History of the Biplane

History of the Biplane A short history of the Biplane Biplanes were the first airplanes to fly, the Wright Flyer was a biplane called a Canard. The double wings have the advantage of providing more lift than a single wing airplane. The wings were held apart by struts and cables were used to pull the two wings tight to the struts. But the two wings and all those cables also increased drag which tended to limit the speed and manuverability of this type of craft. The biplane was used extensively during World War 1. Larger three and four wing craft were built mostly to be used as bombers. But the developement of better wing structures caused single wing aircraft to become the dominant type of airplane in the 1930's. The first type of biplanes were called "pusher biplanes" because the motor was mounted behind the wing and the prop pushed the airplane along. The original Wright Flyer was such a craft. Just before World War I "tractor biplanes", or planes in which the motor was mounted at the front of the craft were developed. These biplanes engaged in the first aerial dogfights in aviation warfare and produced the first legendary pilots. Now the biplane is seen mostly at airshows, though it still sees service as crop dusters and recreational aircraft. The sight of one of these historic airplanes in the sky is always a welcome sight. History of Flight and Avaition

History of Transportation - A Brief History Of Flight And The Airplane - Part Two

History of Transportation - A Brief History Of Flight And The Airplane - Part Two

In the Nineteenth Century the embryonic science of aviation was a hotbed of activity and the history of flight had some new stories written. Much of the new engine technology which had been developed was applied to try to achieve flight. Compressed air, rubber bands,muscle power, and steam all were tested in aircraft propulsion. All these systems worked, but none were suitable to power a manned craft in sustained, controllable flight.

About four hundred years after Leonardo Da Vinci designed his ornithopter, a gentleman named George Cayley developed some theories of his own about flight. He lived in the period immediately preceding the era when flight was achieved (1773 - 1857). He proved his theories with kites and gliders, earnig the title of ‘the father of aviation’. He designed the helicopter, and most later achievements in flight were based on his work.



Various motions were also tried including flapping wings, paddles, and flappers. None of these motion devices worked with any degree of success.

A few inventive men were willing to try new things. John Stringfellow, in 1848, launched a steam powered machine from a wire. It didn’t fly, but did demonstrate lift and proved that with the proper design and materials a flying craft could be built and was an important developement in the history of flight.

An astronomer named Samuel Pierpont Langley was a bit more successful. Most of his experiments were conducted in and around the year 1896. His steam powered models had a wing span of about 15 feet and flew successfully. These were unmanned models which descended gracefully when the steam engine’s fuel was exhausted.


Also contributing greatly to the final effort were the flights of Otto Lilienthal in Germany. He flew gliders for several years, but was killed in a crash. The Wright brothers studied his progress and he was an important figure in the history of flight.

By the beginning of the twentieth century most of the groundwork had been laid for the achievement of powered, controllable flight. The design work for the first craft was largely worked out and the materials tested. Many propulsion systems had been tried, to no avail. Steam engines were too heavy, and the fuel too inconvenient. Gliders were valuable tools for testing theories, but were too inconsistent, relying on winds which might fail. The improving technology of the gas engine provided the final impetus to the goal. The engine was light and powerful and the fuel was portable.

The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur finally worked out the remaining problems on the sands of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on December 17, 1903. Their achievement was another turning point in human history. Transportation became faster and easier. People could travel long distances over land and water in a single craft. The airplane freed people from land based transportation.

Many pioneers in aviation came after the Wrights. Charles Lindburg and Amelia Earhart are the best known heros in a long list of people who left their mark on the history of flight and transportation in our world.

History of Flight and Avaition

Model Airplanes and The History Of Flight - Aviation History In A Nutshell

Model Airplanes and The History Of Flight - Aviation History In A Nutshell

The ability to fly like a bird is an ancient aspiration of mankind. There are many legendary accounts of men flying, the most famous of which is the Greek legend of Daedalus and Icarus, his son. Daedalus was a famous architect and sculptor, working for King Minos of Crete. He displeased the king, so the king imprisoned Daedalus and his son. Wanting freedom, Daedalus fashioned wings out of wax and feathers. These he put on himself and Icarus so they could fly to freedom. He cautioned Icarus not to fly too close to the sun, but once they were in the air Icarus became enraptured by the flight and flew higher and higher until the sun was close. Too close, because the wax began to melt and the feathers fell out of the wings. Icarus fell to his death in the sea, becoming the first aircraft casualty!

