Airplanes : the Lure of Flight

The Lure of Flight

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BOSTOTSI PUBLIC LIBRARY 9;'J

AIRPLANES

The Lure of Flight These and other books ore included in the

Encyclopedia of Discovery and Invention

series:

Airplanes: The Lure of Flight

Atoms: Building Blocks of Matter Computers: Mechanical Minds

Gravity: The Universal Force

Losers: Humanity's Magic Light

Printing Press: Ideas into Type

Radar: The Silent Detector

Television: Electronic Pictures 1

AIRPLANES The Lure of Flight

by TOM 5TACEY

The ENCYCLOPEDIA of D-I-S-OO-V-E-R-Y and INVENTION

P.O. Box 28901 1 SAN DIEGO, CA 92128-901

BRIGHTON Copyrighr 1990 by Lucenr Books, Inc., P.O. Box 289011 Son Diego, Colifornio, 92128-9011

No porr of rhis book may be reproduced or used in any orher form or by any orher means, electrical, mechanical, or otherwise, including, bur nor limired ro photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Stacey, Thomas, 1960- Airplanes: the lure of flight/by Tom Stacey. p. cm. — (The Encyclopedia of discovery and invention) Includes bibliographical references and index. Summary: Surveys the history, development, and future of airplanes, and examines the impact of flight on civilization. ISBN 1-56006-203-7 1. Aeronaurics—Juvenile literature. 2. Airplanes—Juvenile

lirerarure. [1. Aeronaurics. 2. Airplanes.] I. Title

II. Series TL547.S73 1990 90-6471 629.13—dc20 CIP AC Contents

Foreword 7 Introduction 10

chapter 1 The Dream of Flight 12

Humanity dreams of flying;

Early ideas about flight; Balloons; gliders;

Early experiments with powered flight.

chapter 2 Miracle at Kitty Hawk The Wright brothers build a better glider- Early experiments at Kitty Hawk; A wind tunnel to test wing models,-

The first piloted glider flight;

The first powered flight.

chapter 3 A New Age Takes Wing The Wright brothers popularize airplanes; Other inventors build airplanes,- Taking off, landing, and steering an airplane,-

Airplanes thrill the public- Pilots become heroes,- Predictions for airplanes,- World War I—the "Great Accelerator"; Flying around the world.

chapter 4 Onward and Upward 48 Average people purchase airplanes,- Barnstormers; Charles Lindbergh crosses the Atlantic alone,-

Other early pilots,- Airplane business booms,- Other industries benefit from the airplane boom,- First passenger planes;

Visions of an airplane in every garage. chapter 5 Airplanes in World War II 61 Germany arracks Poland; Allies develop air forces; Warplanes; Fighting of sea;

Atomic bombs fall from the sky. chapter 6 The Jet Age The jet age takes wing; Military aviation; Rocket technology; Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier- Building foster planes; Spy planes;

Passenger jets,- Ultralights;

Airplanes in the media. chapter 7 Aircraft in the Space Age 81 Satellites; U.S. astronauts land on the moon; Space shuttle Challenger flights; Laser-powered aircraft.

Glossary 87 For Further Reading 89 Works Consulted 90 Index 91 About the Author 95 Picture Credits 96 The ENCYCLOPEDIA of D-I-S-OOV-E-R-Y and INVENTION

Foreword changes. And the changes that occurred gave rise to the notion that progress was a real force urging civilization forward. The belief in progress has been one of Surpluses of consumer goods were re- the dominant forces in Western Civiliza- placing substandard living conditions in tion from the Scientific Revolution of the most of Western Europe. Rigid class sys- seventeenth century to the present. tems were giving way to social mobility. In

Embodied in the idea of progress is the nations like France and the United States, conviction that each generation will be the lofty principles of democracy and better off than the one that preceded it. popular sovereignty were being painted

Eventually, all peoples will benefit from in broad, gilded strokes over the fading and share in this better world. R. R. canvasses of monarchy and despotism. Palmer, in his History of the Modern World, But more significant than these so- calls this belief in progress "a kind of cial, economic, and political changes, the nonreligious faith that the conditions of new age witnessed a rebirth of science. human life" will continually improve as Centuries of scientific stagnation began time goes on. crumbling before a spirit of scientific For over a thousand years prior to the inquiry that spawned undreamed of tech- seventeenth century, science had pro- nological advances. And it was the discov- gressed little. Inquiry was largely dis- eries and inventions of scores of men and couraged, and experimentation almost women that fueled these new technolo- nonexistent. As a result, science became gies, dramatically increasing the ability of regressive and discovery was ignored. humankind to control nature—and,

Benjamin Farrington, a historian of sci- many believed, eventually to guide it. ence, characterized it this way: "Science It is a truism of science and tech- had failed to become a real force in the nology that the results derived from ob- life of society. Instead there had arisen a servation and experimentation are not conception of science as a cycle of liberal finalities. They are part of a process. Each studies for a privileged minority. Science discovery is but one piece in a continuum ceased to be a means of transforming the bridging past and present and heralding conditions of life." In short, had this intel- an extraordinary future. The heroic age lectual climate continued, humanity's of the Scientific Revolution was simply a future world would have been little more start. It laid a foundation upon which than a clone of its past. succeeding generations of imaginative

Fortunately, these circumstances were thinkers could build. It kindled the belief not destined to last. By the seventeenth that progress is possible as long as there and eighteenth centuries, Western soci- were gifted men and women who would ety was undergoing radical and favorable respond to society's needs. When An-

FOREWORD tonie van Lceuwenhoek observed Ani- history of humankind. And as civilization

malcules (little animals) through his hastens toward the twenty-first century, high-powered microscope in 1683, the most agree that the conquest of van discovery did not end there. Others Leeuwenhoek's "little animals" will con- followed who would call these "little tinue. animals" bacteria and, in time, recognize The Encyclopedia of Discovery and In- their role in the process of health and vention examines those discoveries and disease. Robert Koch, a German bacteri- inventions that have had a sweeping ologist and winner of the Nobel prize in impact on life and thought in the mod- Physiology and Medicine, was one of ern world. Each book explores the ideas these men. Koch firmly established that that led to the invention or discovery, bacteria are responsible for causing in- and, more importantly, how the world fectious diseases. He identified, among changed and continues to change be- others, the causative organisms of an- cause of it. The series also highlights the thrax and tuberculosis. Alexander Flem- people behind the achievements—the ing, another Nobel Laureate, progressed unique men and women whose singular still further in the quest to understand genius and rich imagination have altered and control bacteria. In 1928, Fleming the lives of everyone. Enhanced by pho- discovered penicillin, the antibiotic tographs and clearly explained technical wonder drug. Penicillin, and the gen- drawings, these books are comprehen- erations of antibiotics that succeeded it, sive examinations of the building blocks have done more to prevent premature of human progress. death than any other discovery in the

8 AIRPLANES AIRPLANES

The Lure of Flight AIRPLANES

Introduction motorized flying machine they designed and built themselves. Many others had tried to fly long

The lirsi controlled, powered flight by before the Wright brothers. Some were

humankind took place at Kitty Hawk, able to float and glide but never to fly. North Carolina, on December 17, 1903. Most people throughout history felt

1 hat da) Wilbur and Orville Wright did certain that human flight was impossible

something that almost no one thought and that it was foolish even to try. Flying could be done. They each flew briefly, in the face of doubt and skepticism, then returned safely to earth, using a however, the Wrights achieved a techni-

TIMELINE: AIRPLANES

> '> »> > » ¥ >> fr* 1.1500 7.1896 10.1911 Leonardo do Vinci sketches After more than two thousand Former college football star Cal plans for ornirhoprer. flighrs, Otto Lilienrhal dies as P>odgers pilots the Vin Fiz from 2.1664 rhe result of injuries sustained in coast ro coast in an advertising a glider crash. In Dayton, Ohio, promorion for rhe Armour Meat Sir Isaac Newton discovers rhe Wilbur and Orville Wright rake Packing Company. low of gravity. nore ond begin thinking about 11.1914 3.1783 rhe problem of flighr.

World War I begins in Europe. Joseph and Erienne 8 . August 1 903 Airplanes are firsr used ro scour Monrgolfier of France invent a. Professor Samuel D. Lan- enemy troop movemenrs. rhe hor air balloon and make gley's aerodrome is launched several flighrs around Paris. 12.1915 over the Potomac River, with The first fighter plane, the 4.1843 Charles Manly as pilot. The French-made Moraine-Saulnier William Henson receives a aerodrome immediately goes Duller, appears. for his parent aerial steam nose-down into the river. carriage. 13.1918 b. December 17, 1903 Airmail service begins between 5.1854 The Wrights make several Washington, D.C., and New Sir George Cayley, rhe "father controlled, powered flights with York City. of aerodynamics," persuades rhe Wright Flyer I on the beach his carriage driver to operate at Kitty Hawk. 14.1924 one of his gliders. The flight is 9.1908 The Douglas World Cruisers New successful. Orleans and Chicago go Alexander Graham Dell and around rhe world in 1 74 days. 6.1871 Glenn Curriss team up to Frenchman Alphonse Penaud produce the June Dug. designs and builds a stable, twenty-inch glider powered by a rubber bond. .

cal triumph that still affects us today. The original airplane has been im-

The airplane has become an essential proved upon, of course. As it has evolved, part ofour society. Its invention extended so have the possibilities for humankind. the reach of travelers and allowed cargo No longer limited to the earth, we now to be sent all over the world quickly. The reach for new challenges beyond our airplane has also been an inspiration, to planet. The Wrights' invention opened those who love the freedom of flying and the door to outer space exploration. It has to anyone who has tried to achieve allowed people to escape the constraints something that others consider impos- of earth and chase new dreams across the sible. sky.

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15-1927 20. June 6, 1944 24. October 4, 1957

Charles Lindbergh flies rhe The Allied forces invade Eu- The Soviet Union launches the

Spirit of St. Louis solo from rope, relying heavily upon the firsr earth-orbiting satellite, New York ro Paris in 33 1/2 D-17 Flying Fortress. Sputnik 1. hours. 21 August 14, 1945 25. July 21, 1969 16.1932 U.S. astronaur Neil Armstrong The D-29 Superfortress Enolo Amelia Earhart flies from New- becomes rhe firsr person ro ser Goy brings an end ro the war foundland ro Ireland. Later in foor on rhe moon. by dropping an atomic bomb rhe year she flies solo across on Hiroshima, Japan. 26.1971 rhe United Srares. The controversial SST project is 22 . September 1 7, 17.1933 canceled in rhe Unired States. 1947 The Douglas DC-3 passenger Development continues on rhe a. Presidenr Harry S. Truman airliner is inrroduced in the joint Brirish-French SST and the signs legislarion ro create the Unired Srares. Russian SST. U.S. Air Force. 18.1939 27. January 28, 1986 b. October 14, 1947 Germany deploys a secret air a. The Challenger explodes Chuck Yeager breaks rhe force, rhe Luftwaffe, to arrack seventy-three seconds inro irs sound barrier, flying at a Poland. Drirain and France mission, killing all seven crew speed of 670 miles per hour reacr againsr Germany, and members aboard. over the California desert in World War II is started. rhe rocker-powered X-1 b. December, 1986 19.1941 23.1954 Dick Rutan and Jeanna Yeager British scienrisrs, working with fly nonsrop around the world In the United States, the Boe- Frank Whittle's Power Jets Lim- wirhour refueling in Voyager, ing 707, rhe first large passen- ited, develop rhe Gloster E 28/ designed by Burt Ruran. ger jet, is introduced. 39 experimenral jet aircrafr. CHAPTER 1

The Dream of Flight

People dreamed of flying centuries be- falling from so far up presumably stopped fore human flight was possible. They other people from committing crimes. looked to the sky for freedom and excitement and imagined gliding toward the horizon like birds. The world would Da Vinci's Early Design be a much different place if people could soar high above fields and trees, Legends and myths about people over mountains and lakes, suspended wanting to fly have appeared in virtu- above the earth. Like eagles, they ally every culture throughout World his- would be able to see for miles around. tory. In some cases, people strapped on They would have the freedom to take wings, as Daedalus did, and tried to fly off anytime, and flying would be much by imitating birds. This method did faster than walking. Flying would add not work. Birds and insects could flit fun and thrills to their pedestrian lives. But for most of human history, flying An illustration depicts the Greek myth of Daedalus and Icarus who towards the sun was only a dream. fly using hand-crafted wings. Ancient Greek mythology tells of humanity's desire to fly. Daedalus, a mythological character, was a craftsman and inventor who experimented with flight. According to legend, he used wax, feathers, and thread to make wings for himself and his son, Icarus. They attached the wings to their bodies and flew awav high into the sky. But Icarus flew too close to the sun. When his wings melted, he fell to his death in the sea. Daedalus landed in Sicily, where he never forgot the lesson: only the gods could fly. In another case, the idea of falling from great heights motivated people to experiment with flight. Chinese officials used flight to punish criminals and deter crime. In the 1200s, the explorer Marco Polo reported that the Chinese used large kites to lilt outlaws high up into the air as a form of punishment. The fear of

