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The Early Days of Flight

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The Early Days of Flight LESSON 2 The Early Days of Flight T HAD BEEN A TOUGH TRIP for Lieutenant Colonel Quick Write Joseph E. Maxfi eld of the US Army Signal Corps. I The year was 1898. The United States was at war with Spain. Six years earlier, the Signal Corps had formed a balloon After reading the account of section. For the fi rst time since the Civil War, the Army how hot air balloons were used in the Battle of San was back in the business of spying from the sky. Juan Hill, how do you think Now Colonel Maxfi eld was in charge of a single balloon. the information the US It was the only one the Army had. Army balloonists gathered changed the course of the Maxfi eld traveled alone with the balloon from New York battle? What lesson can you to Florida. Then with troops and some equipment, he draw from the fact that the Americans could view the sailed for Cuba. That country, then a Spanish colony, was battlefi eld and the Spanish one of the major theaters of the Spanish-American War. could not? Maxfi eld’s party included three offi cers and 24 enlisted men. Only one man had ballooning experience— Sergeant Will Ivy Baldwin, who had once worked as a stunt balloonist and had built a balloon with his wife Learn About the previous year. None of the others, including Maxfi eld, had ever even seen a balloon go up. • historical developments of lighter-than-air fl ight The party sailed into Santiago harbor 22 June. Because • early military contributions they lacked supplies, they would be able to infl ate the of lighter-than-air fl ight balloon just once. They wouldn’t be able to reinfl ate it. • early contributors to The terrain was rugged. It took them a whole day to get heavier-than-air fl ight from the harbor to their headquarters. And once they unpacked their balloon, they found that parts of it had stuck together in the heat. Other parts had disintegrated. But somehow, they managed to infl ate the balloon using hydrogen cylinders. And they got it into the air several times. On 1 July 1898 during the Battle of San Juan Hill, Soldiers went aloft to scout the enemy position. They made an initial ascent at some distance from the battle. The leader of the Soldiers, Lieutenant Colonel George M. Derby, 14 CHAPTER 1 Exploring Flight LESSON 2 The Early Days of Flight then ordered the balloon forward. He got it to within 650 yards of the Spanish infantry trenches. Maxfi eld Vocabulary feared this was too close to the enemy. • lift In a way, he was right. By the end of the day, the • aerial reconnaissance balloon had been hit by so many enemy bullets that • dirigible it was useless. But before that, it gave observers aboard • rudder a totally different view of the battle. Because of what • keel they’d seen, the balloonists suggested new ways to • internal-combustion direct American troops advancing against the Spanish. engine They also identifi ed new artillery targets. • aeronauts The battle was a big US victory. Teddy Roosevelt’s • drag Rough Riders made a name for themselves in it. The • thrust “buffalo Soldiers,” members of an all-African-American • biplane regiment, got to show what they were made of. • patent • monoplane The Battle of San Juan Hill was a milestone in military aviation. The spies in the sky may have decided the battle. It was a good day for Maxfi eld’s balloon. The US Army Signal Corps balloon in Cuba Cuba and the US Gulf Coast Courtesy US Army Victor Maschek/Shutterstock LESSON 2 The Early Days of Flight 15 M•I•L•E•S•T•O•N•E•S Historical Developments of Lighter-Than-Air Flight Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders The Rough Riders were a volunteer Army Aviation developments in the 19th century followed regiment. Theodore Roosevelt organized two lines: lighter-than-air craft and heavier-than-air craft. them to help Cuba win independence Lighter-than-air craft include balloons and dirigibles. from Spain. Since he didn’t have any The story you’ve just read shows how far these craft had military experience, his good friend come by the end of the 19th century. Heavier-than-air Colonel Leonard Wood was put in charge. machines include gliders, and later, airplanes and jets. With the friend’s help, Roosevelt, who would later become the 26th President Whether their craft are lighter or heavier than air, of the United States, rounded up a group all aviators face the same three problems: of 1,250 cowboys and Indians, as well • How to get up