The document provides a history of human flight from ancient myths of Icarus in 1200 BC to modern times. It discusses early pioneers like Sir George Cayley in the 18th century and Otto Lilienthal in the late 19th century who conducted early glider flights. The Wright Brothers are credited with achieving the first sustained powered flight in 1903 in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The document then covers different types of gliders and soaring techniques used in gliding such as ridge soaring and thermal soaring.

1. FREE FLIGHT A SELECTED HISTORY

2. 1200 BC 2009 AD 0 1799 Ancient Greece circa 1200 BC myth of Icarus’ escape from Crete ...ends in tragedy

3. Sir George Cayley 1773-1857 “ The Father of Aerodynamics” section A section A: brook trout in fluid

4. 1853: Brompton Dale, UK “ Governable Parachute” makes first manned heavier-than-air flight. design and construction: Sir George Cayley pilot: Unknown 10 year old boy

5. Otto von Lilienthal 1848-1896 “ Glider King” “ Newspapers and magazines in many countries published photographs of Lilienthal gliding, favorably influencing public and scientific opinion about the possibility of flying machines becoming practical reality after ages of idle fantasy and unscientific tinkering.”

8. wind speed: 10 m/s (22.5 mph) 17 m (56 ft)

9. Otto von Lilienthal died: August 10, 1896 “ Small sacrifices must be made!”

10. The Wright Brothers Orville Wright 1871-1948 Wilbur Wright 1867-1912 General Credit: First sustained powered flight

11. dayton, ohio kitty hawk, north carolina In 1900 the brothers journeyed to Kitty Hawk , North Caro lina to begin their manned gliding experiments.

12. the flying problem propulsion lift control

13. the flying problem propulsion lift control

14. 1900 Glider: They tested wing-warping using control ropes from the ground. The glider was also tested unmanned while suspended from a small homemade tower. Although the glider's lift was less than expected (causing most tests to be unmanned), the brothers were encouraged because the craft's front elevator worked well and they had no accidents. However, the small number of free glides meant they were not able to give wing-warping a true test.

15. 1901 Glider: Hoping to improve lift, they built the 1901 glider with a much larger wing area and made 50 to 100 flights in July and August for distances of 20 to 400 ft (6 to 122 m). The glider stalled a few times, but the parachute effect of the forward elevator allowed Wilbur to make a safe flat or "pancake" landing, instead of a nose-dive.

16. 2 years later...

17. 5 years after that... HOLY S#@%!!!! this rules!

18. ...and, only a few short years later ...the excitement is gone.

19. Unpowered vs. Powered Flight

22. “ The amount of judgement required to fly an aircraft is inversely proportional to its gross weight.” -Richard Bach

23. the challenge of gliding

24. four “glider” categories rigid wing flex wing RAM-air canopy body

25. Glider Performance: 1) Lift/Drag (AKA glide ratio) 2) Airspeed Range

27. rigid wing glider (AKA sailplane) aero-towed, or launched with motor max L/D: 85:1 maximum speed: 280 km/h (170 mph) stall speed: 65 km/h (40 mph) Able to fly in windier turbulent conditions and can outrun bad weather. Exceptional penetration into the wind. Semi- or fully aerobatic.

28. flex wing glider (AKA non-rigid hang glider) foot launched (an be aero-towed, or launched with motor) max L/D: 17:1 maximum speed: 145 km/h (90+ mph) generally flexible but supported on a rigid frame which determines its shape and thus does not collapse in turbulence, but note that rigid wing hang gliders also exist.

29. RAM-air canopy (AKA paraglider) foot launched (an be winch-towed, or launched with motor) max L/D: 12:1 maximum speed: 90 km/h (55 mph) stall speed: 18 km/h (11 mph) relatively poor glide performance makes long-distances more difficult. Tighter turn radius allows circling in strongest part of thermals.

30. body (aided by tracking or wing suit) launched from other aircraft or fixed object (BASE) max L/D: 2.5:1 maximum speed: 180 km/h (110 mph) stall speed: N/A very poor glide but very high speeds. significant improvement related to normal body tracking in freefall. must be landed with a parachute.

31. Lift

32. ridge soaring overcoming L/D using lift from wind hitting a ridge paragliders, hanggliders and sailplanes can “ridge soar” at different wind speeds depending on performance L

33. thermal soaring overcoming L/D by circling in lift caused by “bubbles” of rising air. paragliders, hanggliders and sailplanes can all “thermal”. This is the primary method of achieving a cross-country flight. L sun warms the ground, which warms the air near it. when the rising column of air reaches the dew-point, the water condenses into a cloud.

35. Cross Country

51. the Future

53. sailplane

56. speedflying

58. wingsuit

59. cross country....?