12 AIRPLANES from place to place, but human beings seemed to belong on the ground. In the late 1600s, Sir Isaac Newton explained what everyone who had tried to fly knew only too well: on earth, what goes up must come down—immediately. Gravity, the attraction of a smaller object to a larger object, was one of the forces that governed humankind and the universe. About one hundred years before Newton discovered this law of gravity, Leonardo da Vinci had turned his bril- liant mind to the idea of human flight. Like others before him, the Italian painter, sculptor, musician, and scientist looked to birds for a clue. Instead of simply imitating them, however, da Vinci studied the movements of birds and analyzed how they were able to fly. He then dissected some birds and discovered that they have light, hollow bones and sinewy, powerful muscles. Human beings did not have the same sketch by Leonardo da Vinci kind of body structure and were clearly This detailed depicts his preoccupation with human flight and not equipped to fly. the laws of nature. Da Vinci was not discouraged, however. If humans could not achieve flight the centuries between da Vinci's brain- with their bodies, perhaps they could storm and the Wright brothers' first do so with a machine. Maybe he could flight. Some of these experimenters construct a flying machine, thought da made serious attempts to fly. Several Vinci. Why not? He made sketches of added important contributions to the such a flying machine, applying what growing body of knowledge about the he had learned while studying birds. development and design of airplanes. He called the machine an "ornithopter." This body of knowledge became known It would have space for one person to as aviation. lie down, and its wings would flap like a birds. Although da Vinci never actually built his flying machine, his ideas were The Montgolfiers' Balloon on the right track. His remarkably detailed drawings revealed features simi- After the unwilling Chinese prisoners, lar to the airplane the Wright brothers the next people to achieve recorded built four hundred years later. human flight were the Montgolfier Dozens of other people pursued the brothers, Joseph and Etienne, of elusive dream of human flight during France. They invented the hot air bal-

CHAPTER 1 13 loon in 1783. As legend has it, Joseph to perform a special balloon flight for was siiiiiii; kIK .11 home one da\ when them. No one was sure yet if the air he noticed thai the smoke from the above the earth was sale for living fireplace was rising to the ceiling. He things to breathe. So for their com- hoiiowcd some silk from the house- mand performance, the brothers tied a keeper .md made a small bag with an basket to the floating bag and sent up a open bottom. Me then held it over the duck, a rooster, and a sheep. The ani- lire and wan lied .is it went straight up. mals survived, and it was established Applying (he same principle out- that air from the atmosphere was safe side the house, the Montgollier broth- to breathe. ers built a large fire, then placed a Even though the animals lived linen bag lined with paper above the through the flight, it was still not cer- fire, lake die small bag over the fire- tain that the upper air was entirely place, the large linen bag lifted into the suitable for humans. So when the sky. It was an important discovery, and Montgolfiers made plans to launch the the brothers did not stop there. They first human flight in a balloon about continued their experiments, using two months later, on November 21, lightweight straw to build roaring fires 1783, someone suggested that a pris- in a container attached to the balloon. oner should be the first person to go They sent up several of their large bags. up. But a young French physician, Jean- Soon, people all over France were talk- Francois Pilatre de Rozier, seized upon ing about the brothers' wonderful fly- this opportunity to fly. He and another ing balloons. Frenchman, the Marquis d'Arlandes, Before long, the rulers of France, volunteered, and they became the first Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, want- humans to fly using a balloon. Their ed to see this amazing new invention. flight was a twenty-five minute, five-mile The Montgolfiers obliged and arranged adventure over the rooftops of Paris. D'Arlandes carried a wet sponge to ex- The Montgolfier brothers launch the first hot-air tinguish any fires that might start in the balloon in France in 1783. fabric of the balloon. At about the same time, another Frenchman, Jacques Charles, had begun experimenting with balloons

filled with hydrogen. Hydrogen is the lighter-than-air gas that was discovered by Sir Henry Cavendish less than twenty years earlier. Just ten days after de Rozier's first hot-air balloon flight, Charles made a successful two-hour flight, also over Paris, using one of his hydrogen-filled balloons. Whether filled with hydrogen or

hot air, the first balloon flights were sensational. Crowds of excited people gathered underneath and followed the

14 AIRPLANES balloons wherever the wind carried them. But as balloon flights continued over the next fifty years, people gradually became bored with them. In the United States, for instance, Professor Charles Durant was mentioned only briefly in the local newspapers when he made a series of balloon flights around Baltimore from 1830 to 1834. Balloons were being taken for granted by some people. Others were working to improve them.

The Father of

Aerodynamics Sir George Cayley pioneered the science of aerodynamics and formulated important A boy of ten when the first balloon airplane design principles. He designed the first machine with fixed wings and control flights were made in France, Sir George flying surfaces on the tail. Cayley was fascinated throughout his life by the idea of flying. But Cayley had motion of fluids, discovered by Swiss many other diverse interests, too. He mathematician Daniel Bernoulli in was a member of the British Parliament, 1738. Bernoulli's principle states that an engineer, and an inventor who ex- the higher the speed of a flowing liq- perimented with hot-air engines and ar- uid, the lower the pressure exerted by tificial human limbs. But Cayley was the substance. In other words, the most interested in the possibility of a faster a liquid flows, the less it pushes flying machine. Unlike the balloons against things around it. Cayley applied which floated through the air, his flying Bernoulli's principle to air and thus es- machine would be a powered vehicle that could be flown from place to In 1853, Sir George Cayley built this glider place. It would require a stable, fixed model. After designing many models, Cayley wing that Cayley theorized would catch built the first man-carrying glider. the wind and help lift the craft into the air. With a source of power to propel it, such a machine would give the pilot more control than balloonists had. Balloonists could go only up or down, and they were at the mercy of the wind. Like da Vinci, Cayley studied closely the flight of birds and thought about constructing a machine with a similar shape. By 1810, he designed several gliders. His designs followed the principles of hydrodynamics, the study of the

CHAPTER 1 15 HOW A CURVED WING CREATES LIFT

HIGH AIR PRESSURE

The curved surface along the top of because of the curve, so it must move an airplane's wing forces the air to faster than the air below the wing. travel faster above the wing than The faster air moves, the less

below it. As shown here, both the air pressure it exerts per square inch. going over the wing and the air Therefore, the air pressure beneath the

going under it travel from A to D in wing is greater than the air pressure

the some amount of time. But the air above it. This extra pressure pushes, or

above the wing has farther to travel lifts, the plane into the air.

tablished the science of aerodynamics, weight source of power would be re- the study of gases in motion. Cayley quired for controlled, sustained flight. discovered that he could create a lifting The only reliable power source in the force based on the speed of an air flow. first half of the eighteenth century was He decided that he would build a wing the steam engine, which used large, with a curved upper surface and a bot- heavy boilers. Cayley knew it would be tom surface that was almost flat. With impossible for a machine to fly while that shape, the speed of the air on top of carrying such a heavy and unwieldy en- the wing is greater than the speed of the gine. This led him to speculate about iii i" below. The pressure of the air below the possibility of the sudden combus- the wing is also greater than the pres- tion of flammable powders or liquids as sure on the top surface. Therefore, the a source of power. Perhaps a vehicle movement of the air exerts an upward could be propelled by the explosive but force on the wing, which is known as lift. controlled force of burning fuels, he Putting this force to use, Cayley per- thought. In effect, Cayley foresaw the suaded his carriage driver to operate internal-combustion engine long be- one of his curved-wing gliders in 1854. fore it existed. This engine eventually

Clider and man became airborne for a became the driving force for all sorts of few seconds. Cayley was delighted with vehicles, from lawn mowers to motor- the results, but his carriage driver was boats, cars, and airplanes. not. Upon landing, he immediately Even though he never found the quit his job. power source he needed, Cayley contin- Although he had achieved success ued working with gliders and made with gliders, Cayley knew that a light- more glider flights before he died in

16 AIRPLANES 1857. His work earned him the title "the was well ahead of his time. His plane's father of aerodynamics." curved wing tips and tail pattern were One of Cavley's followers was similar to those on airplanes of the fu- William Henson, who received a patent ture. The planophere was manufac- from the British government in 1843 for tured as a toy, but Penaud considered his "aerial steam carriage." With a de- his invention more than a plaything. sign based upon Cayley's work, on paper He thought his basic plan for a flying it looked very much like the airplanes machine was a sound idea. So he de- that finally flew sixtv-five years later. signed a full-size craft that included re- Hensons machine was never built, how- tractable landing gear and a single ever. Like Cayley, Henson realized that control for all flight operations. But the weight of a steam engine would Penaud could not get financial back- make his plane too heavy to fly. He ing, and the plane was never built. scaled down his plans and in 1848 tried Penaud's toy, however, did make an to fly a smaller model of the steam car- important contribution to the future of riage, powered by a relatively small flight. Far from France in a small town steam engine. The engine, however, did in Iowa, the planophere provided inspi- not generate enough power to propel ration to the two young Wright broth- the craft. Without the needed propul- ers. They were delighted when their sion, the powered aircraft was successful father brought one home for them to only at gliding. play with. They soon wore it out, in The work of Cayley and Henson fact. They tried to build their own, but showed that a smaller and more effi- it would not fly. cient power source was needed. In Another early experimenter was 1871, another inventor tried a different Britain's Sir Hiram Maxim, inventor of approach on a smaller scale. French- the machine-gun. He built a huge air- man Alphonse Penaud designed a sta- craft with a wingspan of 104 feet. ble twenty-inch glider, powered by a Powered bv two steam engines, it rubber band. weighed 3 1/2 tons. The steam engines Called a "planophere," the tiny fly- were able to generate enough power to ing machine actually worked. Penaud just barely lift the machine off the rail-

William Henson designed this aerial steam road tracks that supported it. But it carriage. Although it was never built, its never truly flew. Getting it off the design closely resembled the first successful ground was enough for Maxim, how- airplanes. ever, and he never tried to improve upon the huge machine.

Skeptics Add to the Challenge

Small successes like the planophere and Maxim's heavy machine gradually increased the understanding of aerodynamics. These attempts also motivated

CHAPTER 1 17 mini experimenters to keep trying new \oi was there a reliable means of con- w.i\s of achieving flight Ii provided a trol for aircraft lac king these essentials, tremendous challenge, like a difficult Otto Lilienlhal in Germany focused his puzzle to be pui together. Ii the puzzle attention on advancing the develop- evei were solved, there would .ilso be ment of gliders. Lilienlhal was a skilled pi.n deal benefits. This did not occur to engineer who designed gliders based most people, however. People generally upon his detailed studies of the flight of figured that attempts to fly were a waste birds. He also used his engineering ex- of time. Even it the crazy people who pertise to build a special hill, where he were trying to fly ever did succeed, what would run down the slope and jump good would it do? Most people thought into the air with his winged glider. il would be useless. Lilienthal made many flights off his People did not consider that air- homemade hill. He found that by shift- planes might someday shorten travel ing his weight during flight, he could time dramatically. For most of the control the direction of the glider. He 1800s, they could travel only by horse, began making his flights just as newspa- steamship, or train. Automobiles were pers were developing the technology to not available until around 1900. If a publish photographs. Photographers traveler's destination were not a city caught Lilienthal in action, soaring connected by rail, the person faced a through the air on his glider like a long and difficult journey. In these bird. The photos were published in cases, travelers went on horseback, in a newspapers around the world. They in- horse-drawn buggy, by ship, or by a spired many, including the Wrights, to combination of these methods. think more seriously about the possibil-

Also, it did not occur to most peo- ity of human flight. ple that airplanes would be able to de- Lilienthal made more than two liver mail and goods much faster than thousand glider flights and advanced ever before possible. Until the 1860s, the science of aviation more than any- mail was delivered by train, very slowly. one before him. He also reminded peo- In the early 1860s, the pony express was ple why they were afraid of falling. He introduced. This service used a relay died after breaking his back in a glider system of riders and horses and could crash in 1896. transport a letter across the country in eight days. This was still much longer than it would take an airplane. Professor Longley s Aerodrome

Otto Lilienthal's By the turn of the century, Professor Contribution Samuel B. Langley, an astronomer and director of the Smithsonian Institution Despite the feet that even well-known, in Washington, D.C., was convinced intelligent people considered human that a powered flying machine was pos- flight an idea without merit, some peo- sible. A well-respected scientist, Langley ple kept trying. By the early 1890s, there designed the aerodrome. This glider in- was still no lightweight source ol power. cluded all the features of the most sue-

18 AIRPLANES cessful gliders up to that point. He also gave the aerodrome a new gasoline powered engine, designed by Charles Manly, an engineer. The pair had some success operat- ing a small, unpiloted model of the aerodrome over the Potomac River. So in the fall of 1903, they decided to try a flight with Manly as the pilot. They launched the aerodrome using a spe- cially built catapult on a boat in the Potomac. The launching gear did not work properly, however, and the plane went nose-down into the river. Manly climbed out of the water cold and wet but unhurt. Langley and Manly tried again two months later, but this attempt also failed. This time the aerodrome was badly damaged. Manly survived again but decided to quit trying to fly before he hurt himself seriously. Langley's failed attempts at flight had an unfortunate side effect. Many people decided that if the Smithsonian Institution's own Professor Langley could not build a successful flying machine, then nobody could.

Chanute Sets the Stage

Langley's failure, however, did not stop Octave Chanute. An American civil engineer, he too felt certain that a powered airplane would soon be a reality. Chanute had been a student of flight since 1875. He published the first real history of aviation, Progress in Flying Machines, in 1894. He also kept in con- tact with aviation researchers throughout Europe and the United States. His knowledge later made him a valuable German-born Otto Lilienthal takes off and soars consultant to the Wright brothers, who above the ground in his glider. Lilienthal was would ask him for his opinions on their the first to use curved wings in the development gliders. of his gliders.

