known for strong steady winds

Gliders While most problems faced by the bros. were fixed, they didn’t know about one. Adverse Yaw – Tendency for an aircraft to yaw in the opposite direction to a turn The solution was the rudder!!

Control n n The bros. made almost a thousand glides at Kitty Hawk They had “wing-warping for turns A Rudder for Adverse Yaw Now they added a Canard, French for Duck, for pitch They have solved the problem of control.

Engine The next issue was an engine. n Engine n n 200 lb, 4 cylinder, 12 -hp gasoline engine Water cooled n n n More reliable than air cooled The Bros. went with reliability over lightness Propellers n n Counter-rotating, to counter torque Driven by same engine

Airplane Flight n First flight scheduled on Dec 14, 1903 Wilbur climbed too steeply and crash n Airplane was repaired n n DECEMBER 17, 1903 Orville made the first manned, powered, controlled, sustained flight ever! n Three more flights followed n Flight ended on ground at or higher than starting point. n

End of Section A & B