Aerospace Engineering History

Cheatsheet Content

### Introduction to Aerospace Engineering This cheatsheet covers the historical development of flight, from early human fascination with birds to the pioneering work of the Wright Brothers. **Instructor:** Dr. Harshit Shukla, Assistant Professor (SS) & Head: Center for Space Technology, School of Advanced Engineering, UPES, Dehradun. ### Early Developments * **Fascination & Imagination:** * Humans were inspired by birds and the desire to fly. * Mythological references: Daedalus and Icarus (Greek), Pushpak Viman (Indian), Odin (Nordic). * **Early Attempts:** * Ancient people attempted flight by vigorously flapping wings and jumping from high places, often with deadly consequences. * Fixing wings to arms proved impractical. * **Ornithopters:** Flapping wing mechanisms, often human-powered. * **Leonardo Da Vinci (15th Century):** * Designed multiple ornithopters. * Produced around 500 sketches related to flight. ### Hot Air Balloons & Hydrogen Balloons * **Montgolfier Brothers (Joseph and Etienne):** * Carried out public demonstrations without human passengers. * **First Manned Flight:** November 21, 1783, Paris. Pilatre de Rozier and Marquis d'Arlandes flew in a hot air balloon. * Travelled five miles, flight lasted 25 minutes. * Air was heated by fire burning in a bucket beneath the balloon. * **J.A.C. Charles:** * French Physicist who built and flew a hydrogen-filled balloon on December 1, 1783, in Paris. * Balloon flight remained the only means of flying for over 100 years. ### Sir George Cayley (1773 – 1857) (England) * **"Father of Aeronautics":** * First to conceptualize flight using fixed wings. * Laid the foundation for modern aircraft: paddles for propulsion, wings for lift, and vertical/horizontal tail for stability. * Inscribed these ideas on a silver disk. * **Aerodynamic Testing:** * Built a whirling arm apparatus in 1804 for airfoil testing, providing rough estimations of aerodynamic forces. * **Model Glider (1804):** * Designed, built, and flew a model glider (1m long). * Considered the first prototype of modern aircraft with wings and tails. * Published research on aircraft design, emphasizing inclined surfaces for lift and the superiority of curved wings over flat ones. * **Full-Scale Aircraft (1849):** * Built and tested a full-scale airplane. * Successfully lifted a 10-year-old boy in some tests. * Named "Boy Carrier," it was a triplane. * **Publications (1852):** * Published a paper in "Mechanics Magazine." * Provided a full description of a large human-carrying glider. * Included features that are now characteristic of modern airplanes. ### Other Major Developments (1843 – 1890) * **William Samuel Henson (1843):** * Published a design of a fixed-wing aircraft powered by a steam engine. * Design featured two propellers and a tricycle landing gear. * Named "Aerial Steam Carriage." * **John Stringfellow:** * Designed various steam engine-powered aircraft based on Henson's design, but they were unsuccessful. * **Felix Du Temple (France, 1857-58):** * Flew the first powered aircraft in history. * Monoplane with swept-forward wings. * In 1874, he piloted a full-scale aircraft. * Propulsion method unknown (possibly hot air). * Launched down an inclined plane, but flight was unsustained. * **Alexander F. Mozhaiski (Russia, 1884):** * Designed the second powered aircraft to fly. * Monoplane with steam engine propulsion. * Pilot: I.N. Golubev. * Launched down a ramp, flew for a few seconds. * **Criteria for Sustained Flight (Aviation Historians):** * A conventional aeroplane must sustain itself freely in a horizontal or rising flight path without loss of airspeed, beyond the influence of ground momentum. * Flight cannot be merely a "powered leap" or ballistic trajectory modified by thrust. * The machine must maintain satisfactory equilibrium. * Simple sustained flight does not require full controllability, but adequate equilibrium is essential for sustentation. ### Otto Lilienthal (1848 – 1896) (Germany) * **"The Glider Man":** * Pioneered a different approach to flight through actual flying experiments. * Believed systematic practice in the air was crucial for understanding wind irregularities and developing human flight. * **Glider Designs:** * Designed gliders in 1889 and 1890, both initially unsuccessful. * Published "Bird Flight as the Basis of Aviation" in 1889. * In 1891, he became the first human to jump into the air and fly with wings, achieving controlled and sustained flight. * Focused on wing structure and applying aerodynamic principles to mechanical flight. * **Legacy:** * His work provided critical data and inspiration for future aviators. * Died in 1896 due to a flight accident. ### Percy Pilcher (1867 – 1899) * **Glider Development:** * Initially worked under Lilienthal's guidance. * Built several gliders, including the "Hawk" in 1896. * **Attempt at Powered Flight (1897):** * Calculated engine requirements for the "Hawk": 4 HP, 40 lb (18 Kg) weight, 5 ft diameter propeller. * No such engine was available at the time. * Developed his own engine by mid-1899. * During a demonstration in England, the aircraft crashed due to the collapse of the tail assembly. * Pilcher died the next day from critical injuries. ### Octave Chanute (1832 – 1910) * **Aviation Data Collector:** * Collected and assimilated vast amounts of data and information on aerial vehicles. * Published "Progress in Flying Machine" in 1894. * **Collaboration with Wright Brothers:** * Shared ideas and information with the Wright brothers. * In 1896, developed a biplane glider using the Pratt truss method for structural rigging. ### Samuel Pierpont Langley (1834 – 1906) (US) * **Whirling Arm & Models:** * Developed a large whirling arm apparatus powered by a steam engine. * Built around 100 different rubber-band powered model airplanes. * **Steam-Powered Aircraft:** * Built his first steam-powered aircraft in 1892. * In 1896, one of his designs made a free flight of 3300 ft (approx. 