CHAPTER 1 19 Jb Ar-

Professoi Samuel B. Langley oj the Smithsonian ia the development of this glider model, Ortave

Institution hit ill this powered glider called the ( hanute created movahle wings that were used aerodrome. Langley abandoned the aerodrome to control the glider. because it failed to sustain piloted flight.

Chanute provided aviation informa- metal framework called trusses to tion to anyone who wanted ii. He also strengthen and stabilize his own glider. made his own significant contributions This improved glider was not a ma- to the emerging science. He telt that chine capable of controlled, sustained

"movable surfaces" on an aircraft, such flight, but it was one step closer. as wings that could be tilted, were a bet- The idea of human flight had to be a ter means of control than Lilienthal's powerful dream to survive for thousands method of shifting the pilot's weight. In of vears. It frightened many people, and

1896, Chanute took Lilienthal's basic it seemed ridiculous to others. But it re- design and added movable wings and a mained an attractive idea for some people. Those who tried to fly were often Octave Chanute, U.S. engineer and aviator, dis- told it was impossible, but they persisted covered many principles of aerodynamics. In in trying. When they succeeded, how- 1894, he published the first hook about the ever, they were heroes. The Mont- history of flight. golfiers, Alphonse Penaud, and Otto Lilienthal were unable to build powered, full-size, controllable flying machines,

but they all succeeded in freeing the imaginations of earthbound people. The earliest pioneers of aviation also left a growing body of information for two brothers, who now lived in Dayton, Ohio, who were interested in flight. Wilbur and Orville Wright were inquisitive and inventive. Working as a team, they had built a successful busi- ncss selling bicycles. In 1900, they turned their full attention to the dream ol human flight.

20 AIRPLANES CHAPTER 2

Miracle at Kitty Hawk

There was little in their background to suggest that the Wright brothers would change the world forever. Sons of a bishop in the United Brethren Church in Dayton, Ohio, Orville (born in 1867) and Wilbur Wright (born in 1871) grew up as normal boys. Like others their age, they went ice skating in the winter and flew kites in the spring. But with their two older brothers and a younger sister, Wilbur and Orville shared a powerful family trait:

The young Wright brothers 'family takes a drive.

all of the Wrights were curious and inventive, and they always wanted to know how things worked. Wilbur was thirteen and Orville nine when their father gave them a planophere, one of the rubber band- powered tovs designed bv Alphonse Penaud. Naturally, the young Wright

brothers took it apart to see how it worked, then tried to build their own planophere. Like Penaud, thev reasoned that a larger model of the toy would fly even better than the small plaything. When they found that this

was not true, thev lost interest in it. U.S. aviators Orville and Wilbur Wright spent The brothers had other ambitious many hours discussingflight. They built the first successful heav ier-t ha n-air powered air- hobbies to pursue, such as publishing a plane. small newspaper. They also built and

CHAPTER 2 21 Awakened by Lilienthal's Crash

The event that focused their attention on the idea of flight was Otto Lilienthal's fatal crash in 1896. Orville and Wilbur began thinking together about the possibility of constructing a Hying machine, as they had before when they received the toy planophere. Hungry for information on human

flight, they checked the Dayton li-

brary but found little. They knew from reading the newspapers, however, that Professor Samuel Langley of the Smithsonian Institution was researching the subject. So they sent a letter requesting copies of any publica- This toy airplane, called a planophere, is pow- tions the Institution had regarding ered lr\ rubber bands. It aroused the young Wright brothers' interest in flight. human flight. As soon as they received the information, they went to work. sold kites. They were always handy with Orville later wrote: tools, and when they grew into young men, they opened a bicycle shop. The On reading the different books on Wrights enjoyed the creative work of the subject we were much impressed designing new and better bicycles. They with the great number of people who were both good craftsmen, and they had given thought to it—among these were also good at thinking out design some of the greatest minds the world problems. But once they mastered the has produced. After reading the pam- phlets sent to us by the Smithsonian we problem of design, building the bicy- became highly enthusiastic with the cles seemed tedious work. idea of gliding as a sport. We found With the bike shop well-established, that Lilienthal had been killed through the hard-working brothers needed a his inability to properly balance his ma- new challenge. It would have to capture chine in the air ... . Chanute, and I be- their interest in mechanics engi- and lieve all the other experimenters neering. It would also have to be some- before 1900, used the same method of thing that they could feel passionate maintaining the equilibrium [balance] about To attract their interest, a new in gliding flight. We at once set to work challenge would have to pique their cu- to devise a more efficient means of

riosity, fill them with wonder, and give maintaining the equilibrium. them a new world of ideas to explore.

In othei words, it had to be something What was needed, the Wrights ob- that was impossible, lor the otherwise served, was a mechanical way to bal- law-abiding Wrights, the law of gravity ance the glider while it was in flight. became the perfect challenge. Before long they had formed an idea: if

22 AIRPLANES they could make the front part of one Studying Lilienthal's Results wing turn upward when the other wing was turned downward, they could use The brothers continued their research. the flow of air around it to stabilize the They studied Lilienthal's observations glider. Manipulating the wings in a cer- of birds, which explained the principle tain way, they reasoned, would keep the of lift. Lilienthal's research illustrated glider balanced and in flight. The pilot that pigeons, for instance, use quick would not have to shift his own weight strokes of their short, heavy wings to around, as Lilienthal and others had propel themselves into flight. Other done with disastrous results. birds, like sea gulls, use the slower flap- With that idea well-formed, the ping motion of their long, narrow next step was to design the craft. It had wings for gliding. All species of birds to be flexible enough to allow for such rely upon the wind as a lifting force. a wing-bending design yet strong This knowledge reinforced the Wrights' enough to carry a pilot. Wilbur came belief that the key to achieving flight up with a possible solution to the prob- was a matter of controlling the wings of lem one day in the bike shop. He sold the aircraft as they met the wind. an inner tube to a customer and sud- By 1897, the Wrights were getting denly noticed something interesting ready to test their radically different about the cardboard box that had held ideas. They designed a glider similar to the tube. He saw how the opposing sur- Lilienthal's but with a major innovation. faces of the box could be made to Their glider would have a system of pul- curve in opposite directions by pinch- leys and cables that would allow them to ing and twisting the box in a certain bend the wings during flight. The glid- way. er's frame was made of lightweight The effect on the box was just what wooden poles of spruce and ash. Wilbur and Orville had envisioned for Unbleached muslin was stretched over their glider. Wilbur brought the card- the frame to form the wings. board box home that evening and ex- The Wrights ' glider is beingflown as a kite to test plained his idea to Orville. They wing strength. The brothers ' early work with thought some more about it, then de- gliders was influenced by the experiments of Otto cided to write to glider expert Octave Lilienthal. Chanute. Chanute was then the most dedicated and experienced flight experimenter in the world. He would surely have an opinion. That first letter was the beginning of a ten-year relationship. During this relationship, the Wrights often bene- fitted from Chanute's expertise in aeronautics, the science of aircraft operation. For his part, Chanute was delighted to find these two brothers who were so serious and diligent about the idea of flight.

CHAPTER 2 23 WING WARPING

RUDDER

The Wright brothers devised their wing "warped" the shape of the wing. When warping system so that planes could the pilot turned to the right, for exam- turn more smoothly. On their plane, the ple, the wing corners on the right side rudder, which controls the direction the of the plane were tipped up, and the plane turns, was connected by wires to corners on the left side were tipped

a control cable, which is what the pilot down. This would cause the plane to

used to steer the plane. Also attached bank, or tip, slightly to the right os it

to the control coble, however, were turned. Airplanes today still use this

wires that ran to the rear corners of principle of wing warping, but it is ac- eoch wing. Whenever the pilot moved complished with steel flaps, or ailerons, the control cable to turn the plane, the on the wings. coble also pulled these wires, which

One of the frustrations of piloting a Orville called their new idea "wing- glider was dealing with the ever-chang- warping." ing speed and direction of the wind. The Wrights began searching for With wings that could be bent during the ideal spot to test their control- flight, the pilot would be able to react lable wings. They needed a place with to sudden gusts and reposition the steady, high winds and wide, open wings to avoid crashing. Wilbur and spaces. Again, they wrote to Washing-

24 AIRPLANES ton, D.C., this time for government weather records. They found that the perfect place to launch their test glider would be on the breezy beach near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The location was remote, barren, and windy, which was the most important condition. In August 1899, Wilbur took the train from Dayton to Virginia. He then hired a sailor to take him on to Kitty Hawk. Wilbur carried with him the Wright brothers' unassembled, first aircraft, a kite with two five-foot wings. Wilbur began setting up camp when he arrived, and Orville joined him a few weeks later.

Wing-Warping Put to The Wright brothers test their glider's newly de- the Test veloped wing-warping system. They discovered

Living out of a tent at the wind-blown that they could maneuver the aircraft by controlling the shape and angle the wings. beach, Wilbur and Orville put together of their kite, tied it to a stake, and flew it. kite. They found that by designing the It was not meant to carry a pilot but to leading edge of their wing to curve into test the wing-warping system the broth- the wind and then taper off, they were ers had devised. They tried different able to create a lifting force beneath wing shapes and observed how these the wing. With their system of pulleys, shapes affected the performance of the they could control the strength of the

lift. They gained confidence that they In 1 901, the Wright brothers built this wind tun- right nel, which enabled them to observe the interac- were on the course and returned tion of moving air and various wing shapes. to Dayton for the winter. Using this information, they refined their glider Although they had not yet even at- model. tempted a human flight, the Wrights made some important findings during that first trip to Kitty Hawk. They discovered that Lilienthal's calculations re-

garding lift were wrong. In order to find the correct figures, the Wrights built a small wind tunnel in their bike shop. There they tested many wing models of different shapes to see how each would

react to the air moving around it. They made their wind tunnel by placing a small fan at one end of a tin cylinder. At the opposite end, they

CHAPTER 2 25 hung small pines of tin and wax, in them to live in. They settled in and

\. u inns shapes, resembling the design waited for a day when the wind was of wings, lln brothers found thai the right. Then they carried the glider up greatest lifting effect occurred when to a big sand dune near their camp. the winglike shapes were curved a cer- Wilbur and Orville successfully tain wa\ into the wind. This confirmed made about a dozen flights. One what the) had leai lied with their kite at brother would lie down on the glider. Kitt\ Hawk. They recorded the exact The other would hold onto a wing and angles at which the greatest and least run the glider downhill into the wind lilt o(( lined. They would use this new until it began soaring by itself. The first information to design their next glider. few flights lasted only about five to ten

[Tie wind tunnel tests proved that seconds. Eventually, however, they were much of the available data regarding able to keep the glider in the air for flight were probably incorrect—-just as twenty seconds, about a foot or two off Lilienthal's calculations were. The the ground. Wrights became concerned about wast- The results were less than spectacu- ing their time following other false lar. In all of their flights combined, the leads. They were skeptical about any in- Wrights spent a total of only about two lormation or theories that they had not minutes up in the air. It was much less developed and proved themselves. time than they had hoped, and it could hardly be called human flight. But when they went back to Dayton, the The First Kitty Hawk Glider Wrights were not discouraged. Wilbur later wrote that although the many After another summer in the bike shop, hours they had hoped to practice dwin- Wilbur and Orville returned to Kitty dled down to a few minutes, they were Hawk in October 1900 with a full-size The Wright brothers designed, constructed, and glider. It was "a tailless biplane with a housed their aircraft in this factory at Kitty horizontal control surface forward of Hawk, North Carolina. the wings." The odd-shaped craft was similar to a glider previously designed by Channte, who had been an early proponent of wing control. But again, the important difference in the Wrights' design was their wing-warping system. One wing of the glider could be tipped np while the other one was tipped down. Finally, the Wrights would be able to put their theories about wing control to the test with a full-fledged glider that could hold a pilot. After sleeping in a tent the previous year, they decided to construct two buildings. One was to house their glider, and one was for

26 AIRPLANES still pleased. Using an unproved design upward, creating a force called lift. The based upon radical ideas, Wilbur con- Wrights theorized that when lift was per- cluded they had done fairly well: "We fectly balanced with the weight of the considered it quite a point to be able to aircraft, flight would result. return without having our pet theories To balance the force of the lift with completelv knocked in the head by the the weight of the aircraft, the Wrights hard logic of experience, and our had to find the center of gravity in the brains dashed out in the bargain." aircraft. They had to be able to keep the center of gravity stable and rotate

the aircraft around it in order to keep A New Theory of Flight it balanced. The center of gravity, they found, lies between the wings. To stabi- Attempting human flight was certainly lize and balance the aircraft around a dangerous business. The Wright that center, they had to be able to brothers knew well that Lilienthal and change the way the wings met the wind. many others had died trying to fly. Until it is perfectly balanced there Unlike the others, the Wrights were are three different ways that an aircraft concerned with the issue of controlling will rotate in the air. The way that the the aircraft once it was in the air. craft rotates depends on how the pilot Experimenters before them had pre- maneuvers three sets of movable sur- sumed that it might be steered much faces. These are the steering mecha- like a ship in the water. nisms used to keep the aircraft under Wilbur and Orville's glider experi- control. These steering mechanisms ments were proving that this was not have continued to evolve since the true. Controlling the aircraft depended Wrights' day. on many factors, including how the The Wright brothers test their glider during one structure was shaped and it moved how of their many experiments. They learned impor- in the wind. By focusing on the prob- tant methods of aircraft control during these lem of control, the Wright brothers flights. were building upon the science of aerodynamics that Cayley had discovered and to which others had contributed. '^ Questioning and refining the old theories, and adding their own carefully tested findings, the Wrights were developing a well-formed theory of flight. The curved shape of their wing would divide the air passing around it, the Wrights reasoned. Air passing above the wing would move faster than air passing below it. Applving Bernoulli's principle, they concluded that fast-moving air would exert less pressure than slow-moving air. Therefore, the greater pressure below the wing would push it

CHAPTER 2 27 AN AIRPLANE'S THREE DASIC MOVEMENTS

YAW ROLL

Pitch occurs when the front of on Roll is what happens when the airplane moves up or down. wings of the plane dip to one side or Yaw describes the swinging of a the other. plane from side to side.

