Developing Aircraft

Chapter 2, Lesson 2 OverviewOverview  Key individuals involved in early aircraft development  The names and anatomy of period aircraft  The significance of other American pioneers in aviation following the Wright brothers

Chapter 2, Lesson 2 Quick Write Both the Wright Brothers and Glenn Curtiss were heavily involved with bicycles before taking up flight. What similarities do you see between bicycles, early motorcycles, and early airplanes?

Chapter 2, Lesson 2 Key Individuals Involved in Early Aircraft Development  In the first decade of the 1900s the Wright brothers were making aviation history  But other people were also becoming aviation pioneers Calbraith Perry Rodgers Louis Blériot Alberto Santos-Dumont Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institute(Dumont) Taken from wikipedia.com (Bierot and Rogers)

Chapter 2, Lesson 2 Glenn Curtiss  Thomas Baldwin was looking for a lightweight engine for his dirigible  He saw how well Curtiss’s bike engine performed and asked if he could buy one  Curtiss agreed and tweaked one of his engines for use in an aircraft  Baldwin’s aircraft, with a Curtiss engine, was the first powered dirigible in America Courtesy of Underwood & Underwood/Corbis

Chapter 2, Lesson 2 The Aerial Experiment Association The Aerial Experiment Association  Curtiss joined the Aerial Experiment Association  Alexander Graham Bell—best known as inventor of the telephone—formed this group  The group made some important design breakthroughs  First, they built the first American plane equipped with ailerons

Chapter 2, Lesson 2 The Aerial Experiment Association Courtesy of the Library of Congress Glen H. Curtiss (left), director of experriments; John A.D. McCurdy, treasurer; Alexander Graham Bell, chairman; Frederick W. Baldwin, chief engineer; and Thomas Selfridge, secretary of the Aerial Experiment Associatioin

Chapter 2, Lesson 2 Ailerons Ailerons aileron  An aileron is a small flap on the wing for controlling turns  Ailerons replaced the Wright brothers’ wing- warping technique  The aileron was a more effective means to move an aircraft left or right  It also provided lateral balance  The association introduced ailerons to America but the idea originated in England

First Seaplane  Members of the group also built and flew the country’s first seaplane  Curtiss would later win the first government contract with the US Navy for seaplanes Video

Blériot XI  Blériot built and flew the first powered monoplane Video

Chapter 2, Lesson 2 Rotary Engines  The earliest engines were relatively heavy and inefficient  One reason was that these early engines used water as a coolant  Rotary engines reduced the motor weight

Chapter 2, Lesson 2 Rotary Engines  Rotary engines used circulating air, rather than water, as a coolant radial  The Seguins placed the engine’s cylinders in a radial, or round, pattern  They fitted each cylinder with a fin to draw out the heat as the plane flew Video

HelicoptersHelicopters Helicopters are different in two important ways:  rotating vs. fixed wing  Rotors versus propellers  take off and land vertically  also known as rotary-wing aircraft  Today’s Drones use the Basic design of Rotors Courtesy of Branger/Getty Images

American Aviation Pioneers  Aviation Goal to fly across the United States in 30 days?  Newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst was offering a $50,000 prize  A soft drink manufacturer Vin Fiz provided financial support in exchange for nationwide publicity  Needing countless repairs & many stops along the way, took 49 days

Quick Write Early inventors were heavily involved with bicycles before taking up flight. Write brief explanation of the similarities you see between bicycles, motorcycles & early airplanes?

Chapter 2, Lesson 2 Next….Next….  Done—developing aircraft  Next—air power in World War I Courtesy of the EAA/Jim Koepnick