Isn’t
it fascinating that we can now fly to any part of earth without
hassles? Few decades back, who would have thought that we could fly in
the air even without a pair of wings? The idea of soaring high like
birds and kites has been the inspiration of the inventors of Aeroplane.
There was a time when travelling was not as easy as it is today. One
had to spend days for travelling from one part to another. Needless to
say, Invention of Aeroplane has revolutionized travelling experience for people across the world.
Man’s romance with skies started back in 18th
century when Hot Air Balloon was launched in France. This amazing
invention was done by Montgolfier Brothers in 1783. François Laurent
d'Arlandes and Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier were passengers of the
first flight. But there was one problem with these hot air balloons that
they could not be directed to the location one wanted to visit. Rather
wind was one that decided destination and direction of balloon.
With
more research and time invested in the concept of flying in the air,
gradually led to invention of gliders. This non motorized flying
mechanism was better than the hot air balloon. Earliest glider that
could really fly was developed by George Cayel. And in 1843, William
Henson made the plans for model plane which unfortunately proved to be a
disappointment for him. And soon after, his friend named John
Stingfellow designed a plane with the same model and succeeded. This
plane managed to fly but did not stay in the air for a long time.
Year
1880 witnessed earliest steam power airplanes. And during this time,
Hiram Maxiam came up with steam powered flying machine too. As the
machine was bulky, it could not ever become airborne. Samuel Langley
also tried his hand on the steam powered planes and introduced one in
1894, the one that covered around 0.8 kms in around 1½ minutes. Then he
designed another plane but its flights led to crashing in the lake. And
finally in 19th
century, the heroes- Wilbur Wright and Orville Wright, that are known to
endow successful Aeroplane, became interested in the concept of flying.
The first step towards the successful invention of Aeroplane,
was research through reading various books on it. The brothers built
and tested the gliders. They chose Kitty Hawk in North Carolina as the
test site due its sand, wind, hilly terrain, and the remote location. In
year 1900, the Wright brothers tested the new biplane glider with 17
foot wing warping technique and wingspan, weighing 50 pound at the Kitty
Hawk, in piloted as well unmanned flights. Based on the glider’s
results, the brothers planned on refining landing gear and controls and
designed a larger glider.
In
the year 1901, at the Kill Devil Hill in North Corolina, the brothers
flew largest glider ever. With 100 pound weight and 22 foot wingspan,
the boys geared up for their glider’s flight. But as nothing comes easy,
the glider faced problems too. The wings did not have enough power to
lift, forward elevator was not that effective and its wing warping
technology caused it to spin out of control occasionally.
In
spite of all the problems being faced by them, Wrights refused to give
up. They were fighters in true sense; they keep reviewing the test
results till they found out that the calculations used for the mechanism
were not up to the mark. Then they thought of building wind tunnel for
testing the wing shapes and their effect on the lift. Based on the
tests, the inventors tried to understand how airfoil wing worked and
calculated how well a wing design could work. Their plan was to design
the new glider with around 32 foot wingspan and tail for stabilization.
During
1902, the Wrights flew a number of test glides of the new glider. Their
research showed that a movable tail would be of help in balancing craft
so they connected one for coordinating turns. With the passing time,
they invented various things like flaps on wings and
rudder. These two brothers were the first ones to add the concept of
navigation on the glider. So they gave a glider that allowed pilots to
control the height and direction of glider in the air. And these
improvements continued for a couple of years. With the success of their
test flight with wind tunnels, they planned of building powered
aircrafts.
And
towards end of year 1903, the Wright Brothers effectively flew earliest
plane with a man on it. The earliest of their flights covered around
120 feets in span of 12 seconds. And in the same day, the brothers had
another 2 successful flights. Amongst all, longest was by Wilbur that
covered around 892 feet and stayed in the air for 59 seconds.
Their
first powered Aeroplane was named Flyer. It was plane with two wings
and 12 horse powered engine. It also had wooden wings which were 40 feet
wide, covered with the cotton cloth. This plane demanded pilot to be in
lower wing on his stomach for the steering. And in year 1908, another
plan was introduced by the brothers that stayed in the air for about 1½
hours. In year 1909, the brothers got a contract from US military for
building first plane for them. In 1911, Calbriath Rodgers was the one
that made first flight across U.S possible.
Since
then, Airplane travel has improved a lot. Airplanes now cover thousands
of miles at great altitudes of 7 miles and more, carrying around 300
passengers. These passengers comfortably travel across the world on
these airplanes. Jet engines have now replaced the propellers and they
travel with speed of more than 600 miles every hour. Not even Wright
Brothers would have imagined the way air travel has turned today.
Consistent efforts and hardwork of the Brothers and other inventors have
offered the comfort of air travel today. The best part is that in
innovations never stop, they are ongoing. So, one can look forward to
advancements in the field.