into the air as Ivy League athletes and sportsmen, to fi ght for a free Cuba. • How to stay up in the air • How to control where they’re going, including getting safely back to earth Principles of Balloon Flight A balloon operates on the principle of buoyancy. If the air or gas inside a balloon is lighter than the air around it, it will fl oat. Hot air takes care of the fi rst challenge of fl ight—getting up into the air. A Jesuit priest, Laurenço de Gusmão, gets credit for inventing the hot-air balloon. In 1709 he demonstrated his invention before the King of Portugal. Word soon spread across Europe. Several people tried out balloons during the 18th century. The work of the Montgolfi er brothers, Joseph and Étienne, led to the fi rst balloon fl ight with humans aboard. On 21 November 1783, Pilatre de Rozier and François d’Arlandes made a historic 25-minute fl ight over Paris in a Montgolfi er hot-air balloon. Waypoints Printing Presses and Flying Machines What do printing presses have to do with fl ying machines? Quite a bit. During the early years of aviation, the cost of printing fell sharply. Books and papers became cheaper. More people could afford to buy them. For the fi rst time, scientists throughout Europe could read about one another’s work. Printing presses were a big help in making the dream of fl ight come true. 16 CHAPTER 1 Exploring Flight The Montgolfi ers’ achievement was impressive. But there was still work to do. The Exploring Flight brothers hadn’t fi gured out how to achieve the second principle of fl ight— to keep the balloon up in the air. To do that, you need to keep the air inside the balloon hot. This meant having a fi re under the balloon. That was dangerous. It also meant that balloons needed to carry fuel, and fuel was heavy. While the Montgolfi ers were testing their balloons, the young French scientist J.A.C. Charles experimented with hydrogen. This gas is lighter than air. It provided much more lift than hot air, and the balloonists didn’t need to carry a fi re and fuel aloft to keep the air heated. Lift is the upward force on an aircraft against gravity. The Right Stuff A Big Idea Sparked in Front of the Fireplace Joseph and Étienne Montgolfi er were the fi rst to achieve manned fl ight. The brothers were papermakers and amateur scientists in Annonay, France. They kept up with the work of other scientists around Europe. One day in 1782 Joseph Montgolfi er was sitting in front of his fi replace when he happened to notice the sparks and smoke rising. This got him thinking—and experimenting. He made a small bag out of silk and held the bag upside down. Then he lit a fi re under the opening at the bottom. The bag swelled and rose to the ceiling. Soon Joseph and his brother moved their experiments outdoors. They built and fl ew larger bags made of paper and linen. The brothers thought they’d discovered a new gas. They even gave it a name: “Montgolfi er gas.” Today we know that they hadn’t discovered a new gas at all. They’d simply observed a principle of physics: Hotter air rises above cooler air. The Montgolfi ers’ experiments attracted attention. French King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette asked to see one of the balloons in action. Eventually this led to the fi rst manned balloon fl ight on 21 November 1783. The Montgolfi ers achieved a milestone in the history of The Montgolfi er brothers’ balloon fl ight. But Joseph Montgolfi er’s observation in front of Nicku/Shutterstock the fi re also has a lesson for creative thinkers of all kinds: You never know where you’ll fi nd a good idea. It may come as you sit in front of your fi replace. LESSON 2 The Early Days of Flight 17 But hydrogen could be risky, too, because it is very • • • • • • • • • M I L E S T O N E S fl ammable—it catches fi re easily. Many people were killed before a safer gas, helium, came into use. Steam Engines (Helium isn’t as fl ammable as hydrogen.) Steam engines were the main source of mechanical power in the 19th century— Despite the risks, Charles and a passenger made the before the invention of the gasoline- fi rst manned hydrogen balloon fl ight on 1 December powered internal-combustion engine and 1783. Their fl ight lasted more than two hours and the electric motor. Water heated by fi re covered more than 27 miles. (usually fueled by wood or coal) was used In the years that followed, ballooning attracted to create steam. The steam’s force drove a piston or turbine blade that turned a wheel interest across Europe.
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