Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of Ukraine
National Aviation University
Foreign Languages Department
Abstract
About: History of Aviation
Completed:
student
of MN-108
Radionov V.S.
Kyiv 2012
Mythology 3
3
Early attempts 4
Flight automaton in Greece 4
Hot air balloons, glider and kites in China 4
Manned kite 4
Gliders in Europe 5
From Renaissance to the 18th century 5
5
Modern flight 7
Lighter than air 7
Heavier than air 9
Supporting the aircraft 9
9
Controlling the aircraft 11
Powering the aircraft 13
13
The "Pioneer Era" (1900–1914) 14
Lighter than air 14
Heavier than air 15
Langley 15
The Wright Brothers 17
Helicopter 21
Progress before World War I (1914–1918) 21
Combat schemes 22
[edit]Technology and performance advances in aviation's "Golden Age" (1918–1939) 23
[edit]Progress goes on and massive production, World War II (1939–1945) 25
[edit]1945–1991: The Cold War 26
2001–present 29
History
The history of aviation has extended over more than two thousand years from the earliest attempts in kites and gliders to powered heavier-than-air, supersonic and hypersonic flight.
The first form of man-made flying objects were kites.[1] The earliest known record of kite flying is from around 200 BC in China, when a general flew a kite over enemy territory to calculate the length of tunnel required to enter the region.[2] Yuan Huangtou, a Chinese prince, survived by tying himself to the kite.[3]
Leonardo da Vinci's (15th c.) dream of flight found expression in several designs, but he did not attempt to demonstrate his ideas by actually constructing them.
With the efforts to analyze the atmosphere in the 17th and 18th century, gases such as hydrogen were discovered which in turn led to the invention of hydrogen balloons.[1] Various theories in mechanics by physicists during the same period of time, notably fluid dynamics and Newton's laws of motion, led to the foundation of modern aerodynamics. Tethered balloons filled with hot air were used in the first half of the 19th century and saw considerable action in several mid-century wars, most notably the American Civil War, where balloons provided observation during the Battle of Petersburg.
Experiments with gliders provided the groundwork for heavier-than-air craft, and by the early 20th century advances in engine technology and aerodynamics made controlled, powered flight possible for the first time.
Mythology
Daedalus working on Icarus' wings. Illustration from a relief in Villa Albani, Rome, 1st-2nd century CE.
Human ambition to fly is illustrated in mythological literature of several cultures; the wings made out of wax and feathers by Daedalus in Greek mythology, or the Pushpaka Vimana of king Ravana in Ramayana, for instance.
Early attempts
See also: Early flying machines
Flight automaton in Greece
Around 400 BC, Archytas, the Greek philosopher, mathematician, astronomer, statesman and strategist, designed and built a bird-shaped, apparently steam powered[4] model named "The Pigeon" (Greek: Περιστέρα "Peristera"), which is said to have flown some 200 meters.[5][6] According to Aulus Gellius, the mechanical bird was suspended on a string or pivot and was powered by a "concealed aura or spirit".[7][8]