I Ik three types of movement are ment yet, but they were learning fast. tailed pilch, yaw, and roll. Pitch occurs They returned to Kitty Hawk with a when the nose of the aircraft goes new glider again in 1901 and with

down and the tail goes up. Pitch is con- another one in 1902. They encountered

trolled l>\ steeling devices called eleva- many frustrations, including monsoon-

tors. If the craft continues pitching, it like weather conditions and unbearable will turn end over end. Yaw describes mosquitoes. But they kept trying, living what happens when the aircraft turns and working out of their wooden cabin on a horizontal axis. Horizontal move- at the beach.

ment i- c ontrolled by the i udder. If the plane continues to \aw, the entire air- (ialt will spin like a record on a The Breakthrough: A turntable. Roll happens when the air- Glider with Thrust

( raft's wings turn in a spiral. A movable pan of .in airplane wing called an When the weather permitted, the aileron controls tins son ol motion. If Wrights flew their glider enthusias-

the aircraft continues rolling, its wings tic alh. They gradually became expert will move in the wa\ that a football glider pilots, building the skills they spins when thrown in a spiral. would need later when they attempted

I he a< tions ol the elevators, the powered flight. After they made more rudder, and the ailerons must be care- than one thousand glider flights during

full) coordinated. I sed in combina- a period of three vears, the Wrights felt tion, these mechanisms control the certain that thev could build a powered equilibrium oi the ain raft and keep the machine that would fly. With their in- plane from tumbling out <>f control. novative wind-warping idea, they had

Oi course, the Wrights did not solved the problem of lift. Now they know all the details of pi. me move- had onlv to figure out how to provide

28 AIRPLANES In 1903, the Wright brothers built the Wright

Flyer I, the first powered aircraft with propellers and a gasoline engine.

the necessary thrust to power their The brothers had debated for many

glider through the air. hours what the proper design of the Beginning in February 1903, the propellers should be. Exactly what Wrights began gathering the best mate- would be the perfect shape? How rials, including wood and fabric, they should the propellers be mounted? could find for constructing a powered How fast should they spin and in what

flying machine, the Wright Flyer I. They direction? These were difficult ques- decided that the thrust would be pro- tions that no one had ever answered. yided by propellers, powered bv a The Wrights had a peculiar way of twelve-horsepower gasoline engine. debating such questions. They often dis- The engine was designed by the cussed matters of aerodynamics after Wrights and built by Charlie Taylor, a dinner in their house in Dayton. From skillful mechanic they had hired to the kitchen, their sister Katherine could work in the bicycle shop. Taylor's en- hear them arguing in the living room. gine would use a chain and sprocket Their voices would grow louder as design, similar to the bicycle design Wilbur and Orville voiced their dis- that the Wrights were so familiar with. agreements on some point of aircraft design. But often a funny thing happened.

This propeller creates forward motion, called After arguing back and forth for a thrust, in the Wrights' airplane. while, the brothers would suddenly realize that they had switched positions. Wilbur would be supporting Orville's original point, and vice versa. They found that with mutual respect and a lack of stubbornness, they often arrived at the same point of view. This method also allowed each brother to see both sides of a problem and gain a larger

CHAPTER 2 29 PROPELLERS DRIVEN BY CHAIN AND SPROCKET

FRONT OF PLANE

To provide the thrust for their air- small gas-powered engine turned the plane, the Wright brothers attached chains, which spun the propellers. The two propellers to the rear of the wings. air movement produced by the spin- Each of the propellers was attached to ning propellers pushed the plane for- a chain and sprocket assembly just like ward. the chain and sprocket on a bicycle. A

perspective on questions of aircraft de- They cleaned up the camp, thankful sign. It was almost as if the problem of that the unassembled pieces of the flyer flight were too difficult for one person survived the storm undamaged. alone. They eagerly put the flyer together. Working as a team through the When they started up the motor, how- summer months, the Wrights were ever, it backfired violently, causing the read\ to return to Kittv Hawk by late entire plane to shake. The engine

September 1903. They brought with worked, but it turned the chain and them the Wright Flyer I. They were eager sprockets unevenly. The sprockets were if) try the new craft out But soon after attached to tubular shafts that would the) arrived, a powerful storm hit, buf- spin the propellers. As they began spin- feting their wooden cabin with winds ning with the sprockets, one of these up to sevent) miles per hour. Six inches propeller shafts became badly twisted. of rainwatei covered the floor by the The plane would not fly like this. The time the storm stopped four days later. Wrights knew there was only one thing

30 AIRPLANES to do: send it back to Ohio. In Dayton, Three days later, the improved shafts their helper Charlie Taylor would rein- were in place. force both propeller shafts. This work With their mechanical troubles fi- would cause a lengthy delay, but it had nally solved, the Wrights were eager to to be done. By mid-November, the pro- try the flyer out the next day. But they peller shafts had been strengthened needed a certain amount of wind to and were ready to put back on the flyer. produce the required lift, and it was just not windy enough. Although the

wind picked up the following day, it was Home by Christmas? Sunday and the Wrights never worked on Sunday. On Monday, December 14, The brothers were stalled again, howev- the wind had died down again. But er. Kitty Hawk was struck with more bad Wilbur and Orville were determined to weather through Thanksgiving, includ- make a flight, with or without the wind. ing some snow. The weather finally They had promised that they would be cleared near the end of the month, and home for Christmas, and time was run- the Wrights brought the flyer back out. ning out. But while running the engine, they no- Before attempting their first flight, ticed another problem with the tubular they ran up a flag on a makeshift flag- propeller shafts. This time one had pole to alert the local lifeguards and cracked. It seemed that their hoped-for people on the beach. Five men, two flight would not happen by Christmas. boys, and a dog came to watch. Wilbur Again the Wrights made a quick de- won the coin toss to see who would go cision. Orville traveled back to Dayton first. He climbed on, lying down on his and had Charlie Taylor construct solid stomach. Orville spun the propellers to propeller shafts of high-grade steel. get the engine started. He then ran Taylor worked quickly, and Orville was alongside, guiding the machine along back at Kitty Hawk by December 9. the sixty-foot wooden runner they had

The Wright Flyer I is flown at Kitty Hawk on December 1 7, 1903, marking the dawn of a new era in history.

^ placed m the sand. Orville also carried ing of any practical uses at all," Orville a stopwatch, which he started as soon as said years later. "We just wanted to show the Ryei left the ground. tint it was possible to ll\."

\i the controls, Wilbui tui ned the Practical uses would come later. rilddei .is soon as the plane It'll the First, the Wrights had to reverse a fun- track. [Tie plane ininiedialeK went up- damental assumption about the limits ward, then came down on its tail, dam- of humankind. "If people were meant aging one of the wings. It had traveled to fly, they would have wings"—this was onl\ about one- hundred feet, and the the' popular slogan of skeptics. The flight was over in less than four sec- Wrights proved them wrong. They onds. It was not really a flight, but the showed that by using their brains and brothers were siill very excited. They the resources around them, people had Learned that their design was fun- could extend their abilities as far as they damental!) correct, and success could could imagine. They could even do not he far off. what most people thought impossible. The damage to the fiver was slight, The Wrights' progress was not easy. and the brothers immediately set about They had worked together, challenging fixing it. A few days later, Orville got old assumptions and arguing until they his chance to fly. At 10:35 \.\i. on changed each other's opinions. They December 17, 1903, he climbed onto cared little for what people thought. the flyer. With Wilbur steadving the When they were done, the two brothers wing, Orville steered the flyer down the had amended what was until then an track and took off into the air. His agreed-upon law of the universe. flight lasted a little longer than Newton was still right: what goes up Wilbur's, a total of about twelve sec- must come down. But not right away. onds, but he landed the fiver without The force of gravity could be overcome, damage after he went about 120 feet. at least temporarily.

As soon as it was over, they brought the More so than anyone before them, plane back to the launching pad and the Weights had looked at human flight tried again. In the next ninetv minutes, as a scientific problem to be solved. thev made three more flights, with the First, they learned all they could about brothers alternating at the controls. the subject. Then, they persisted when Wilbur made the final flight of the day, things became difficult. Their ultimate covering 852 feet and staving up for success was not an accidental discovery fifty-nine seconds. or the result of luck. It took several The Wright brothers dramatically years of rigorous thinking and patient,

(hanged the course of human history hard work. Perhaps most of all, it re- that clay. It was the first time a heavier- quired faith in a dream. than-air vehicle had left the earth under Someone once asked Orville at what its own power, accomplished controlled point he got the biggest kick out of fly- and sustained flight, then landed at a ing: was it when that first flight left the spot as high as the spot it had taken off ground? "No," he said. "I got more thrill from. A new age had begun, although out of flying before I had ever been in no one realized it. "At the time we flew the air at all—while lying in bed think- oin fiisi powei plane we were not thinking how exciting it would be to fly."

32 AIRPLANES CHAPTER 3 A New Age Takes Wing

The Wrights did, in fact, make it home worked at making their flying machine in time for Christmas in 1903. They re- ready for the world. ceived no heroes' welcome, since The Wright Flyer II came out in Wilbur and Orville chose to keep their 1904, and the Wright Flyer III in 1905. triumph quiet. They shared the news of Instead of making the difficult trip their flight with their family and a few back to Kitty- Hawk, the Wrights regu- close friends like Octave Chanute, but larly flew these planes at Huffman generally they did not try to publicize Prairie, about eight miles from their their success. The brothers hoped to home in Dayton. They made more than obtain a patent on their design, so they forty flights in 1905, the longest of were not eager to have others find out which covered a distance of thirty-four about it and quickly copy it. They knew miles. They gradually learned the skills that their flying machine would be valu- necessary to maneuver the aircraft. able, and thev hoped to sell the design Soon, they were able to fly complete to the U.S. and British governments. circles over the prairie. When the Wrights wrote letters, Around Dayton, word gradually however, describing the Wright Flyer I to spread that the Wrights had made a the U.S. Army, they were dismissed successful flying machine. It was an in- as crackpots. The prevailing attitude to- credible piece of news. Yet no one ward flight was still one of great skepti- seemed to appreciate what the brothers cism. Perhaps the world was not had done. The fact of a flying machine yet ready for their flying machine. In was probably just too unbelievable for the r.xeantime, however, the brothers people to accept. Also, there was confu-

The Wright brothers were inspired by their initial success with powered

flight. In 1904, they built the Wright Flyer

II, shown here being flown in afield near their home in Dayton.

«*•<£* «*«_•**&..j»*M

CHAPTER 3 33 .

At Fort Myer, Virginia, I \S. army officials and civilian spectators watch as the Wright brothers unload and prepare their airplane forflight.

sion about exactly what the Wright Flyer It was inevitable that some people was. It was often called an airship, a would notice the flyer, however. Passen- term that was also used to refer to dirigi- gers on a train that ran on nearby bles, the gas-filled balloons that were in- tracks reported to the local newspaper vented in the 1800s. There was nothing that they had seen a machine flying for people to get excited about if it were out at Huffman Prairie. The paper just another dirigible. Unless they saw sent out a reporter, but the Wrights the Wright Flyer in action, many assumed were not flying that day, and the re-

that it was just that—one of the huge, porter did not pursue the story any gas-filled balloons that had been around further. But it would be told soon for more than one hundred years. enough.

The Wright brothers are greeted with disbelief by skeptics xuho assume that

//^ Wright Flyer is nothing more than a dirigible-a gas-filled balloon.

34 AIRPLANES Tragedy Strikes at Fort Myer

By September 1908, the brothers had succeeded in getting the U.S. Army interested enough in their invention to schedule some trial flights at Fort Myer, Virginia. They had also decided to show their invention in Europe, where

it might be taken more seriously. While Wilbur was flying one plane in France, Orville flew another at Fort Myer. Orville flew every day that weather allowed, for two weeks. Tens of thousands of people came to Fort Myer to see the spectacle. Millions more read

about it in newspapers, where they also saw pictures of Orville in flight. These exhibition flights ended in tragedy on September 17. That day Orville and his passenger, Lt. Thomas Selfridge, were flying wide circles over a field when one of the plane's propellers broke. As the broken propeller

flew into the air, Orville lost control of the plane and crashed. He sustained a broken leg, several broken ribs, and a

six-inch cut on his head. Selfridge 's injuries were more serious, and he died that night. Wilbur heard about the accident by telegram in France, where he was demonstrating a plane. Reassured that

Orville would be all right, Wilbur

stayed in Europe. He felt it was his duty not to disappoint those who had come

to see him fly. There was, for instance, a seventy-year-old Frenchman who rode (top) On September 17, 1909, Orville Wright his bicycle sixty miles round-trip every and passenger Thomas Selfridge fly over Fort day for almost a week, hoping to wit- Myer as thousands of spectators watch, ness the miracle of human flight. (middle) A propeller breaks, and Orville loses Wilbur wrote to his father: "I some- control of the plane. times so at the continual an- (bottom) Selfridge dies of injuries from the crash. get angry Orville suffered a cut to his head and several noyance of having the crowd about that broken bones. I feel like quitting the whole thing and

CHAPTER 3 35 going home. Bui when 1 think of the sacrifices some oi them have made in tlu- hope oi seeing a flight, I cannot help feeling sorr) l<>i them when 1 do nol go out."

