INTRODUCTION TO
AEROSPACE ENGINEERING
Early Flight to World War I
Overview
• Early Uses of Lighter-than-Air Flying Machines.
• Heavier-than-Air Flying Machines.
– The US Army’s Reaction to the Wright Brothers’
Invention.
– The Army’s Requirements for the First Military Aircraft.
• Early Uses of Airpower.
Early Years of Flight Introduction
• Man first flew aloft in a balloon in 1783.
• Airpower did not have an immediate
Impact.
• Flying machines were not readily accepted by land oriented officers.
• Airpower’s first major impact was not until World War I.
Balloons
• Mongolier Brothers flew first hot-air balloon in 1783.
,• Ben Franklin saw first balloon flight and immediately saw the military
potential.
• First used for military purposes by the French in 1794 at Maubege.
• Union and Confederate forces employed balloons during the American Civil
War.
Balloons (Cont)
• Adolphus V. Greely, the grandfather of military aviation in US, revived
interest in military capability of balloons in 1891– 1892 -- Greely balloon used
to direct artillery fire during the Battle of San Juan Hill.
• Interest in balloons dropped quickly with the development of heavier-than air
vehicles.
Dirigibles
• Steerable balloons – often called“Airships”.
• 1884 -- first successful flight in a dirigible.
• Ferdinand Von Zeppelin -- person most readily identified with dirigibles.
– Zeppelins first flown in 1900
– Germans used to bomb England in WW 1
– Germans used to fly observation cover for their surface fleet in WW 1
• Vulnerable to winds and ground fire.
The Early Years of Flight
• Uses of Balloons and Dirigibles
– Reconnaissance
– Artillery spotting
, – Bombing (extremely limited prior to WW I) – Morale Booster/Mail/Escape
Means
– Air transport of supplies
Early Pioneers of Flight
• Otto Lilienthal -- studied gliders and first to explain the superiority of curved
surfaces.
• Percy Pilcher -- built airplane chassis.
• Octave Chanute -- Developed a double winged-
glider/wrote history of flight to1900.
• Samuel P. Langley -- First to secure government support to develop an
airplane.
– Failed twice to fly from houseboat in 1903 – Congress withdrew monetary
support.
Orville and Wilbur Wright
• First to fly a heavier-than-air, power-driven machine -- 17 December 1903.
– Flight traveled 120 feet and lasted 12 seconds
• Approached flying scientifically and
Systematically.
• Used experience of Lilienthal, Pilcher and Chanute.
• Built a glider in Dayton in 1899.
– Moved to Kitty Hawk, N. Carolina in 1900
Reactions to the Wright’s Invention
AEROSPACE ENGINEERING
Early Flight to World War I
Overview
• Early Uses of Lighter-than-Air Flying Machines.
• Heavier-than-Air Flying Machines.
– The US Army’s Reaction to the Wright Brothers’
Invention.
– The Army’s Requirements for the First Military Aircraft.
• Early Uses of Airpower.
Early Years of Flight Introduction
• Man first flew aloft in a balloon in 1783.
• Airpower did not have an immediate
Impact.
• Flying machines were not readily accepted by land oriented officers.
• Airpower’s first major impact was not until World War I.
Balloons
• Mongolier Brothers flew first hot-air balloon in 1783.
,• Ben Franklin saw first balloon flight and immediately saw the military
potential.
• First used for military purposes by the French in 1794 at Maubege.
• Union and Confederate forces employed balloons during the American Civil
War.
Balloons (Cont)
• Adolphus V. Greely, the grandfather of military aviation in US, revived
interest in military capability of balloons in 1891– 1892 -- Greely balloon used
to direct artillery fire during the Battle of San Juan Hill.
• Interest in balloons dropped quickly with the development of heavier-than air
vehicles.
Dirigibles
• Steerable balloons – often called“Airships”.
• 1884 -- first successful flight in a dirigible.
• Ferdinand Von Zeppelin -- person most readily identified with dirigibles.
– Zeppelins first flown in 1900
– Germans used to bomb England in WW 1
– Germans used to fly observation cover for their surface fleet in WW 1
• Vulnerable to winds and ground fire.
The Early Years of Flight
• Uses of Balloons and Dirigibles
– Reconnaissance
– Artillery spotting
, – Bombing (extremely limited prior to WW I) – Morale Booster/Mail/Escape
Means
– Air transport of supplies
Early Pioneers of Flight
• Otto Lilienthal -- studied gliders and first to explain the superiority of curved
surfaces.
• Percy Pilcher -- built airplane chassis.
• Octave Chanute -- Developed a double winged-
glider/wrote history of flight to1900.
• Samuel P. Langley -- First to secure government support to develop an
airplane.
– Failed twice to fly from houseboat in 1903 – Congress withdrew monetary
support.
Orville and Wilbur Wright
• First to fly a heavier-than-air, power-driven machine -- 17 December 1903.
– Flight traveled 120 feet and lasted 12 seconds
• Approached flying scientifically and
Systematically.
• Used experience of Lilienthal, Pilcher and Chanute.
• Built a glider in Dayton in 1899.
– Moved to Kitty Hawk, N. Carolina in 1900
Reactions to the Wright’s Invention
