I.E.S. Gil de Junterón History of Aviation

“One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar”. Helen Adams Keller

Is it imposible to fly? Marc Chagall

INTRODUCTION The history of aviation is a story of man’s desire to fly through the sky like a bird. His dream was always ‘to imitate this’.

Almost all old cultures contain myths about flying creatures, but undoubtedly, the Greek legend of Daedalus and Icarus is the most well known. DAEDALUS AND ICARUS >

THE BEGINNING… The first person to write in a serious and scientific manner about the possibility of flying. He suggested methods of making the air thinner, 500 years before it would be implemented.

However, Leonardo Da Vinci was the first person who dedicated himself to a project about flying machines. THE BEGINNING…

He designed gliders that used the same mechanisms as birds to fly, through a constant movement of the wings upwards and downwards, creating the ability to fly supported by the air flow. THE BEGINNING…

While some dreamt of flying like a bird, others would rather support it and try to disappear in the air. THE BEGINNING…

who achieved to raise an aerostat in It was called ‘passarola’ and it reached 3 meters above the ground. HOT AIR BALLOON The first successful flight of a hot air balloon was encouraged by the priest Bartolomeu Lourenço de Gusmão

However, in 1833 the French Jacques Charles was the one who invented the first hot balloon with hydrogen which was consolidated for the next two hundred years after its invention. HOT AIR BALLOON

The dirigible was invented by Henri Giffard in It was an aerostat steered and propelled to be used as an aircraft. It was the first flying machine that could be controlled for a long flight. The first one in France could fly 24 kilometers using a small steam engine. AIRSHIP OR DIRIGIBLE

The construction of the first dirigible Zeppelin started in Germany in After the invention of the hot air balloon and the dirigible, inventors moved to create a machine heavier than the air that could fly in the air by its own means. AIRSHIP OR DIRIGIBLE

In 1799, George Cayley designed a glider with a tail and a space where the pilot could be placed behind the center of gravity of the machine giving stability to the aircraft. GLIDERS Gliders are able to support controlled flight for a time.

In 1890, Climent Ader built a plane he called Etole, equipped with a steam-powered engine. It took off but he could not control it and the plane only flew 50 meters. PLANES

In the same decade, the Wright brothers became the first designer team that did serious attempt in order to solve aerodynamics, control and power problems that affected all the planes that were made on those times. They made a biplane and called it Flyer. In 1910 they make their first commercial flight in the world and it lasted one hour and two minutes. PLANES

Henri Fabre flew for the first time in a hydroplane (a plane that is able to take off and ditch on water) that he named Le Canard. PLANES

1914–1918: WORLD WAR I During World War I planes were used on in offensive, defensive and reconnaissance missions. They discovered how useful planes were to spy the enemy. It was a safe way to locate the enemy army and bases.

When using planes to spy the enemy a problem aroused: planes usually came across other planes so they equipped planes with weapons on board. 1914–1918: WORLD WAR I

1918–1939: BETWEEN THE WARS, AVIATION GOLDEN AGE During this period there were great advancements in aircraft technology. The first airlines companies started to operate. Aeroplanes evolved from wood to aluminium and from low- powered to high- powered engines.

1939–1945: WORLD WAR II Thus, World War II was characterised by a growth in the production of aeroplanes, and a great development in the technology related to aviation. Also, during the conflict the first long-distance bombers were developed, as well as the first practical jet aeroplanes and the first jet-engined fighters. Besides, the use of flying boats became more widespread, especially for exploration, rescue and attack works.

THE AUTOGYRO In the decade of the 1920s, Juan de la Cierva y Codorniú, born in Murcia, started to develop a rotary wing (rotor blade) aircraft which can be considered as a hybrid between an aeroplane and a helicopter, which came to be called autogyro, gyroplane, gyrocopter or rotaplane. After his death, the research concerning the autogyro was virtually paralysed, and all the efforts were focused on the development of the helicopter.

1945–1980 Turbo-propeller planes Once World War II was over, aircraft-building companies began to create models specially designed for passenger transport. It was the first aeroplane in history with a double- decker sitting arrangement. It could take between 75 and 100 passengers from New York to Paris non-stop, at a cruise speed of over 500km/h. Boeing 377 Stratocruiser:

De Havilland Comet was the first jet –engine business aircraft. 1945–1980 The age of jet aeroplanes Boeing 707, the first successful jet engine passenger aircraft.

1945–1980 Wide- body airliners These are business aircrafts with three rows of seats separated by two corridors. known as Jumbo jet, able to transport over 500 passengers. It was the largest business and passenger aircraft until the appearance of Airbus A380, already in the 21st century. Boeing 747,

1945–1980 Supersonic airliners Tupolev Tu-144 was the first business and passenger soviet plane in the world.

Concorde came from the collaboration between France and the United Kingdom both in the development and the making of the aircraft. Only 20 of them were built. Up to the present time, these have been the only two business supersonic airliners developed – 1980 Supersonic airliners

FROM THE EARTH TO SPACE Sputnik (1957) Soviet satellite was the first one which orbited the Earth and in 1961, a Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first human to journey into outer space.

Some months later, Alan Shepard was chosen for the first American manned mission into space and some years later, he was also chosen for the first Apollo mission on the Moon. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong, became the first to step onto the lunar surface. FROM THE EARTH TO SPACE Alan Shepard Neil Armstrong

NOWADAYS The original Boeing 777 first entered in service in Furthermore, it is the first entirely computer-designed commercial aircraft. At present, it is the largest twinjet in the world.

WHAT WILL THE FUTURE BRING? We still continue our investigations with new ‘cleaner’ energy sources such as ethanol, electricity or even solar energy with the aim of achieving improvements, higher security standards and efficiency in planes building process. In fact, NASA launched Helios, an aircraft which was a proof-of-concept solar electric- powered flying wing, designed to operate at high altitudes for long duration flight. Helios reached an official world record altitude for a non-rocket powered aircraft. NASA sees great potential for the use of high-altitude, long- endurance solar aircrafts as lower cost satellites.

“Learning to fly is not an impossible task. Just starting for thinking, the limit is in your mind” Carolina Dilo

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