I he brothers were international celebrities now. and the) fell compelled to show their invention to the world. Hie nexl year, when his wounds from tin- crash had healed, Orville decided it was his turn to show a plane in Europe. Wilbur staved in the United States. He went to New York and made several flights. More than a million people watched him fly along Manhattan, over in 1 909, Frenchman Louis Bleriot becomes the the New York Harbor, and around the first person to fly a heavier-than-air machine Statue of Liberty. across the English Channel.

came the first to fly over a large body of

water when he made it across the Glenn Curtiss's June Dug English Channel and collected the prize of ten thousand British pounds All this attention did not go unnoticed offered by the London Daily Mail. by other inventors, including Alexander Bleriot was a wealthy man who financed Graham Bell. He had already made his his flying hobby with money he made mark on the world by inventing the from manufacturing headlights for telephone. Now he organized and fi- cars. He made the English Channel nanced a small group of people inter- crossing in the eleventh plane that he ested in flight, including motorcycle had designed and built. It had a twenty- mechanic and racer Glenn Curtiss. five horsepower, three-cylinder engine Between March and December 1908, and a top speed of thirty-six miles per this group produced four flying ma- hour. After his famous flight, Bleriot chines, based upon what they knew began manufacturing the plane, mak- about the Wrights' design. The first two ing it available to anyone for about two crashed, but their third airplane, the thousand dollars. He also later built June Bug, was a success. Outfitted with a more than ten thousand airplanes for thirty-horsepower, eight-cylinder, water- the French government during World cooled engine designed by Curtiss, the War I. fane Bug's performance was not as good as the Wrights' planes. But it gave Glenn ( lurtiss his start, and he would The Angle of Attack be a competitor of the Wright brothers for years to come. From 1908 to 1910, Curtiss, Bleriot, Europeans were duplicating the and others pieced together the dynam-

Wrights' aeronautical successes, too. In ics of lift and thrust, the crucial secrets July 1909, Louis Bleriot of France be- of flight that the Wrights had uncov-

36 AIRPLANES ANGLE OF ATTACK

ELEVATOR DOWN

X NCREASED CHORD UNE_ ANGLE OF ANGLE OF ATTACK ATTACK FLIGHT PATH FLIGHT PATH

The angle of attack is the angle decreases it. A pilot decreases the formed by a plane's flight path and an angle of attack by lowering the imaginary line, called a chord line, that elevators located on the tail wings (A). runs at the same angle as the plane's The angle of attack can be increased wings. A high angle of attack increases by raising the elevators (B).

lift, while a low angle of attack

ered. As the Wrights had determined Once in the air, the pilot must earlier, these other pioneers of flight maintain the balance between lift and found that the "angle of attack" was a gravity. Less lift is required as the plane key factor. The angle of attack refers to picks up speed. At high speeds, the the position of the wing as the wind hits pilot may decrease the angle of attack. it. At a low angle of attack, the entire wing is flat and nearly parallel to the ground. When the front part of the Steering the Airplane wing is tilted upward, more wind rushes underneath it, and the angle of attack The pilot uses the control column and is increased. foot pedals to steer the plane. The con-

To get a plane off the ground, the trol column is a stick in the floor of the pilot builds up enough speed so that cockpit. The column is attached to ca- the wind is rushing around the wing. bles that raise and lower the ailerons With the correct angle of attack, this on the wings and the elevators in the creates pressure, or lift, under the tail. wing. The pilot raises the elevator, lo- When the pilot pushes the stick to cated in the tail of the plane, and low- the right or left, one aileron is raised ers the ailerons, which are on the and the other is lowered. This causes trailing edge of the wings. These move- the plane to roll to one side or the ments of the plane's various surfaces other, a necessary movement for deflect the air flow, increase the angle smooth banking as the plane turns. of attack, and create more lift. The By pushing the stick forward, the plane leaves the ground when the pilot lowers the elevators. This diverts force of lift becomes greater than the the air flow, causing the tail to rise and weight of the plane. the nose to drop. As the nose drops,

CHAPTER 3 37

> This aerial exhibition thrills a huge crowd of spectators, who view daring pilots with admiration and respect. the airplane dives. Pulling back on the some lift must be created just before stick, the pilot raises the elevators. With touching down to avoid a crash land- the elevators up, the tail drops and the ing. As the pilot glides in to land, he or nose rises. As the nose rises, the air- she increases the angle of attack by plane climbs. gradually raising the elevators and low- The pilot uses foot pedals to turn ering the ailerons on the wings. This the rudder, which diverts wind flow creates lift, and the plane lands safely. around the tail section and turns the aircraft.

In the first airplanes, these control The Public Begins to Take cables were directly connected from Notice the control column to the movable surfaces. In modern aircraft, the process is The disbelief and indifference that had computerized. As the pilot moves the first greeted the Wrights' invention of control column, signals are sent from the flying machine were gone by 1910. the cockpit to hydraulic systems, sys- Everywhere that the Wrights and other tems that are operated by the move- flyers went, they were greeted by enthu- ment of liquid, or electric motors. siastic crowds. The public was begin- These then move the surfaces appropri- ning to realize that the ancient dream ately of flight had finally come to life. The Working the control column and impossible had been achieved, and to the fool pedals, i h< pilot carefully or- see it stirred the imagination. In 1910,

( hcst rates the action of the plane's after a plane flew over the streets of movable sui fa< es to < ontrol the aircraft Chicago, a minister who witnessed the in flight. event wrote: "Never have I seen such a To land the plane, the pilot must look of wonder in the faces of a multi- reduce speed, which reduces lift. Bui tude. From the gray-haired man to the

38 AIRPLANES child, everyone seemed to feel that it An aerial meet at Boston Harbor in was a new day in their lives." September 1910, for instance, featured

Airplanes were still too small to more than $100,000 in prize money. carry passengers or freight, so they The next month, in New York's were not yet very practical. In fact, no Belmont Park, Count Jacques de one was even certain that airplanes Lesseps of France won $10,000 in a would ever be of any real use. But peo- quick flight around the Statue of ple were thrilled by the new flying ma- Liberty; American Ralph Johnstone set chines, and they would pay to see a new altitude record of 9,714 feet; and daring pilots fly. Airplanes became a Englishman Claude Graham-White set great source of entertainment. There a new speed record of sixty-one miles were exhibitions and aerial meets. The per hour. first really large meet occurred in Also at the Belmont Park meet, the Reims, France, where Glenn Curtiss set first women pilots appeared, including a speed record of forty-three miles per Helene Dutrieux of France and Ameri- hour. Huge crowds would gather at cans Blanche Scott and Ruth Law. these events to watch the daring pilots Within a few years, the Stinson sisters, push the limits of what was possible. Katherine and Marjorie, had opened a In addition to the entertainment flying school near San Antonio, Texas. they provided, airplanes also generated As pilots received more training and intense competition. All the pilots became more skillful, new flight records seemed to want to go faster and farther continued to be set. than anyone else ever had. They de- Record-breaking performances were manded better airplanes from the man- made for distance as well as speed. ufacturers, who began providing them. Glenn Curtiss's flight of two hours and Pilots who flew superior machines were fifty-one minutes from Albany to New rewarded with prize money, and those York City in 1910 won him ten thou- manufacturers gained the prestige of sand dollars from a New York newspa- producing a winner. per. The public eagerly followed the

Helene Dutrieux of France appears at an

aerial meet at New York 's Belmont Park in 1910. Dutrieux was one of the first woman aviators.

l \ /yy A o^:,^^ [H}&

CHAPTER 3 39 accounts <>t these flights in the newspa-

pers .is ilu- prizes became larger and the contests more challenging.

Airplane Pilots as All-American Heroes

Airplanes also provided would-be heroes with the opportunity to prove themselves. Praised for their courage, pilots were admired for exploring the unknown reaches of the sky. They provided real excitement and gave many people a way to extend their imaginations far beyond their ordinary lives. Stories about pilots' daring flights pro vided people with inspiring thoughts and dreams.

One pilot who gained fame as an Calbraith Rodgers stands in front of his plane, adventurous hero was the dashing the Vin Fiz. The plane ivas named after a soft drink as advertising ploy. the Calbraith P. Rodgers. In September an The name of

product received great exposure during Rodgers 's 1911, the cigar-smoking former college coast-to-coast flight. football star took up the challenge laid down by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. Hearst would give 'Vin Fiz, Sold Everywhere, fifty thousand dollars to the first pilot 5 Cents' to fly from coast to coast in less than thirty days. For advertisers, Armour's campaign was Rodgers had received his flight an exciting new concept. By naming training at a school the Wrights estab- the plane after its product, Armour lished in Dayton, and he bought a guaranteed itself plenty of national ex- plane made by the Wrights. By this time posure. Details of the flight would be in the Wrights' planes were propelled by every newspaper in the country for at piston-powered engines, rather than least one month. Additionally, the the chain and sprocket design of the thousands of people across the country original Wright Flyer. Rodgers's flight who looked up to see the plane as it u.is sponsored by the Armour Meat went overhead would have no doubt Packing Company of Chicago. To capi- about what soft drink to buy. Painted

talize on its aeronautical investment, on the bottom of the plane's wings in Armour built an advertising campaign huge letters was the name Vin Fiz. around the event. The company was in- Since there was no reliable naviga- troducing a new soft drink called Vin tion system for aircraft yet, Rodgers depended upon railroad tracks to guide I i/. which also became the name of Rodgers's plane. him across the country. The Armour

40 AIRPLANES Company provided a three-car train that would follow the Vin Fiz and provide support. It included a workshop and spare parts, a passenger car for reporters, and a luxurious private Pullman car so that Rodgers's mother and wife could be with the pilot each night. Painted on the side of the train were big purple grapes and a sign that said "Vin Fiz, Sold Everywhere, 5 cents." Rodgers took off in his airplane from Long Island on a September day. He headed first for Chicago after de- touring over Coney Island where he dropped Vin Fiz leaflets along the boardwalk, pioneering another new advertising technique. The first night he stopped in Middletown, New York. As he was taking off the next morning, the rudder of the plane became caught on In 1911, Calbraith Rodgers flew from Long a tree when Rodgers went low to avoid Island, New York to Long Beach, California, marking the first cross-country flight. some power lines, and the Vin Fiz slammed into a chicken coop. With a the first to cross the country in an aero- cigar still clenched between his teeth, plane," he told reporters. Rodgers emerged from the wreckage And he was. Averaging fifty-one with his head bleeding. Ace air- miles per hour from one coast to the plane mechanic Charlie Taylor, whom other, Rodgers finally landed his Rodgers had hired away from the Weight brothers' plane on the sea- Wright brothers, had the plane ready to shore at Long Beach, California, on go ag^in in just a few days. But it would December 10, 1911. This was forty-nine not be the last crash of the Vin Fiz. days after he started. The plane was

In all, Rodgers had eleven major ac- mobbed by spectators, and he enjoyed cidents along the way. Built with more a hero's welcome. He had not met wood than the early Wright Flyers, it was Hearst's thirty-day time limit, but as

a sturdier aircraft, but the plane still Rodgers said to friends: "I made it, had to be almost totally rebuilt four didn't I?" times. The pilot also took a beating, Like many other early pilots, sustaining many injuries, including Rodgers eventually ran out of luck, for sprained ankles, a twisted back, a bro- flying was truly a dangerous business.

ken leg, a slight concussion, and cuts in Five months after he had landed in tri- his right arm. But the resilient Rodgers umph, Rodgers was flying low over the was determined to finish what he had surf off Long Beach. He dipped his

started. "Whether I get fifty thousand plane's wings and crashed in shallow

dollars or fifty cents, I am going to be water. He did not survive the wreck.