1 km). * Another flight in 1896 reached approx. 1.2 km. * Featured tandem winged aircraft, driven by two propellers between the wings, powered by a 1 HP steam engine. * Named his aircraft "Aerodromes." * **Gasoline-Fueled Attempts (1903):** * Decided to use a gasoline-fueled engine. * His team designed a 3.2 HP gasoline fuel engine. * Successfully flew a quarter-scale model in August 1903. * **Full-Scale Test (October 7, 1903):** * Tested a full-scale aircraft piloted by Manly. * Mounted a tandem-winged aircraft on a catapult (assisted takeoff) placed on a houseboat. * The aircraft tumbled into the river, 16 feet below, immediately after launch. * **Second Attempt & Failure (December 8, 1903):** * Langley attributed the first failure to the launching mechanism. * The aircraft was relaunched. * The rear wing collapsed, and the Aerodrome flipped by 90 degrees. * The U.S. War Department stated, "We are still far from the ultimate goal." * The project cost about $50,000. ### The Wright Brothers (Wilbur and Orville Wright) * **Discovery of Wing Warping (1899):** * Observed that "Birds regain their lateral balance when partly overturned by a gust of wind, by a torsion of the tips of the wings." * This led to the concept of **wing warping** for lateral control in airplanes. * Their first aircraft (a biplane with a 5 ft wingspan) tested this concept. * Used four controlling strings from the ground to manipulate wing warping. * Wrote a letter discussing test results to Chanute. * **Kitty Hawk Gliders (1900-1901):** * **October 1900:** Flew a full-size biplane glider at Kitty Hawk (17 ft wingspan). * Featured a horizontal elevator in front of the wings. * Generally flown with a string from the ground. * **August 1901:** Second glider flown at Kill Devil Hill (manned flight, 22 ft wingspan). * **Aerospace Research & Wind Tunnel (1901-1902):** * Suspected existing aerodynamic data was inaccurate. * Undertook a major aerospace research program. * Built a **wind tunnel** in their bicycle shop. * Tested over 200 airfoil shapes. * Designed a force balance for accurate measurement of lift and drag. * Their research was detailed in "The papers of Wilbur and Orville Wright" (1953). * **Third Glider (1902):** * Based on their wind tunnel research, they built their third glider. * After successful tests, they stated: "Our table of air pressure which we made in our wind tunnel would enable us to calculate in advance the performance of a machine." * Flew on September 20, 1902, at Kill Devil Hills. * Biplane with a 32 ft 1 inch wingspan. * Added a rudder behind the wings after further modifications. * **"Wright Flyer-I" (1903):** * Utilized rudder with wing warping for smooth banked turns – the first aircraft with this feature. * Achieved around 1000 successful flights. * Set a record distance of 622.5 ft and time of 26 seconds for manned flight. * Realized propulsion was the next challenge for powered flight. * Designed their own 12 hp engine (approx. 90 kg weight) as no existing engine was suitable. * Aerodynamics tests led to the design of their own effective propeller. * Based on all previous data and experience, they designed the "Wright Flyer-I." * **Wright Flyer-I Details & First Attempt (December 14, 1903):** * Closely resembled the third glider. * Wing span: 40 ft 4 inches. * Double rudder behind the wings. * Double elevator in front of the wings. * Gasoline-fueled Wright engine (12 HP). * Two pusher propellers. * **First Test:** December 14, 1903. * Aircraft lifted off from the launching rail properly. * Suddenly went into a steep climb, stalled, and fell to the ground. * Wilbur admitted to overusing the elevator and turning the nose too high. * Caused minor damage to the aircraft. * **First Successful Flight (December 17, 1903):** * Test conducted again with Orville as the pilot. * This was the **world's first successful heavier-than-air, manned, sustainable flight.** * Three more flights were made the same day. * Last flight covered 852 ft and stayed in the air for 59 seconds. * **Wright Flyer-II (May 1904):** * Ready by May 1904. * Featured smaller wing camber and a more powerful engine. * Made approximately 80 flights, including the first circular flight. * Longest flight: 5 minutes and 4 seconds, covering 2.75 miles (approx. 4.5 km). * **Wright Flyer-III (1905):** * Featured reduced wing area, same camber as Flyer-I. * Larger elevator, farther in front of the wing. * Larger double rudder, farther behind the wing. * Improved propeller. * Achieved around 40 flights. * Highest time: 38 minutes 3 seconds. * Largest distance: 24 miles. * Remained airborne until fuel ran out. * Considered the first **"practical aircraft"** in history due to its strong structure, ability to maneuver, and ability to remain airborne for about half an hour. * **Wright Type-A (1908):** * Designed in 1908. * Similar to Wright Flyer-III. * Featured a 40 HP engine. * Could accommodate two people seated upright between the wings.