Icarus' fate illustrates the dangers the early aviators faced. Many gave the ultimate sacrifice in giving mankind the gift of flight. The history of aviation is a long story with many chapters. This short account will only attempt the highlights of the history of flight.

Kites were the first aircraft in aviation history, and were flown by the ancient Egyptians and other cultures. The Mysteries Of Nature And Art by John Bates, first published in 1634, includes a woodcut of a man flying a diamond kite.

The first person to take a scientific approach to human flight was Leonardo Da Vinci. His designs included three types of aircraft - the ornithopter, helicopter, and glider. His designs required human power to fly, and thus were impractical. but remember, he was working well before the steam or internal combustion engine. Human powered craft in recent years have been built and flown.

By the 1800's the model builders finally entered the story of aviation history. Modeling has, and still plays, an indispensable role in aircraft development. An early modeler, John Stringfellow, built a steam powered model aircraft in 1848. Although it did not fly, it did demonstrate lift and proved the viability of the concept and was an important first step in the history of the airplane. Steam engines also powered the first models built by aviation pioneer Samuel Pierpont Langley. Two of these flew 3000 and 4200 feet respectively. Langely built full size craft in early 1903 utilizing gas engines. These failed their test flights, however, and powered human flight was still unachieved.

Many other power sources were used for model airplanes in the late 1800's. Rubber bands, compressed air, compressed air motors, comprise some of the more successful flying models in aviation history. Although none of these modelers succeeded in achieving powered, sustained, controlled human flight, they were contributing to the vast amount of knowledge being accumulated.



Glider pilots were also making progress. The most successful and famous - Otto Lilienthal of Germany - experimented extensively with kites and gliders. He met Icarus' fate in 1896 when he lost control of his glider and crashed.

Model aircraft, gliders, and kites all played an indispensable role in the development of practical aircraft that could sustain powered, controllable, human flight. This was finally achieved, of course, by Orville and Wilbur Wright on the sands of Kitty Hawk on December 17. 1903. The Wright brothers designed their craft using the best technology of the time, their own considerable ingenuity, and the accumulated knowledge of those who came before.


History of Flight and Avaition

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A Brief History Of Flight And The Airplane - Part One

A Brief History Of Flight And The Airplane - Part One

Lighter than air craft first gave humans the ability to fly. Balloons and airships were the first chapters in the story of the history of flight which have seen mankind reach for the stars. These craft were magical in their ability to float through the air, but they had many drawbacks. Balloons only went where the wind blew them, and were limited to good weather. Dirigibles were controllable, but were saddled with inappropriate engines in their beginning stages and also were vulnerable to storms. They were also very slow.

The dream of controllable, powered flight was an ancient aspiration which had occupied some of the philosophers thoughts early in our history. Many believed that flight could be achieved by imitating the wing movements of birds, but human body is too weak and heavy to achieve flight this way. Recent years muscle powered flight has been achieved using a bicycle-like apparatus. Only athletes in top condition can fly these machines.

The first aircraft built were kites, which apparently made their appearance sometime in the fifth century. They were flown chiefly for amusement, but were also used by early scientists studying the possibilities of flight. An English monk, and scientist, Roger Bacon was the first person in history that we know of who seriously studied the concept of flight. He lived from 1214 - 1294, and was one of the western world’s first real scientists. His studies convinced him that if a craft were properly constructed, air would support it in the same manner in which water supports a boat.

We had to wait three hundred years before the next notable advancements came in the history of flight. Leonardo Da Vinci never flew, but he thought about it a lot. He designed three different types of flying machine - the helicopter, glider, and ornithopter. The ornithopter was designed with wings which were supposed to flap like a bird’s. These craft were never built, and wouldn’t have flown anyway, as they were designed to use the human body as a power source. Da Vinci lived about four hundred years before the steam or internal combustion engine was developed and muscle power was the only power source he knew.