CHAPTER 3 41 Calbraith Rodgers tvas not exempt from the dangers of flying, hive months after his famous cross-country flight, he crashed and died in the l>MJV Vin Fiz. w w—»

New Age Begins wanted, when they wanted. It seemed everyone en the planet would soon be- The next spring another pioneer of come neighbors with everyone else. flight died at the age of forty-five after a Everyone would have an airplane, struggle with typhoid fever. Wilbur social observers predicted. People Wright's father wrote in his diary: "In would drive their own personal planes memory and intellect, there were none to work every day. Traveling salespeo- like him. His wit was quick and keen." ple would hawk their wares from well- Before he died, Wilbur Wright had stocked airplanes. Airplane racing been half of the driving force that ush- would become an exciting new sport, ered in a new age for humankind. The rivaling football in its popularity. At the airplane was the most startling inven- same time, outdoor events like football tion in the age of invention. It seemed games would lose money because no to be a giant step for the human race. one would pay to see them—they The ability to fly would change every- would simply watch from above in their thing. What might happen next? In the airplanes. first decade of the new century, it was a These things never happened, of major topic of conversation. Much of course. Not everyone could afford to the discussion was highly optimistic. own a plane, for one thing. But the

For instance, it was argued that be- fact that people even talked about cause the sky belonged to no one, it was such possibilities was exhilarating. free for anyone to explore, including Before the Wright brothers, any talk of the poor and oppressed. It was not like human flight was ridiculed. Afterward, land, which went to whoever had it seemed that because people could enough mone\ to buy. The sky was un- fly, anything might be possible. The claimed, unregulated, and available to airplane gave people new hope and all. Willi the airplane, it seemed to new ideas. Thus the airplane had as main people that they would soon be broad an impact on culture, society, exploring the heavens. They would be and technology as any other major in- like birds—free to go where they vention.

42 AIRPLANES A Tool for World Peoce? started in August 1914, there were no specialized military aircraft yet. Soldiers Decades later, flying would become a soon discovered, however, that air- routine activity. But in the early 1900s, borne scouts gave them an advantage

it was seen as an almost miraculous in tracking the enemy's movements. Of

feat. It seemed that God and the angels course, the other side began sending

in heaven were within reach of the air- up scouting flights, too. At first, pilots planes. Flying was considered a practi- on scouting missions would wave when cally divine activity, and some people they saw each other up in the sky. But

expected that it would have the effect before long, they began packing pistols of making people behave divinely. to ward each other off and to protect Some said that after floating above their own airplanes. Soon, they were

the clouds, people would rise above all carrying rifles, then machine-guns. As the petty differences that had caused the weaponry became more deadly, them to go to war in the past. From up greater speed and maneuverability be- in the air, they would gain a new per- came more important to military avia- spective. Borders would be recognized tors. as artificial divisions of one world and In 1915, the first real fighter plane would not matter as much as they had appeared. It was the French-made in the past. Nations would be closer, in Moraine-Saulnier Bullet. It had one both travel time and in spirit. One of wing, while many other planes at the the most talked about ideas of the early time had two, one above and one below

1900s was that the airplane would bring the fuselage, or body of the plane. It lasting world peace. also had a machine-gun mounted on It was all speculation, of course, but the front, which allowed the pilot to some people expected that even old en- fire straight ahead through the pro- emies would become more neighborly. peller. Wedge-shaped deflectors on the Relations between the countries of the propeller blades protected them from world would become more peaceful, in the occasional bullet. The Germans part because the airplane offered horri- soon produced a plane with a gun driv- fying #*ew possibilities for destruction. en by the engine. The system was clev- Used as a vehicle to deliver weapons, erly engineered so that the gun was airplanes would be much more effi- timed to shoot between the whirling cient and deadly than the earthbound propeller blades. This plane was the cannons that had been used in the Fokker E-l, designed by a young flight past. Because of this scenario, manv engineer named Anthony Fokker. The people believed airplanes would serve E-l made other nations realize they had to deter future wars. to produce more heavily armed air- What actually happened was almost planes in order to defeat enemy air- the exact opposite. People did use aircraft. Through experimentation with planes to fight wars, and the results horsepower, weight, and dimensions of were more lethal than anyone could width and length, scientists made air- have imagined. Eventually, airplanes planes more efficient in the air. became very useful tools of death and With better planes and better guns, destruction. But when World War I military pilots would engage each other

CHAPTER 3 43 The advent <>/ World War I prompted the development of the Moraine-Saulnier Bullet. This French fighterplane is equipped with bullet deflectors and a mounted machine gun. in combat high above the battle- Changing the Face of War fields. This one-on-one style of fighting seemed dashing and romantic to some. Soon after World War I started, it was Pilots became known as "Knights of the clear that the airplane would forever Air." Young men who believed the leg- change the way that armies fought bat- ends and signed on to become fighter tles. Aerial dogfights and bombing pilots found that in reality, fighting in raids were new ways of waging war. New the air was cold, uncomfortable, and strategies would develop to make the deadly. most of the airplane's capabilities, but

This German Fokker E-l

fighter plane was effective in combat because of its efficient artillery system.

44 AIRPLANES there was still much to learn about avia- four-hundred horsepower, twelve-cylin- tion. In one World War I incident, a der engines were put into the de commander of the U.S. Army's Ninety- Havilland DH-4, a British-designed air- sixth Bombardment Squadron led a six- plane that was manufactured in the plane formation over Germany in bad United States by the Dayton-Wright weather and landed on a German Company. More than twenty-two thou- airstrip. Because he had no system of sand of these planes were built, but navigation, he believed it to be an most of them were delivered after the Allied airfield. The Germans captured war was over, leaving the U.S. govern- the entire squadron and dropped a ment with a great surplus of airplanes. note on the Ninety-sixth's base that World War I is sometimes called read: "We thank you for the fine air- "the great accelerator" of aircraft devel- planes and equipment you have sent opment because of the interest it stimu- us; but what do we do with the major?" lated in the practical uses of airplanes Wartime pilots constantly pushed outside of the military. By the end of their airplanes to perform better. the war in November 1918, the average Chasing each other across the sky, they airplane was a much more reliable ma- developed evasive maneuvers. They chine than it had been before. In learned to fly their planes in loops and response to the needs of military pilots, rolls as they dodged each other's bul- airplanes were produced that were more lets. Pilots came back from combat powerful, better designed, and made flights and told the flight engineers with stronger materials. Each new that they needed to be able to go high- plane was like a new species of bird. er, faster, and to turn tighter circles. They could all fly, but at different Others wanted airplanes that could speeds and altitudes, depending on the carry bigger payloads of supplies and plane's design. When an improvement bombs. Military aviators needed better was made in one plane, it was soon airplanes, and they got them. adapted in another. Wings that had Through continuous refinement been made of canvas were now made of their basic parts, airplanes were from metal, for instance. Engines that steadily improved. Research, design, had previously required castor oil to engineering, and manufacturing func- keep them lubricated began using bet- tions advanced, and the performance ter petroleum products. Through trial capabilities of airplanes rapidly grew. and error, designers learned more Heavier, bigger planes with three-hun- about aerodynamics. They learned that dred horsepower engines, capable of sleek planes flew better, so they made flying at 150 miles per hour, were soon planes with smoother surfaces. The re- commonplace. Mass production of air- sult was that airplanes were faster and planes and airplane parts began, using more maneuverable than ever. some of the assembly line techniques Flight training had also increased that Henry Ford had pioneered with greatly during the war years. By the the automobile. In fact, the Packard time the war was over, there were thou- Motor Car Company began production sands of experienced pilots in the of the Liberty engine soon after the United States alone. These pilots could United States entered the war. These now fly planes for commercial pur-

CHAPTER 3 45 poses, sm ii as crop dusting and mail Such feats helped prove that the delivery, rhese uses proved thai tht- air- airplane was a practical means of trans- plane was mow more than the source of port, for both people and things. The entertainment it had been before the U.S. government gave its official stamp war. Flying remained a highly competi- of approval in May 1918, when airmail tive enterprise, however, as pilots and service began between Washington, aii plane manufacturers continued to D.C., and New York. President Warren ti\ to set new records for speed, alti- G. Harding was on hand for a brief cer- tude. a\m\ distance. emony before the historic first flight. But the pilot of that inaugural airmail flight took off the wrong way, and the Crossing the Atlantic mail had to be sent back on a train from Maryland.

In the post-World War I era, new feats Despite that embarrassing debut, of endurance were performed, far ex- airmail service between the two cities ceeding the records that had been set was a success and was soon expanded to before the war. Airplanes flew over the include Chicago and other cities. Some Atlantic Ocean for the first time in people had argued that the $100,000 1919. First, the U.S. Navy's NC-4, de- the government spent to experiment signed to float as well as fly, went from with the route from Washington to New Newfoundland in Canada to London, York was a waste of money. They said by way of the Azores islands and that airmail would never work. They

Lisbon, Portugal, with its crew of six. It were wrong, of course. An especially took almost fifty-four hours. Later, heroic flight demonstrated that airmail Englishmen John Alcock and Arthur was worth the effort and expense to the Whitten Brown flew nonstop from nation. In a relay from San Francisco to Newfoundland to Ireland in sixteen New York in 1920, mail was delivered hours. They collected a prize of 10,000 coast to coast in 33 hours, compared to pounds first offered by the London 108 hours by train. This was an open- Daily Mail in 1913. cockpit flight in freezing weather over

Englishmen John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown crossed the Atlantic in this airplane. Their record-breaking flight from Newfoundland to Ireland took sixteen hours.

46 AIRPLANES Jack Knight sits in a plane during a mail- delivery mission. Knight's fine performance proved that

the airplane is an effective means of moving mail.

the Midwest by Jack Knight. Knight's aground in a snowstorm. Another courage helped convince President plane made most of the trip but Harding that developing an airmail sys- crashed in the Atlantic. Pilots Leigh tem was in the country's best interests. Wade and Henry Ogden were rescued by a U.S. Navy ship. Pilots Lowell Smith, Leslie Arnold, Erik Nelson, and

Around the World in John Harding made it back to the start- 1 74 Doys ing point in Seattle on September 28, 1924, in the remaining two planes, the While some pilots were busy proving Chicago and the New Orleans. the utility of the airplane in practical It was an adventurous trip. The four pursuits, others never stopped looking Army Air Service pilots were famous for bigger challenges. In 1924, four long before the flight was over, and U.S. Army Air Service pilots in two they were mobbed by enthusiastic planes took 174 days to fly around the crowds at every stop. Despite their new world, The planes were single-engine status as international heroes, the pilots Douglas World Cruisers. They had a also had to work as their own mechan- wingspan of fifty feet, four-hundred ics. That part of the job alone kept horsepower engine, and a normal them busy, since by the end of the trip speed of ninety miles per hour. The they had installed nine new engines in two-seat Cruisers had open cockpits each plane. and were fitted with floats and wheels Their voyage was an accomplish- so that they could touch down on land ment for all the world to see. The pilots or in water. had shown that humans flying airplanes The trip began with four planes, were capable of achieving far beyond

two of which did not make it all the what was possible just a few years be- way. They left from Seattle, fore. Soaring above the crowds, they Washington, on April 6 and went across had inspired millions, perhaps even Alaska, where one of the planes ran some future heroes.

CHAPTER 3 47 CHAPTER 4 Onward and Upward

People realized by the 1920s that the aii plane was more than a curiosity and a source of entertainment. They were also more realistic about the things that might be accomplished with these wonderful living machines. The early predictions that the airplane would bring world peace were obviously not true.

But it was clearly an invention that would change people's lives—perhaps now for the better. Even with the dramatic advances in airplane performance that came out of

World War I, there was still plenty of room for improvement. Small changes were continually made in all aspects of airplane technology. Those changes Cyrus Bettis poses in front of a powerful R3C-1. that made for better performance were Bettis was able to attain a speed of 249 miles per incorporated into an airplane's design. hour in this plane, and thus win the Pulitzer An important change was soon copied Trophy in 1925. by other manufacturers. Just as there were coveted prizes for pilots before R3C-2 an average of 235 miles per the war, there were several races in the hour. This was a huge improvement 1920s and 1930s that also helped spur over the best time set in the first great the development of faster and better aerial meet, when Glenn Curtiss, whose airplanes. Speed records continued to company made Doolittle's plane, had be broken as more powerful, efficient won with a speed of 43 miles per hour. engines were developed and stronger, Also in 1925, the Pulitzer Trophy lighter materials were discovered. was won by Cyrus Bettis, who flew an The Schneider Trophy was estab- R3C-1 at an average of 249 miles per lished by Frenchman Jacques Schnei- hour. This race, for planes that took off dei as a reward for outstanding sea- and touched down on land, was spon- planes. These planes were outfitted sored by the Pulitzer brothers—Ralph, with pontoons, or floats, for landing Joseph, Jr., and Herbert. They owned gear so that they could touch down on newspapers in New York and St. Louis water. In 1925, Jimmy Doolittle won the and also sponsored prizes for journal- Schneider Tropin for flying his Curtiss ists and writers.

