can men fly or not

7/29/2019 CAN MEN FLY OR NOT

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As people started to look beforeleaping, several theories of flight were

propounded (e.g. Newton) andarguments were made on theimpossibility of flight late 1800's.

And it was regarded as an importantparadox that birds could so easily.


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It was not long ago that people could only dreamof being able to fly.

The dream was the subject of great myths and

stories such as that of Icarus and his fatherDaedalus and their escape from King Minos'prison on Crete.

Legend has it that they had difficulty withstructural materials rather than aerodynamics

Legends of people attempting flight arenumerous, and it appears that people have beenexperimenting with aerodynamics for thousandsof years.


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For many centuries, humans have tried to fly

just like the birds and have studied the flightof birds. Wings made of feathers or light

weight wood have been attached to arms totest their ability to fly. The results were oftendisastrous as the muscles of the human armsare not like a birds and cannot move with thestrength of a bird.


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The figure here is reproduced from the

1893 book, First International

Conference on Aerial Navigation.

The paper is called, "The Mechanics of

Flight and Aspiration," by A.M.

Wellington.

The figure shows the flight path of a

bird climbing without flapping itswings. Today we know that the bird is

circling in rising current of warm air

(a thermal).


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Leonardo da Vinci made the first realstudies of flight in the 1480's. He hadover 100 drawings that illustrated histheories on bird and mechanical flight.The drawings illustrated the wings andtails of birds, ideas for man carryingmachines, and devices for the testing ofwings.
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The brothers, Joseph Michel and JacquesEtienne Montgolfier, were inventors of the

first hot air balloon. They used thesmoke from a fire to blow hot air into a

silk bag. The silk bag was attached to abasket. The hot air then rose and

allowed the balloon to be lighter-than-air.

In 1783, the first passengers in thecolorful balloon were a sheep, rooster

and duck. It climbed to a height of about6,000 feet and traveled more than one

mile.
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Sir George Cayley is considered the father of aerodynamics.Cayley experimented with wing design, distinguished betweenlift and drag, formulated the concepts of vertical tail surfaces,steering rudders, rear elevators, and air screws. George Cayleyworked to discover a way that man could fly. Cayley designedmany different versions of gliders that used the movements ofthe body to control. A young boy, whose name is not known, was

the first to fly one of Cayley's gliders, the first glider capable ofcarrying a human.

For over 50 years, George Cayley made improvements to hisgliders. Cayley changed the shape of the wings so that the airwould flow over the wings correctly. Cayley designed a tail for

the gliders to help with the stability. He tried a biplane design toadd strength to the glider. George Cayley also recognized thatthere would be a need for machine power if the flight was to bein the air for a long time


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Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright were very deliberate in their quest forflight. First, they spent many years learning about all the earlydevelopments of flight. They completed detailed research of what otherearly inventors had done. They read all the literature that was publishedup to that time. Then, they began to test the early theories with balloonsand kites. They learned about how the wind would help with the flightand how it could affect the surfaces once up in the air.

The next step was to test the shapes of gliders much like George Cayleydid when he was testing the many different shapes that would fly. Theyspent much time testing and learning about how gliders could becontrolled.

The Wright Brothers designed and used a wind tunnel to test the shapesof the wings and the tails of the gliders. After they found a glider shape

that consistently would fly in the tests in the North Carolina Outer Banksdunes, then they turned their attention to how to create a propulsionsystem that would create the lift needed to fly.

The early engine that they used generated almost 12 horsepower.
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The "Flyer" lifted from level ground to thenorth of Big Kill Devil Hill, at 10:35 a.m., on

December 17, 1903. Orville piloted the planewhich weighed six hundred and five pounds.The first heavier-than-air flight traveled onehundred twenty feet in twelve seconds. The

two brothers took turns during the testflights. It was Orville's turn to test the plane,so he is the brother that is credited with thefirst flight.


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During 1902, the brothers flew numerous test

glides using their new glider. Their studiesshowed that a movable tail would help balancethe craft and the Wright Brothers connected amovable tail to the wing-warping wires to

coordinate turns. With successful glides to verifytheir wind tunnel tests, the inventors planned tobuild a powered aircraft.

After months of studying how propellers workthe Wright Brothers designed a motor and a new

aircraft sturdy enough to accommodate themotor's weight and vibrations. The craft weighed700 pounds and came to be known as the Flyer.


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The brothers built a movable track to help launchthe Flyer. This downhill track would help theaircraft gain enough airspeed to fly. After twoattempts to fly this machine, one of which

resulted in a minor crash, Orville Wright took theFlyer for a 12-second, sustained flight onDecember 17, 1903. This was the firstsuccessful, powered, piloted flight in history.

In 1904, the first flight lasting more than fiveminutes took place on November 9. The Flyer IIwas flown by Wilbur Wright.
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