Jess Hess Wings #1

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

It took centuries of research and experimentation to learn what we know now about flight. In ancient times, although they may have had the materials, they did not have the vast amount of knowledge in physics and engineering to make a flying mechanism. They did, however, have the opportunity to create balloon flight. It was not unknown to the ancients that heat rises. Unfortunately, they did not have the imagination to take this knowledge, create a structure, and carry out buoyant flight. It was not until the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that our ancestors made progress in their discoveries. Physics and chemists discovered that, “the atmosphere could be pumped out of a closed vessel like any fluid” (Crouch, 21). Using this information, Francesco Lana de Terzi had an idea of how to carry a human into the air using balloons in 1670, but his plan would be impossible to carry out (Crouch, 21). It was not until over a century later that the very first humans (Charles and Robert) were able to take to the air using a hydrogen balloon. Even with this advancement in heavier-than-air flight, the idea of taking to the sky using a machine with wings seemed absolutely impossible.

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

The era of modern aviation began with a gentleman by the name of Sir George Cayley. George Cayley is known as the founding father of aerial navigation. It all started when Cayley developed his own version of a rotary-wing helicopter toy that also inspired the Wright Brothers when they were at a young age as well. This toy inspired Cayley to conduct experiments to create an artificial wing and launched him into other studies of aerodynamics and aerial navigation. Cayley was legendary in a variety of different fields, such as philosophy, science, architecture and physics. With his extensive knowledge in these fields, Cayley was able to “design and build the ‘flying parachute,’ the world’s first successful model glider and the ancestor of all modern fixed-wing aircraft” (Crouch, 32). In addition to creating this aircraft, Cayley also published his research in aerodynamics in several issues called “On Aerial Navigation.” Cayley developed and tested several other gliders as his life went on and he kept improving them as he discovered more and more principles of aerodynamics. With all if Cayley’s developments in aerial navigation and his extensive research in aerodynamics, Cayley became the ‘first aeronautical engineer, building and flying the first fixed-wing gliders capable of giving humans a taste of flight” (Couch, 35). 

6. How did the United States government and other countries respond to the Wrights’ efforts to sell their invention?

The Wright Brothers’ invention was one of a kind and out ran any other attempt at flight during their time. With an aircraft like theirs, and with several aspiring aviators about trying to unlock the key to flight, of course the Wright Brothers wanted to keep their invention as much of secret as possible. They would not let anyone copy their invention and take credit for it. To help aid in their secrecy, they prevented any photographs of their flying machines to be released. To take it a step further, they also did not want to demonstrate their aircraft until their buyer signed a contract. Their aircraft invention was protected through these practices, however, this mindset made it very difficult to actually sell their aircraft. At first, the U.S. Army had no interest in doing business with the Wright Brothers because they could not see a demonstration of their aircraft until they signed for it. Other countries such as Britain and France were much more interested, but when it came down to it, the governments refused to sign any contracts. Even with the help of Charles Flint & Company, the brothers could not make a sale. However, in 1908, the U.S. Army suddenly decided to do business with the Wright Brothers after developing ‘performance specifications for an airplane’ and the Wright Brothers’ careers took off (Crouch, 83).