48 AIRPLANES These and other contests helped ing, and no license was required. confirm that airplanes were capable of Anyone with a few hundred dollars moving people and cargo faster and could buy a plane and fly anywhere he farther than had ever been imagined, or she wanted. Many people did just in peacetime as well as war. Contests that. Barnstormers traveled from town and races also served to keep the pub- to town, touching down in cow pastures lic's attention focused on airplanes and or open fields. They traveled light, car- their continuing development. People rying a bedroll so they could sleep in business were beginning to realize under the wing at night. During the that airplanes would be a good way to day they supported their flying habits transport relatively small items that had by selling rides for a few dollars each. to be moved fast. These included per- Besides giving rides, barnstormers ishable fruits and vegetables and parts thrilled crowds by performing aerial needed for repairs. maneuvers and dangerous stunts. They

Still, most people were not involved also earned money by providing ser- with or concerned about airplanes on a vices like crop dusting. A low-flying daily basis. Nor were they aware of the plane could rapidly spread pesticide advances being made. But there were over an entire field, completing in min- some people who were particularly ex- utes a job that normally took many cited about airplanes. They enthusiasti- hours. cally supported efforts to win greater A quiet young man from Minnesota, acceptance of airplane use. These peo- Charles A. Lindbergh, began his avia- ple were said to be "air-minded." tion career as a barnstormer. He bought a Curtiss Jenny for five hundred dollars, money he had earned performing The Air-Minded Take to as a parachutist and wing-walker in the Skies Nebraska. Parachutists drew crowds of potential customers for barnstormers, Many of the air-minded were able to as did wing-walkers. Wing-walkers did purchase World War I surplus air- stunts while standing on a plane's wing, planes, such as the Curtiss JN-4. The but they were actually securely strapped JN-4, otherwise affectionately known as to the plane. Like other barnstorm- the Jenny, could be had for as little as ers, Lindbergh stopped at fields just three hundred dollars unused. The no- outside of small towns or anywhere peo- frills Jenny had a ninety-horsepower, ple would meet. When a group of any water-cooled engine with eight cylin- size would gather, there were usually a ders. It was capable of a top speed of few people who would pay a couple of about seventy-five miles per hour. More dollars for an airplane ride. than sixty-five hundred Jennies were In this way, barnstormers provided built. They were used primarily for mili- people in many rural areas with their tary training before many of them be- first airplane experiences. These peo- came barnstorming planes. ple had read and heard about airplanes

Barnstormers enjoyed a life that and seen pictures of them in newspa- was carefree, and too often careless. pers and magazines. But there was

There were still no laws regarding fly- nothing like seeing a real flying ma-

CHAPTER 4 49 1 si chine for the 1 1 time. Ii inspired won- dei .md awe especially among the iso- lated people deep in rural areas. Once when he was selling rides in Mississippi, Lindbergh was approached by an elder- ly woman. He may have thought she was joking when she asked him how much he would charge to fly her to heaven and leave her there. But he soon realized she was entirely serious.

Lindbergh Accepts the Challenge

By 1926, Lindbergh had a different destination in mind. He had decided to Daredevil pilots, barnstormers, accept the challenge presented by called search for new ways to thrill audiences. Here, wing-walker Raymond Orteig, a New York restaura- Ormer L. Locklear performs stunts as the plane teur, twenty-five who offered thousand flies over anxious crowds. dollars to anyone who could cross the

Atlantic Ocean at its widest point, from across the ocean. It was a dangerous New York to Paris. Orteig had first proposition. But Lindbergh knew what made his offer in 1919, but no one ac- he was getting into. He was an able cepted. When he put his challenge up pilot, and he realized that the plane he again in 1926, several pilots, including flew would have to be capable of Lindbergh, began preparing for a flight making the long trip.

Depicted here is a sequence of dramatic feats performed by wing- walkers. Although strapped to the airplane, the wing-walkers are able

to move along its body, much to the delight of the crowds below.

50 AIRPLANES A new engine, the Wright J-5 Whirlwind, had recently been introduced. It was a radial, air-cooled engine, which used the movement of the propeller to keep the engine cool rather than the bulky, heavy, water-cooled radi- ator many other planes were equipped with. The radial engine is an internal- combustion engine whose cylinders are arranged in a radial formation, like the spokes of a wheel. The radial engine was more reliable and easier to maintain than previous engines, and Lindbergh immediately saw its advantages.

It would weigh less and would allow a plane to go much farther than a conventional engine would. If this engine Charles Lindbergh examines his revolutionary air-cooled engine. This engine weighed were placed in the right kind of efficient less than conventional water-cooled engines, plane one that Was lightweight and — making longerfights possible. could carry lots of fuel—it might allow him to cross the ocean. Funded by hours, a new record. After stopping some businessmen he knew in St. briefly, he flew on to New York, going Louis, Lindbergh found a manufac- from coast to coast in twenty-one hours. turer who would build the plane to his That in itself was an incredible feat in specifications at the Ryan Company of 1926, earning Lindbergh coverage in San Diego, California. newspapers and on the radio across the Workers there found that Lind- country. He had not even started his bergh's design was unusual. His plane flight across the ocean and already he had few instruments because he felt too was a national hero. People everywhere many would add unnecessary weight to began anticipating his daring attempt. the machine. Some people thought the plane was improperly equipped for such a daring flight. Lindbergh's stripped- With Fingers Crossed, the down airplane was essentially a flying World Wotches gas tank, they said. They were right. But that did not bother Lindbergh. A In the days before Lindbergh took off, plane that could carry more fuel than everyone had an opinion about him any other plane would give him the and what his chances were. Many expe- edge he needed. He decided to name rienced flyers felt that Lindbergh was the plane The Spirit of St. Louis, in appre- not only a daring young man but also ciation of the support he received from an absolute fool. He planned to fly his friends there. across the Atlantic alone, without even When the Ryan Company finished a radio or a life raft. Others who were building the plane, Lindbergh flew it going to attempt the flight carried from San Diego to St. Louis in fourteen emergency provisions, and some even

CHAPTER 4 51 public debated the merits of Lindberghs risky strategy, others who planned to make the flight were not Earing well. The danger involved in the journey was very real, as a series of tragic accidents demonstrated. Pilot Rene Fonck, taking off on a practice flight, crashed and burned his plane, the America, in September 1926. He survived, but two of his four-man crew did not. Another Lindbergh rival, Noel Davis, and his copilot, died in a crash in what was supposed to be their last flight before leaving for Paris. Finally, less than two weeks before Lindbergh made his flight, Charles Nungesser and Francis Coli left Paris in the White Bird and flew west across the Atlantic. When Lindbergh left New York twelve days

later, they still had not been heard Charles Lindbergh stands by his plane, The from. They never were. Spirit of St. Louis. He became a hero Despite the growing sense of peril, overnight after his solo, nonstop flight over the Lindbergh was eager to make his jour- Atlantic on May 20, 1927. ney. After waiting days for the weather flew three-engine planes so that if one to improve, he took off from Roosevelt failed, they would still have two more Field on Long Island, New York, on engines. But most important, none of May 20, 1927, into a dense fog. His per- them planned to fly alone. It would be ceived lack of caution had generated a long, tiring journey, and the pilot much debate. But once he left, there would need to rest at some point. was no more discussion of Lindbergh's Lindbergh was well aware of the foolhardiness. Regardless of whether precautions being taken by other pilots. they agreed with his daring approach, But he knew exactly what he was doing. people across the nation and around He chose to fly without another person, the world hoped for the best as he took an extra engine, or emergency equip- off on his heroic voyage. On the ment because they would all weigh evening of May 20, 1927, many people down his aircraft. He had calculated dropped whatever they were doing as

1 1 it- advantages and disadvantages of their thoughts drifted up into the dark carrying each of these things. He re- night sky over the ocean. Families jected them all. He believed that to go stayed up to listen anxiously to hourly the distance, he would have to travel as reports on the radio. The suspense only light as possible. Leaving everything mounted, since no one had any reliable nonessential behind and carrying more information as to where Lindbergh was gasoline would allow him to make it all and how he was doing. They could only the way across the ocean. While the wonder and hope.

52 AIRPLANES The pilot himself did little wonder- instantly mobbed when he arrived in ing. It was cold in The Spirit of St. Louis, Paris, 33 1/2 hours after he had depart- and a sheet of ice covered the plane. ed from New York. The crowd swarmed He heard thunder in the distance. He past police and toward The Spirit of St. was not one to wonder about what ef- Louis so quickly that Lindbergh was fect his flight might have on the world afraid the still-whirling propeller might anyway. Instead, he concentrated fully cut someone. As soon as the propeller on the job of flying. He was so focused stopped and he stepped out of the the he forgot about the sandwiches he plane, the mob was upon him, grab- had stowed behind the seat before he bing for souvenirs. In the confusion, a left. He dozed off once, only to be man grabbed Lindbergh's flight helmet awakened as the plane fell into a tail- and goggles. The crowd assumed the spin. He pulled it back up and stayed man was Lindbergh and carried him awake the rest of the way. away, while the real Lindbergh made his escape. In the weeks and months that fol- "Lucky Lindy" Takes Paris lowed, "Lucky Lindy" received medals by Storm and trophies everywhere he went. He spoke to the French Assembly and the When the long night turned into British Parliament. When he returned morning, Lindbergh was above the to the United States, on board a Navy coast of France. He turned his airplane ship that had been sent especially for toward Paris with no idea of what was in him, an entire flotilla of warships fired store for him. The Spirit of St. Louis was their guns in a salute. He dined with

Charles Lindbergh 's famous New York-to-Paris flight received extensive media coverage and international acclaim.

CHAPTER 4 53 President and Mrs. Coolidge, addressed and South America. He won over a joinl session of Congress, then re- crowds at every stop and generated ceived the Distinguished Flying Cross good feelings toward the United States. in a ceremon) <>n the Washington Mall. In Mexico, Lindbergh met Anne Next, he wenl to New York, where an Morrow, daughter of the U.S. ambas- estimated four million people—equal sador to that country. They fell in love to the population of the city—turned and were married in 1929. He taught out for the biggest ticker tape parade her to fly, and together they flew to

the c iiv had ever seen. China via the Arctic Circle. Two years Lindbergh was not the first to cross later, they flew along the Atlantic coasts the Atlantic in an airplane. In fact, he of Europe, Africa, and South America. was the seventv-ninth. But he was the She wrote about the trips in two books,

first to do it alone, which impressed North to the Orient and Listen, the Wind! people deeply. He had relied on his Both were best-sellers. Like other own intelligence to design the plane women pilots, Anne Morrow Lind- and on his own courage and endurance bergh helped convince the public that to make a risky flight into the unknown. flying was a safe activity. For many peo- Going solo, he had reconfirmed that ple, their only experience with air- amazing things were possible with airplanes was witnessing the daring stunts

planes. He collected the twenty-five of barnstormers. They assumed that all thousand dollar prize, but the fame flying was perilous. Women pilots thrust upon him was totally unexpected In 1928, Amelia Earhart was the and perhaps unwanted. Yet his status as first transatlantic woman passenger. In 1937, she an international hero opened many and navigator Frederick Noonan disappeared on for for doors— Lindbergh and the grow- an attempted flight around the world. ing field of aviation.

A Spokesperson for the Air-Minded

After his success, Lindbergh was in great demand as a speaker, and he will- ingly spread the word about the wonderful potential of airplanes. Financed by the Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics, he em- barked on a tour of the United States

in The Spirit of St. Louis. He stopped in eighty-two cities and towns and did much to promote the coming era of aerial mass transport. He was also an excellent goodwill ambassador for the United States. In 1928, he flew The

Spirit of St. Louis on a tour of Central

54 AIRPLANES showed that a person did not have to be a crazed "birdman" to fly a plane. Another famous woman pilot was Amelia Earhart. In 1928 she became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic, as a passenger in a plane designed by Anthony Fokker. He was the same man who had designed for the Germans a plane with a machine-gun that was synchronized with the propellers. In 1932, Earhart flew solo from

Newfoundland to Ireland in about fifteen hours. Later that year, she became Wiley Post stands in front oftheWmme Mae. the first woman to fly solo across the In 1931, Post and navigator Harold Gatty took United States. In 1935, she also became the plane on a nine-day flight around the world. the first person to fly alone from Hawaii to California. In 1937, she and came so excited when someone flew navigator Frederick J. Noonan set out around the world, then clearly some of to fly around the world. They them would be interested in flying to mysteriously disappeared between New faraway places themselves. Guinea and Howland Island. Various airplane-related enterprises Other early flight pioneers includ- were soon in motion. With airplanes get- ed Wiley Post and navigator Harold ting bigger and more powerful, trans- Gatty. They departed from Long Island porting goods by air became an in June 1931 in a Lockheed Vega alternative to trucking or sending things named Winnie Mae. The Vega had a by train. Travelers began to realize that Wright Whirlwind engine, and a cigar- they could get somewhere much faster shaped, plywood fuselage. It also had through the air, and the tourism indus- a one-piece wing, without the bracing try began to grow. Passenger airlines struts that other planes had required formed in the mid 1930s to take advan- for stability. Post and Gatty depart- tage of the new travel market. It became ed in the Winnie Mae for a success- important to make even bigger, better, ful nine-day flight around the world. and faster airplanes. To help the aero- Post went around the world again in nautics industry meet the demand for 1933. new airplanes, many universities began degree programs in aeronautical engineering. Factories had to be set up to The Airplane Business build the new airplanes, and new air- Booms ports had to be constructed. Airplanes became an important part of the nation- The publicity generated by these al economy. Airplanes were making an dramatic flights helped build support impact on people's lives in many ways. for flight in general. Such adventures People who operated businesses also showed people that money could learned that they could keep smaller be made flying. If so many people be- inventories on hand, since supplies

