The History of Flying Machines

 

Airplanes, helicopters, jets and air balloons, what do they all have in common? You guessed it! They are all flying machines. Flying machines have changed the way we transport things and has made the world more like global village.

Leonardo De Vinci (1452-1519)

Drawing of Leonardo's Human-Powered Ornithopter,  a wing-flapping device intended to fly, in 1485 

Let's begin with Leonardo De Vinci, the Italian "dreamer" of flying machines. He created multiple drawings of flying contraptions using his knowledge of how birds and bats flew (Gray, C. 2006). Although there is no evidence that he attempted to make any of his drawings, his drawings and ideas allowed man to become one step closer to flying.

Sir George Cayley (1773-1857)

 Sir George Cayley built contraptions himself and were successful in only a few short flights. Although, he his credited for stating that lift, propulsion and control were the three requisite elements to successful flights (Gray, C. 2006) .

Monoplane glider in 1848

In 1878, Charles F. Ritchel created the "Ritchel Flying Machine" that was hand- cranked and was capable of keeping a float for over an hour (Gray, C. 2006). It was the first flying machine that was demonstrated in public and was flown in Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Five of these machines were sold.

Break down of Ritchel Flying Machine

Ritchel Flying Machine Drawing

John J. Montgomery 1858-1911

1884 monoplane with curved wings

Top: 1885 monoplane with flat wings
1886 monoplane with adjustable wings

 

 John J. Montgomery began his own aerial experiments in 1883. His first monoplane glider was built in 1884 and had curved wings, it flew from Otay Mesa, San Diego to California  (Gray, C. 2006) . He built another monoplane in 1884-1885 and this time it had flat wings. 1886 was his turkey inspired plane in which it has adjustable wings to ensure balance in flight  (Gray, C. 2006) . It is believed that Montgomery recorded the circulation of water around his test surfaces therefore suggesting that he experienced "circulation theory of lift". 

Daniel J. Maloney

1896 Santa Clara Glider

 Daniel J. Maloney was a professional parachutist who was brave enough to test fly Montgomery's flying machines. He was able to maneuver the planes quickly but a fatal accident in July 1905 caused his death when he was flying the "Santa Clara, Montgomery's fourth glider that could carry humans and had a 24 ft wing span (Gray, C. 2006). The Santa Clara was built in 1896 and another was built in 1903 called the "California". 

The most well known pair for flight are the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilber. They obtained flight knowledge through research of other inventors and studying balloons and kites. Once they gathered enough information, they developed test gliders that could be controlled. They found the glider that would consistently fly during their tests but needed a way to produce enough power to lift it into the air therefore they created an engine that has 12 horse power.

The 12 horsepower engine

 The "Flyer", weighing 605 pounds, flew on December 17, 1903 at 10:35 am and it was Orville who was credited for the first flight (Shaw, R. n.d).

Flight of "Flyer"

Due to all the dreamers, researchers, inventors and creators, we are capable of having human flight in modern times. We now have a fast, efficient and relatively safe way to transport people, cargo and objects over long distances in a short amount of time 

   

Works Cited

1. Gray, C. (2006, December 19). FLYING MACHINES - John J. Montgomery. The FLYING MACHINES Web        Site. Retrieved March 24, 2012, from http://www.flyingmachines.org/mont.html 
2. Shaw, R. (n.d.). History of Flight. UEET Kid's Site. Retrieved March 24, 2012, from http://www.ueet.nasa.gov/StudentSite/historyofflight.html