As we’ve seen earlier in this series, advances in engine technology proved revolutionary the history of transportation and flight. The invention of the internal combustion engine in the nineteenth century virtually created the aircraft revolution. The light, powerful engines were ideal for aircraft. Although steam engines were used by some early aviators, they were too heavy and cumbersome for airplanes.

History of Flight and Avaition

History Of Transportation - A Brief History Of The Hot Air Balloon

History Of Transportation - A Brief History Of The Hot Air Balloon

The ability to fly like a bird is an ancient aspiration for mankind. There are many legendary accounts of men flying, the most famous of which is the Greek legend of Daedalus and Icarus, his son. Daedalus was a famous architect and sculptor, working for King Minos of Crete. He displeased the king, and the king imprisoned Daedalus and his son. They wanted freedom, so Daedalus fashioned wings out of wax and feathers. These he put on himself and Icarus so they could fly to freedom. He cautioned Icarus not to fly too close to the sun, but once they were in the air Icarus became enraptured by the flight and flew higher and higher until the sun was close. Too close, because the wax began to melt and the feathers fell out of the wings. Icarus fell to his death in the sea, becoming the first aircraft casualty!

Historical records indicate no one else even came this close to flying until the eighteenth century. Hot air balloons were the first aircraft in history to take men into the air. Balloons are ‘lighter than air’ craft, so called because the bag of the balloon contains hot air, helium, or hydrogen. These substances are lighter than air, and when held captive in the balloon they cause the balloon to rise off the ground. Lighter than air craft include balloons, blimps, and dirigibles.

Hot air balloons are fabric filled bags which have a basket or similar passenger or cargo vessel suspended below them. They have no capacity for directional control, merely drifting with the wind. Dirigibles have a fabric covered frame which gives the craft its shape. A gondola is mounted on the bottom of the frame which houses passengers and a motor and prop. The dirigible has directional control, and more altitude control than a balloon. A blimp has no framework to give the airbag it’s shape. The shape is maintained by the pressure of the gas inside. Directional control and passenger gondola the same as for a dirigible. Hydrogen and hot air were the principal lifting gases for the early balloons. Helium wasn’t available in large quantities until the 1900’s, but saw limited use by early balloonists. Hydrogen is more buoyant than helium, but is more volatile, so it isn’t used much, anymore. Early hot air balloonists burned wool and straw to keep the balloons aloft. Modern balloonists use propane gas burners to fly. Hydrogen was commonly used, but was it dangerous because of its flammability. It is no longer much used because of it’s extreme volatility.

Flying a hot air balloon is simple, in theory. To gain altitude in a helium balloon, you jettison ballast, usually sand bags. In a hot air balloon you turn up the gas heaters feeding exhaust into the balloon. To lose altitude in a helium balloon, you vent gas. In a hot air balloon you turn down the propane burners. Vagaries in wind currents, air density, presence of thermals, and man made or natural barriers such as trees and power lines complicate balloon aviation.

History of Flight and Avaition

History Of The Hot Air Balloon And Dirigible Airship

Lighter than air craft such as balloons and airships are colorful and delightful vessels. Who among us hasn’t looked upon a flying balloon or blimp with delight and wonder as the craft soared overhead with the wind at it’s back. Simple in principal, balloon flight wasn’t successfully attained until the eighteenth century.

A Brazilian priest and inventor named Bartolomeu Lourenço de Gusmão was one of the earliest pioneers of balloon aviation history. He conducted experiments in 1709 with hot air balloons.

The first aircraft passengers in the world were animals. French brothers Joseph and Étienne Montgolfier sent an unmanned hot air balloon aloft on June 4, 1783, and followed this experiment on September 19 by launching a balloon with a sheep, rooster, and a duck on board. This flight covered 1.5 miles. Try to get on your average airliner today with a sheep, rooster, and a duck and see what the flight attendant does.

François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent made the first manned balloon flight in history on November 21, 1783. A couple of tethered flights had taken place earlier and this flight was un-tethered. It covered 5.5 miles and took 23 minutes. The balloonists burned straw and wool to replenish the hot air in the balloon, which was made of linen. In December of the same year J.-A.-C.Charles, and Nicolas-Louis Robert made the first flight in in history in a helium balloon.

