His "On Aerial Navigation" was one of the important early works on aviation. Cayley defined the principles of mechanical flight and stated that, to fly, it was necessary for surfaces to be able to support a weight by applying "power to the resistance of air." In other words, the force that moved an object in a forward direction had to be greater than the opposite force (resistance or drag) that the air exerted on an object. Cayley identified and defined the forces of flight and sketched out an airplane that had the primary elements of a modern aircraft. The first experimenter who a ctually analyzed the various forces that contributed to flight was the Englishman George Cayley at the end of the eighteenth century. In any case, many claimed to have flown but, not surprisingly, few had witnesses or could offer proof. In general, these were more successful than the flapping efforts, although the distances were still very short. Other experimenters tried gliding rather than flapping. Although a few were able to travel short distances, others died when they jumped off roofs or towers and they and their devices crashed to the ground. Some mounted winged devices that they manipulated in various ways and occasionally added foot-pedal power. Sometimes they attached wings to their arms and sometimes also their legs. Various individuals tried to imitate the motion of birds and built apparatus with flapping wings called ornithopters. Others in the next centuries took tentative steps toward flight. Self portrait of Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) He wrote and drew on key problems of aeronautics, including action and reaction the structure of wings, carrying surfaces, and landing gear and even devices for directional control. His writings included hundred of sketches that illustrated his observations of flight in nature and the inventions he designed. He wrote prolifically, and it was only because his written works were lost for centuries that his influence on other inventors was not greater than it was. Da Vinci discovered and analyzed several of the basic principles of aerodynamics and physics and designed machines (but, in most cases, did not fly them) that applied these principles. The ancient Chinese invented spinning toys that were the earliest helicopters and their designs may have influenced Leonardo da Vinci, one of the world's greatest inventors, artists, and visionaries.Ĭhinese records describe human attempts to sail through the air by attaching themselves to kites-one of the most significant inventions leading to flight which, with its inclined wing, evolved into the airfoil. Birds and fantastic winged creatures pulled boats and other vehicles through the air. Flying creatures that were half human and half beast appear in legends. Religions relate stories of chariots that fly through the air and winged angels that join humans in the heavens. Daedalus and Icarus flew through the air, and Icarus died when he flew too close to the sun. Greek and Roman mythology have examples of gods who were gifted with flight. Photo image reproduction Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadtįrom the earliest days, humans have dreamed of flying and have attempted to achieve it. Icarus was overtaken by pride in his ability to fly Daedalus was a legendary artist and craftsman who made wings out of wax so that he and his son Icarus might fly away from the island of Crete. This painting by Elias Greither (1616), displays the fall of Icarus, a Greek myth involving human flight.
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