The History of Flying- Part Three of Three

It is rare to live in an area where you don't see airplanes flying overhead, often to destinations unknown. We live in a remarkable age which makes it possible to get around the planet rather quickly. This final part of The History of Flying is all about human flying creations.

Part one: The Natural World of Flight

Part two: Mythical Flying Creatures

Kites

Most people think that kites were invented in China. Chinese records of kites date back as far as the fifth century BC.

In 1997, A German found a cave in Indonesia depicting a kaghati kite, which are still used by modern Muna people. The cave drawing was dated 9500-9000 BC, but as there are no records to confirm the revelation, the Chinese continue to claim first in kite. The first official kite is said to have been made of wood by Chinese philosopher Mosi. It took him three years to produce a working model.

After 1000 AD, kite-flying became popular with the masses in Asia. Some believed that by flying a kite, you could get rid of bad luck or illness.

Benjamin Franklin’s famous experiments with kites and electricity were performed in the mid-1700s. He described how to make a diamond kite with a large handkerchief and a cross of light cedar, so recreational kite flying became popular that century in the U.S.

The box kite came around in the 1800s. Since it is stronger for lifting scientific equipment, the diamond kite faded from scientific use.

In the 1900s, huge kite festivals started popping up. A giant Chinese dragon kite, 1000 feet long won an international festival in Italy.

At the start of WWI, kites lifted people for enemy observation and signaling, but with the invention of the airplane, these methods became obsolete.

During WWII, kites were flown for target practice, for training - to keep pilots from flying too low over targets - and for rescue. If a pilot had to bail in the ocean, he could fly a box kite, which would not only broadcast his location, but also function as the aerial for his radio transmitter.

In the 1970’s, stunt kite-flying blossomed. Peter Powell developed a diamond kite with a very long inflatable tail. Although the materials have been updated, his design is still in use.

Now, there are all manner of interesting kites available to enthusiasts.

Hot Air Balloons

The first hot air ballon was launched on September 19, 1783 by Pilatre De Rozier, a scientist. The passengers were a sheep, a duck and a rooster and the balloon stayed in the air for a grand total of 15 minutes before crashing back to the ground.

About 2 months later on November 21st, the first manned balloon went up with two French brothers, Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier. The balloon was launched in the center of Paris and flew for 20 minutes.

Just 2 years later in 1785 a French balloonist, Jean Pierre Blanchard, and his American co-pilot, John Jefferies, became the first to fly across the English Channel, which was considered the first step to long distance ballooning.

Unfortunately, this same year Pilatre de Rozier was killed in his attempt at crossing the channel when his balloon exploded half an hour after takeoff due to the experimental design of using a hydrogen balloon and hot air balloon tied together.

In 1987 Richard Branson and Per Lindstrand were the first to cross the Atlantic in a hot air balloon.

The great team of Richard Branson and Per Lindstrand paired up again in 1991 and became the first to cross the Pacific in a hot air balloon. They travelled 6,700 miles in 47 hours, from Japan to Canada breaking the world distance record, traveling at speeds of up to 245 mph.

Now, hot air balloon festivals and races take place around the world.

Dirigibles and Blimps

The difference between a dirigible and a blimp is that dirigibles (also called airships) have a frame structure, whereas if a blimp deflates, it will lose its shape.

The lighter-than-air craft with propulsion and steering systems was credited to the French engineer, Henri Giffard, who, in 1852, attached a small, steam-powered engine to a huge propeller and chugged through the air for seventeen miles at a top speed of five miles per hour.

In 1898, the Brazilian Alberto Santos-Dumont was the first to construct and fly a gasoline-powered airship.

Zeppelin was the name given to the duralumin-internal-framed dirigibles invented by the Germany military officer Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin. Zeppelin flew the world's first untethered rigid airship on July 2, 1900, near Lake Constance in Germany, carrying five passengers. The most famous Zeppelin was the Hindenburg, which famously burst into flame on May 6, 1937, causing 36 deaths.

Rockets date back as far as the mid-13th century in China. They were used for fireworks and then incendiary weapons. Now, they are additionally used for ejection seats, launch vehicles for artificial satellites, human spaceflight, and space exploration. Chemical rockets are now the most common type of rocket.

Airplanes

So, how do airplanes get off the ground? It all has to do with speed, lift, shape (airfoil), and angle – aided by ailerons, rudders, and elevators. If you’d like more detail, this video will demonstrate this more fully:

Early attempts to fly now seem comical to us. Here are some examples:

Even Orville and Wilbur Wright had mishaps before they came up with a working model. Of the two self-taught engineers, only Wilbur finished high school. Their work in Dayton, Ohio, starting as early as 1896, produced some failed attempts. The media made spectacles of their efforts, so they took their work to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, hoping that the sea breezes would assist with lift.

