Hofstetter WINGS #1

2. Why did it take so long for man to realize the dream of flight?

It is argued that flight could have been accomplished by ancient people thousands of years ago that had the materials required to build a device such as a glider. There is good reason that flight was not thought a possibility thousands or even hundreds of years ago. The development of the 1804 Cayley glider that seems to us today as a simple device, is built upon centuries of knowledge. Physics, chemistry, and engineering acquired a vast amount of data before that knowledge could be implemented in a device of flight. In addition, regardless of the amount of knowledge and material available to potential inventors, the imagination must be able to construct the thought that flight is a possibility. Understandably, people looked to the birds and insects with their ability to fly and attributed their ability to their wings. The knowledge and technology was not developed enough to allow human flight with wings and people were not thinking of any other possibility. It was the end of the seventeenth century by the time knowledge became available pointing to the idea that flight could be achieved by a lighter-than air vehicle. The accumulation of knowledge in science and technology, in addition to the use of imagination led man to finally realize the dream of flight (pg 19-21).

3. When did the era of modern aviation begin and why?

The era of modern aviation began with George Cayley by the beginning of the nineteenth century. Cayley utilized scientific and technological research to redefine heavier-than-air flight as a problem that could be solved. He established basic principles in aerodynamics. Cayley became the first aeronautical engineer by building and flying the first fixed-wing gliders capable of human flight. Much of his work was published and used as a foundation for future research. Some of Cayley’s work included a confirmation that a curved wing produces greater lift than a flat wing. Cayley identified that there was low pressure above the wing and high pressure below the wing during flight. He suggested angling the tips of the wings to produce lateral stability. Cayley provided studies on the movement of pressure on wings during flight. He also examined how to calculate performance of an aircraft. It stood that by the time of the Wright brothers influence in aviation that much of Cayley’s work remained free from error. Cayley developed his own monoplane and triplane gliders that he reported flying.  While Cayley established the superiority being in fixed wings, he also designed ornithopters and a helicopter. George Cayley began the era of modern aviation that would later inspire Orville and Wilbur Wright (pg 30-35).

5. Why did Wilbur and Orville Wright achieve success before their contemporaries?

From the time Wilbur and Orville Wright were children they demonstrated curiosity and ability to solve problems by experimenting. They had parents that encouraged them to be curious, build things, and experiment. Wilbur and Orville were close to each other and did everything together. Inspired by childhood toys and books about birds, Wilbur and Orville researched the history and knowledge of flying. One reason that Wilbur and Orville Wright achieved success before many others was that they realized an airplane required a powerful engine, working wings, and a means of control. Many experimenters before them could not solve the problem of equilibrium so they set out to do just that. The Wright brothers had an advantage in that they could apply lessons learned in bicycle technology to flight control technology. The brothers used some of the same materials and bicycle parts to design their gliders. Wilbur developed the technique of wing-warping that set his glider apart from others. Orville and Wilbur experimented and tested models to develop the correct one. They utilized previous research to determine the wind speed their glider would require in order to fly and they went to a location that would match that wind speed. The Wright brothers learned from their failures and those of others and did not give up (pg. 54-65).