The document summarizes the history of aviation from ancient times to the Wright brothers' first flight in 1903. It discusses early concepts of human flight from Greek mythology, Leonardo da Vinci's sketches of flying machines in the 15th century, and the first hot air balloon flights carrying humans in the late 18th century. It notes that modern airplanes trace their design concept to British scientist Sir George Cayley in 1799, who separated lift from propulsion and introduced the basic fixed-wing aircraft configuration. The Wright brothers' 12-second flight on the 17th of December 1903 in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina was the first successful controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight.

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ASE204 Introduction to Aerospace Engineering
1
Dr. S. Arunvinthan
Dept. of Aerospace Engg.
Mob: 97 87 87 38 48
8 September 2022
Class 1: History of Aviation

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8 September 2022 2
History of Aviation

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History of Aviation
Have you ever heard of “Kill Devil
Hills”?
 It is located 4 miles south of Kitty
Hawk, North Carolina  Where the
historical Wilbur and Orville
Wright’s Flight happened
How did the Wright Brother’s flight
look like?
 It was made up of Spruce and cloth

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History of Aviation
Try to point out the control Surfaces?

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 It had a horizontal elevator mounted on struts in front of wings
 It also had a double vertical rudder behind the wings
 12hp engine for powered flight
 Two propellers behind the wing
Try to point out the control Surfaces?
History of Aviation

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 Yes, it is a powered flight – 12 hp engine was mounted over the
top surface of the bottom wing
 It was mounted slightly to the right of the centre on the top surface
of the bottom wing to provide place to Orville Wright
Try to point out the control Surfaces?
History of Aviation

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When did this first powered human flight happened?
 At about 10:35 AM on Thursday, December 17 of 1903.
 The machine flew unevenly, rising suddenly to about 10ft, then
ducking quickly toward the ground.
 This erratic flight continued for 12 seconds and it covered 120ft.
History of Aviation

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Orville Wright’s Own Words – After this successful flight
 The first in the history of the world in which a machine carrying a
man had raised itself by its own power in to the air in full flight,
had sailed forward without reduction of speed, and had finally
landed at a point as high as that from which it started
History of Aviation
It is preserved in
Smithsonian Institution
in Washington.
“Air and Space Museum”

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With this genuine powered flight of a heavier than air Machine –
Wright Brothers are clearly the “Premier Aeronautical Engineers” of
the History
History of Aviation

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Contrary to this popular belief, few believe that Wright brothers did
not truly invent the airplane; rather they represent the fruition of a
century’s worth of prior Aeronautical Research and Development.
History of Aviation
The time was ripe for the attainment of powered flight at the
beginning of the 20th century.

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History of Aviation
Let us look back over the years, who can rightfully claim to be the
first Aeronautical Engineers

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 Greek Mythology – Daedalus & his son Icarus
History of Aviation
Island of Crete – Mediterranean sea

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 Greek Mythology – Daedalus & his son Icarus
History of Aviation
Almost all the early thinking about human flight centered on the
imitation of birds

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 Various unsung ancient and medieval
people followed the idea of strapping a
pair of wings to arms and leaping from
towers or roofs  resulted in disastrous
and unsuccessful consequences.
 Later, the concept of flapping wings up
and down – by various mechanisms were
introduced . These machines are called as
“Ornithopters”.
 Even Leonardo Da Vinci  surviving
manuscripts show more than 35,000
words and 500 sketches dealing with such
flights (15th century.)
History of Aviation

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Leonardo Da Vinci  sketches dealing with flights (15th century.)
History of Aviation

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Carrying Balloons (17th Century)
 Joseph Montgolfier in 1782 conceived the
idea of using the lifting power of hot air
rising from a flame to lift a person from the
surface of earth.
 Balloon was inflated and buoyed from an
open fire burning in a larger wicker basket
underneath.
 Carried cage containing a sheep, rooster
and duck for experimentation. Human
flight lasted for 25 mins drifting 5 miles
across paris (Pilatre de Rozier & Arlandes)
History of Aviation

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Human flight lasted for 25 mins drifting 5 miles across Paris (Pilatre de
Rozier & Marquis D’Arlandes)
History of Aviation

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 Following Montgolfiers, French
Physicist, J.A.C. Charles
(Charle’s law of gases) built and
flew a Hydrogen filled Balloon in
December, 1783.
 Balloons/Aerostatic Machines
built by Montgolfiers made no
real technical contributions to
heavier-than-air flight but served
a major purpose in triggering the
public interest in flight through
the air.
History of Aviation

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Modern Airplane has its origin in design set forth
by “George Cayley” in 1799
 First concept of “Fixed wing”  for
generating lift
 Separate Mechanism for Propulsion (Paddles)
 Combined Horizontal and Vertical tail for
stability
History of Aviation
Sir George Cayley – True Inventor of the Airplane

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Modern Airplane design set forth by “George Cayley” in 1799
 He was so sure about this that he carved it out on a silver disk (for
permanence)
Now, preserved at “Science Museum” - London
History of Aviation
Sir George Cayley – True Inventor of the Airplane

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 Before this, the thought of Mechanical flight had been oriented
toward the flapping wings of ornithopter.
 Cayley is responsible for breaking this unsuccessful line of thought;
he separated the concept of lift from that of propulsion.
History of Aviation

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 Cayley is a giant in Aeronautical History. He is the parent of Modern
Aviation and was the first to introduce the basic configuration of the
modern Airplane.
 In 1804, Cayley built a “Whirling Arm” apparatus for testing airfoils.
History of Aviation
 Off course, the measurements are
not very accurate, because after a
number of revolutions of arm, the
surrounding air would begin to
rotate with the device.
 Nevertheless, it was a first step in
Aerodynamic Testing.

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Will be continued . . .
Thank you all !