Military applications for the balloon were perceived by Napoleon Bonaparte. He used tethered balloons for observation posts in some of his battles. They were also used for this purpose by both sides in the American Civil War in the United States. There was limited use for this purpose as late as W.W.I.

Airships made their debut in 1852 when Frenchman Henry Giffard flew his cigar shaped craft over Paris. The ship could fly up to six miles per hour and was powered by a steam engine turning a prop.

Dirigibles saw some use in commercial passenger transport, but their susceptibility to bad weather and their extreme slowness limited use. The steam engine in use at the time of the airships birth were too heavy to be of real sound use. By the time engines were developed which were practical for them, these same engines saw service in the airplanes which made dirigibles obsolete.

Their military use was limited because of their vulnerability to airplane attack, but the Germans did use them to bomb Paris and London during the First World War. The Allies used dirigibles mainly for submarine patrol.

German Count Ferdinand von Zeppilin developed an airship which served as a prototype for airship design for many years. They were used for commercial passenger service from about 1910 until 1937. Both overland and trans-oceanic flights were made. The susceptibility of airships to storms and the development of better aircraft doomed the airship to extinction. The German Hindenburg was the biggest and last of the great airships. It was filled with hydrogen gas, and crashed and burned near Lakehurst, New Jersey on May 6, 1937 after making 10 trans-Atlantic runs.

Balloons, dirigibles and airships are all part of the long story of the history of transportation in human existance. They all made their contributions to the science of aviation and the furtherance of knowledge.

History of Flight and Avaition

History of Flight and Avaition

History of Flight and Aviation

History Of the Kite
Kites were developed by 500 BC, and possibly earlier, so people have been flying kites for at least 2500 years. The kite has been very important in the history of flight. Western tradition gives credit to a Greek scientist named Archytas of Tarentum as the inventor of the first kite in aviation history in the fifth century BC.

Aviation History - The Hot Air Balloon
Balloons were the first aircraft in history to take men into the air. Balloons are ‘lighter than air’ craft, so called because the bag of the balloon contains hot air, helium, or hydrogen. Aviation History - Dirigible Airship Lighter than air craft such as balloons and airships are colorful and delightful vessels. Who among us hasn’t looked upon a flying balloon or blimp with delight and wonder as the craft soared overhead with the wind at it’s back.

Aviation and Flight History
The ability to fly like a bird is an ancient aspiration of mankind. The history of aviation is a long story with many chapters.

A Brief History Of Flight - And The Airplane Part One
Lighter than air craft first gave humans the ability to fly. Balloons and airships were the first chapters in the story of the history of flight which have seen mankind reach for the stars.

A Brief History Of Flight - And The Airplane Part Two
In the Nineteenth Century the embryonic science of aviation was a hotbed of activity and the history of flight had some new stories written.

History of the Wright Flyer
The story of the first heavier than air aircraft, "Flyer 1", as dubbed by its inventors Orville and Wilbur Wright, is a fascinating saga in the annals of aviation.

History of the Biplane
Biplanes were the first airplanes to fly, the Wright Flyer was a biplane called a Canard.

Who Invented the Kite?

Kites - A History - Evolution

A Short History Of The Wright Flyer Airplane

History of Kites - China

History of Kites – Malaysia

History of Kites - Torpedoes

Kite History - World War 2 Kite History - The Telegraph

History of Kites - World War I Ben Franklin And His Kite

History of Kites - Carriages

History of the Kite - Sir George Cayley

History of the Kite - Niagara Gorge Kite Contest

History of the Kite - The Wright Brothers

History of Kites – Thailand

History of Kites - Japan

Kites In Chinese History

When Were Kites Invented?

History Of Kites - Meteorology

History Of Transportation - A Brief History Of The Hot Air Balloon

History Of The Hot Air Balloon And Dirigible Airship

Model Airplanes and The History Of Flight - Aviation History In A Nutshell

A Brief History Of Flight And The Airplane - Part One

History of Transportation - A Brief History Of Flight And The Airplane - Part Two

History of the Biplane © 2012 Hobby Hobnob

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History of Kites - China

Kites were used by the Chinese early in their history to gain military advantages over their enemies. Han Hsin of the Han Dynasty used a kite to help him capture a city. The kite was flown over the city and allowed to go over the city's walls. The line was marked and the kite hauled in. Next, a tunnel was dug, using the kite's line as a guide to the length the tunnel needed to be to enter the city under the wall. His troops thus were able to surprise the enemy from within the city and it fell.