On December 17, 1903, “The Wright Flyer” flew four times. After the fourth flight, it was damaged by a gust of wind and never flew again. It remains on display at The Smithsonian. A piece of it was even taken to the moon by fellow Ohioan, Neil Armstrong. North Carolina claims to be “First in Flight,” while Ohio touts that it is the “Birthplace of Aviation.” The rivalry continues to this day.

In 1908, an airplane accident gave Orville injuries which affected him the rest of his life and killed an Army Corps Signal Lieutenant.

The Brazilian experimenter Alberto Santos-Dumont made the first public flight in Europe in 1906. Frenchman Henri Farman made his first flight the following year. On July 4, 1908, the American Glenn Hammond Curtiss won the Scientific American Trophy for a flight of 1 km. By 1909, new monoplane designs had taken to the air, built and flown by pioneer Frenchmen Robert Esnault-Pelterie and Louis Blériot, both of whom were involved in the development of the “stick-and-rudder” cockpit control system which beame adopted by other builders. Blériot flew across the English Channel in July 25, 1909.

During WWI, large sums of money were spent on research and development of planes for military purposes.

Following the war, two basic types of piston engines powered the typical fabric-covered biplanes of the era.

In May 1919 a U.S. Navy Curtiss NC-4 made it from Newfoundland to Portugal by way of the Azores Islands, then flew to Great Britain, compiling 54 hours 31 minutes in the air over its 23-day trip. The following month, former British Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots John Alcock and Arthur Brown made the first nonstop crossing of the Atlantic, flying for 16 hours 28 minutes, from Newfoundland to Ireland.

By 1924 the U.S. Army sent four planes to attempt the first aerial circumnavigation of the world. The single-engine Douglas planes headed toward Asia. One plane crashed in Alaska, forcing the two-man crew to hike out of a snowbound wilderness. Another went down between the Orkney and Faroe islands. The remaining pair of planes arrived back in Seattle after an odyssey of 23,377 miles that consumed 175 days.

Charles Lindberg, flying a single-engine Ryan monoplane, made his nonstop solo flight in 33 hours 30 minutes from New York to Paris in 1927.

In 1932 Amelia Earhart became the first woman to complete a solo transatlantic flight. Five years later, during a global attempt, she disappeared somewhere over the Pacific. Her plane was never found.

Aviator and industrialist Howard Hughes piloted a twin-engine Lockheed Model 14 (similar to Earhart’s Lockheed 5B Vega airplane) with a four-man crew, completing a global flight in 1938 in the record time of about 3 days 19 hours.

Public airplane rides became available almost as soon as airplanes were established. Europeans began exploring Africa from the sky. Americans established the first airmail to stimulate airplane production and generate a pool of trained pilots. By 1924, airmail was established coast to coast.

As flight design, innovation and technology improved, the U.S. postal department allowed for passenger flight, starting in the late 1920s.

The Boeing Company Model 247 airliner, which cruised at about 180 miles (290 km) per hour, entered service with United Airlines, Inc., in 1933. This 10-passenger aircraft exceeded any competition of the time.

As planes improved and became bigger, carrying more passengers, airports started springing up in major cities.

Now, there are at least 20 types of aircraft dominating the sky:

1. Turboprop

2. Piston Aircraft

3. Jets

4. Light Jets

5. Mid-sized Jets

6. Jumbo Jets

7. Regional Jets

8. Narrow-body Aircraft

9. Wide-body Airliners

10. Regional Airliners

11. Commuter Liners

12. Airbus

13. Concorde (Brittish/French supersonic plane)

14. Tupolev (Russian-made supersonic plane)

15. Military Aircraft

16. Fighter Jets

17. Water Bombers

18. Maritime Patrol

19. Multi-role Combat

20. Transport

Helicopters

This image outlines the history of the helicopter:

Helicopters have a rich military history, but they are also used for fire control, news reporting, sight-seeing tours, and recreation.

Are flying cars the future of travel? Here’s an interesting video that lends credence to that possibility:

It will be interesting to see if any new great flying creations are invented in the near future.

Whether you like to see birds or butterflies, airplanes or helicopters in the sky, or dragons, or ghosts on the movie screen, there will no doubt be plenty of flying things to look up for.

Online Resources

https://www.kiteflying.cc/the-history-of-kites/

https://balloonfiesta.com/Hot-Air-History

https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-airships-and-balloons-1991241

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket#:~:text=Rockets%20are%20now%20used%20for,of%20fuel%20with%20an%20oxidizer.

https://softschools.com/facts/scientists/the_wright_brothers_facts/781/

https://www.britannica.com/technology/history-of-flight/The-generation-and-application-of-power-the-problem-of-propulsion

https://www.britannica.com/technology/helicopter