Kites were also used militarily in other ways. Observers were lifted up into the air to spy on enemy troop positions. Some were used to lift fireworks into the air to confuse and terrify enemy troops in battle. Different shapes of kites were flown to send certain types of messages to troops during battle, and some were flown after being set on fire to deliver other types of messages. The history of kites used in battle is a long and storied one.

Back To All About Kites History of Flight and Avaition

Who Invented the Kite?

Two Chinese philosophers, Mozi and Lu Pan, are the legendary inventors of the kite.

Lu Ban, according to tradition, built a wooden bird model which had the ability to stay aloft for up to three days. He lived during the fifth century BC, and this is the period during which kites were thought to be invented. His real name was Gongshu Ban, he was born in the Chinese state of Lu. In addition to being a master carpenter he was also a philosopher, military thinker, and statesman. Lu Ban was a contemporary of Mozi.

Mozi was a trained engineer and master craftsman who designed and built everything from mechanical birds to weapons of war. Later in his life he became a pacifist who went to great lenths to discourage Chinese rulers from warfare.

These two Chinese craftsmen are the lengendary inventors of the kite. There are records of kites being flown in 559 BC in China, so this could be true.

Back To All About Kites History of Flight and Avaition

© 2012 Hobby Hobnob

History of the Wright Flyer

A Short History Of The Wright Flyer Airplane

The story of the first heavier than air aircraft, "Flyer 1", as dubbed by its inventors Orville and Wilbur Wright, is a fascinating saga.

Orville and Wilbur Wright were successful businessmen, printers by trade, in Dayton, Ohio. There they published the West Side News, which was edited by Wilbur. They followed this success by opening a bicycle shop in 1992. In this shop they began selling bicycles made by tools which they had invented.

The Wrights had been fascinated with the idea of flight since they were boys. The studied the progress of Otto Lienthal and others working on the science of avation at the time. And the bicycle shop provided them with a place to design and build gliders, which they began testing at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1900. The location was a place called Kill Devil Hill, the first test flight coming in September of that year. Kitty Hawk was chosen because of the winds off the ocean.

They continued constructin g gliders for the next two years, the final tests coming in 1902. The design of the glider flown that year was the direct ancestor of the Wright Flyer airplane to be successfully flown the next year.

By 1903 Flyer I was ready and so were the Wright brothers. The Wright Flyer was of a design called a Canard. The pilot flew the airplane lying on his belly on the bottom wing, his head facing forward. The plane was steered by a cradle attached to the pilots hips. The cradle was attached to cables which warped the wings, steering the plane. On the first flights on December 17, 1903, no steering was attempted. The Wright Flyer only flew in straight lines that day. The Flyer weighed 750 pounds and used a twelve horsepower engine built specially for the airplane by Charlie Taylor, an employee. Mr Taylor built the engine in six weeks from scratch, working without a drawing.

The Wright Flyers first airplane flight was made by Orville. They had tossed a coin, won by Wilbur, three days earlier, had resulted in a crash which took three days to repair. So on December 17, the Wright Flyer stood on its 2 X 4 track, nicknamed the "Junction Railroad" by the Wrights, and after Orville spun the propellor and started the motor, Wilbur took off for the very first powered aircraft flight, which lasted twelve seconds and went 120 feet. The propellor, by the way, was also a Wright brother design.

There were three more flights that day, one of which had two very bumpy landings when the airplane bounced off the ground and finally settled. The last flight the Wright Flyer's the front elevator' supports were damaged.

The Wrights crated the Flyer up after the test flights that year and placed it in storage. It was damaged in a flood, and repaired by Orville in 1916 and placed on display. The airplane is still on public display, having been restored in 1985 to repair damage sustained by years of exposure.
© 2012 Hobby Hobnob

History of Flight and Avaition