CHAPTER 4 55 could rapidly be down in when the Another benefit of airplane devel- need arose. In publishing, tin- delivery opment was the advancement of meteo- oi newspapers and magazines by air- rology. The U.S. Weather Bureau pi. me made it possible for publications greatly expanded its forecasting activi- to be delivered to a wider geographic ties in order to provide pilots with bet- area In manufacturing, company man- ter weather information. People across agers wcic able to visit plants and sites the nation benefited from more accu- around the country. This resulted in rate and regular forecasts. improved communications and better Aerial surveying also became an im- performance within the company. portant activity. Photographs taken Temporary operations made use from above urban areas gave city plan- of airplanes, too. During Prohibition, ners a new perspective on the growth of planes were used by illegal bootleg- cities. These pictures gave them a much gers to transport alcoholic beverages as better idea than the charts and graphs well as by the government agents who they had relied upon before of what tried to catch the bootleggers. Manufac- was taking place on the ground. turers of small planes found that some The use of airplanes for such spe- potential buyers were most interested cialized purposes revealed their excit- in how many bottles the airplane could ing potential. With different designs, hold. planes could be built for many different uses. Airplanes could be small, fast, and maneuverable, or they could Spotting Fish, Fires, and be large, powerful, and capable of Urban Growth Patterns hauling heavy payloads. The performance of a specific plane was just a More legitimate uses for airplanes were matter of building it to the correct found by government agencies. The specifications. It had become clear Bureau of Fisheries discovered during that any job that required moving peo- the 1920s that schools of fish could be ple or things from place to place could easily spotted from an airplane. The lo- probably be done with an airplane bet- cation of the fish would be reported to ter and faster than it had been done fishing ships, saving them many fruit- before. less days of wandering the ocean trying to locate fish. Also in the 1920s, the Forest Service found that planes were The Business of Building useful in spotting forest fires. This was Better Planes especially true after electrical storms, when many small fires were started by Designing and building airplanes was lightning. Besides making it easier to not a job that any one person could do monitor millions of acres of forest, air- alone. As the Wrights had learned planes were also used to quickly dis- building their first airplane, success de- patch fire fighters and supplies to the pended on collaboration. The Wrights scene of the fire. Later, special air- had combined their thinking skills and planes were developed to drop water engineering knowledge to unlock the and fire-fighting chemicals on fires. secrets of powered flight. They had also

56 AIRPLANES BASIC PARTS OF AN AIRPLANE

ENGINE - RUDDER AILERON -J"' ELEVATOR \ ELEVATOR

NOSE ENGINE PROPELLER

relied upon the expert workmanship ning, coordination, and the teamwork of mechanic Charlie Taylor to help of experts. Specialists were required in them put together the pieces of their engine design and in aerodynamics, for flying machine. example. Together, many people had After those first flyers of the to decide the best way to build a safe Wrights, planes soon became bigger, and efficient plane. more powerful, and more sophisticat- It was also a very competitive busi- ed. Putting together the various parts ness. Whenever one manufacturer into a machine that flew as it should be- made an improvement in design, oth- came a complex job that required plan- ers tried to duplicate it and, if possible,

U.S. aviator and airplane manufacturer Glenn A worker constructs an airplane part in a Curtiss used aluminum and steel in the Wright factory. Aviators and engineers development of stronger, more sophisticated continually updated aeronautical designs in airplanes. their quest for improved aircraft.

CHAPTER 4 57 --j

THE PISTON-PROPELLER ENGINE

PROPELLER DRIVE SHAFT

The piston-propeller engine was fuel mix in the cylinder's combustion

the first source of thrust powerful ond chamber, where they are ignited by a economical enough to permit the spark. The ensuing combustion drives a

construction of lorge airplanes. Most piston, which is connected to a engines of this type contained three or crankshaft. As the pistons move up and more cylinders which operate like the down, they turn the crankshaft, which

cylinder shown above. First, air and turns the propeller.

on it even further. In this way, the best that combinations of aluminum and features of new airplane designs quickly steel were stronger than the wood, wire, became industry standards. and canvas that the first planes were Companies started by Orville made of. These metals became useful

\\ i ight and Glenn Curtiss were two of in other industries too. They were used the earliest airplane manufacturers. to make household appliances, auto- Throughout the 1920s, the Wright mobiles, and other goods. The auto in- Company, the Curtiss Aeroplane and dustry also benefited from research in

Motor Corporation, and other compa- aerodynamics, when it later became im- nies made slow but steady progress. portant to design fuel-efficient cars. They discovered better materials and Sleek cars mimicked the streamlined developed better designs. They found airplane shape that reduced wind resis-

58 AIRPLANES With the advent of the first passenger planes in the 1 930s, people had access to faster and more comfortable travel.

tance and allowed the vehicle to travel the DC-3 was designed to be durable using less energy. and easy to fly. It has been estimated These advances were incidental to that by 1938, DC-3s carried 95 percent the real aim of the air-minded, how- of all airline traffic in the United States. ever. Most of all, they wanted to allow They were also being used by thirty for- more people to fly. An initial success eign airlines. About fourteen thousand came in the 1930s, when the first pas- were built, and many were still in ser- senger planes appeared. In England, vice more than fifty years later. the Handley Pages H.P. 42 and H.P. 45 made regular flights from London to Cairo, Egypt, and Cape Town, South The Persistent Dream of Africa. Flights also went from London the Personal Plane to Paris. These first H.P. planes were large The progress in passenger planes was and luxurious, and they featured hot exciting. But many people still be- meals in flight. They cruised at about lieved that they would one day have one hundred miles per hour, but their their own personal airplanes. It was an piston-powered propellers were loud old dream—flight for all. Henry Ford and caused considerable vibration dur- had made his Model T available to ing flight. This was an unavoidable practically everyone by mass-produc- problem with the internal-combustion ing the reliable car on an assembly engine. These early passenger planes line. Some thought it was only a mat- offered people faster, more comfort- ter of time before he or someone else able travel. But they only hinted at the did the same thing with airplanes. speed and convenience that would Ford did, in fact, start manufacturing soon be available. airplanes in 1925, building an eight- A major improvement over these passenger aircraft. The next year, he early planes was the Douglas DC-3, in- came out with a twelve-passenger tri- troduced in the United States in 1933. motor airplane. More rugged than previous passenger But what the public really wanted planes, its sturdy construction allowed was the Model T of airplanes. So in it to carry up to nine thousand pounds, 1926, Ford announced a prototype of or about twenty-one passengers. With an inexpensive airplane designed to be twin propellers and a long, wide wing, available to anyone. The small, single- CHAPTER 4 59 The Waterman Arrowbile, designed to be both an airplane and a car, never caught public interest. It was impractical and did not perform well. seat machine created tremendous en- portant to be able to react precisely to thusiasm among the public. But two the circumstances. If the pilot had less years later, Henry Brooks, a pilot and control because the plane had been friend of Ford's, was killed in a crash programmed to fly a certain way, it while piloting one of the Ford planes. could be a dangerous ride. Saddened by the death of his friend, These concerns did not stop Vidal. Ford suspended production and five He eventually awarded contracts to five years later stopped making planes alto- developers for prototypes of the poor gether. man's airplane. These yielded some in-

Still, the idea of an airplane in teresting ideas. But none of them ever every garage persisted. In 1933, during made it into production. Probably the

Franklin Delano Roosevelt's first admin- most fascinating little airplane was the istration, Eugene Vidal, director of the Waterman Arrowbile. Designed to be

Bureau of Air Commerce, announced "readable, " it was capable of being that the government would spend driven on the highway as well as flown

$500,000 to develop a "poor-man's air- through the air. Powered by propellers plane." It would sell for about $700, in back, it was an oversize tricycle, with which was about $300 less than any air- a clutch and transmission, headlights, plane then on the market. Made of little fenders, and license plates. But by metal, it would have two or three seats, trying to be both a plane and a car, it and it would be so easy to fly that any- was not acceptable as either. It was slow one could learn. and unresponsive as an airplane and Airplane developers thought the too small and uncomfortable to be plan was ridiculous. A plane simply practical as a car. The Arrowbile was a could not be built that cheaply, no mat- good try that never caught on. ter how small. Also, piloting was an ac- Ever since the Wrights' accomplish- quired skill. To make an easy-to-fly ments became public knowledge, peo- plane would require programming ple had hoped that the airplane would some of the complicated functions so succeed as a personal vehicle that that they were automatic. But if, for in- would give every person greater free-

Stance, there were only one pro- dom. It never lived up to that expecta- grammed way for a plane to make a tion. The Wrights' invention, however, nun, the pilot would lose much of the exceeded all hopes in another arena. control of the plane. In flight it is im-

60 AIRPLANES CHAPTER 5

Airplanes in World War II

Although the airplane did not have a decisive impact on the outcome of

World War I, its use had shown that battles would never be fought the same way again. Twenty years later, airplane development had steadily evolved and advanced tremendously. Many small changes had occurred. Before, wings were braced by wires to the fuselage of the plane, for instance. Now those wires were hidden inside the wing, giving the plane a cleaner aerodynamic shape. Multiengine planes became the rule, rather than the exception. Military leaders in 1939 realized that the airplane could make troop and supply movements more convenient. It had the potential to be the most versatile German dive bombers soar inflight. Germany's and powerful weapon ever. Air power powerful airforce, called the Luftwaffe, became a critical factor in how World spurred other nations to develop better War II started and how it was fought. airplanes.

The Unfriendly Skies During World War II, German bombers take off for an attack on Belgrade, Yugoslavia.

In violation of the Treaty of Versailles, established at the end of World War I, Germany secretly developed a powerful air force and in September 1939 used it to attack Poland. In response, Great Britain and France declared war on

Germany, and World War II was under way. Airplanes were key to the Ger- mans' success. Their strategy was to take control of the skies with their air force, called the Luftwaffe, so that their tanks and troops could move on the

CHAPTER 5 "61 ground unchallenged. Hie Luftwaffes last war. More powerful engines gave large bombers were sen! out with es- these airplanes the ability to go faster corts of small Bghtei planes to defend and farther. The better long-range ca- them against any attack. pability of bombers and the fighters' While Poland and France quickly ability to strike more quickly than ever

fell, Britain developed an air force of its gave armies more targets to hit. These own M\d succeeded in holding off the factors totally changed the strategy of Germans, despite daily bombings of war. Instead of millions of men dying in

British cities. On December 7, 1941, the trenches as in World War I, now Japan and the United States entered there were mass bombings. This was a

the war. Japan's surprise Sunday morn- new concept, and it became known as ing attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was total war. achieved with small fighter planes, dive In total war, enemy troops and mili- bombers, and torpedo bombers. Using tary facilities were targets, but so were

their air power to its full potential, the civilian facilities like airplane factories, Japanese first sank much of the U.S. ports, bridges, dams, and even cathe- Navy's Pacific fleet, then sank much of drals. The result was devastation on a the British Pacific fleet, too. huge scale. London was one of the Better airplanes were a necessity, most heavily bombed cities. The Ger- and the United States, Germany, and man cities of Cologne, Dusseldorf, and Japan all geared up to produce new Dresden were turned into raging fire

warplanes. Warplanes fit into two cate- storms by explosives dropped from gories, bombers or fighters. The name bombers. of a plane often included the letter B Airplanes also changed the way

or F, indicating which type it was. Both wars were fought at sea. In the Battle of types of planes had improved since the the Coral Sea for instance, no ship on

Aircraft carriers housed and launched dozens of fighter planes during

World War II. This system enabled the military to coordinate their attacks at sea.

62 AIRPLANES either side saw an enemy ship. The fighting was all plane-to-plane or between planes and ships. The Americans depended heavily on the Gruman F4F Wildcat, a rugged fighter plane built for air-to-air combat. The Wildcat was coated with a tough armor that resisted bullets, and it had a rubber-lined gas tank that would seal itself if punctured by a bullet. It was armed with six Browning fifty-millimeter machine guns. Eight thousand Wildcats were built, and they served mostly in the South Pacific during the first half of the war.

Big Bombers and "Little Friends" Planes such as these B-l 7s were mass-produced in airplanefactories for World War II. Wildcats and other fighters were launched from aircraft carriers, also a Japanese fleet. The Dauntless was a new development. Improved navigation metal, single-winged plane fitted with a through use of radio communications powerful radial engine. It carried one- allowed the organization of large-scale thousand-pound bombs. Dauntless pi- operations from ships. Dozens of air- lots would cruise at seventeen thousand planes from several carriers could be feet, then dive to twenty-five hundred coordinated in a single attack. In the feet and release their bombs on Battle of Midway, the turning point of Japanese warships. the war in the Pacific, fifty-four Douglas Another bomber that helped win Dauntless SBD dive bombers launched the war was the Boeing B-l 7 Flying from the carriers Enterprise and Fortress. Used extensively in Europe

Yorktown helped the Allies to defeat the after the Allied invasion of June 6, 1944, the B-l 7 was a large, sturdy plane. Fighter planes such as this one were launched It had a one-hundred-foot wingspan from aircraft carriers. They did not have to go and four engines. It weighed more than far to release their bombs on enemy warships. thirty tons. The B-l 7 Flying Fortress carried a crew of nine. The bombardier sat in the Plexiglas nose of the plane, where he operated a machine-gun and the switches to open the bay doors that would release the bombs. Behind and above him sat the navigator and two pilots. Above them, an engineer worked the gun turret on top of the plane, and a radioman sat in the back. There were

CHAPTER 5 63 German air force bombers fh in groups to protect themselves from enemy aircraft. also two waist gunners who sat in the quick and numerous German fighter turret in the bottom of the plane be- planes, especially when they attacked hind the bay doors, and a tail gunner. from straight in front. One-third of Gunners on the B-17 tried to fend the 12,731 Flying Fortresses built were off attackers as the plane approached shot down. Many more would have its target, often German oil refineries been lost if it were not for the develop- and airplane factories. The B-17 did its ment of the North American P-51 job well but was vulnerable to attack by Mustang. The Mustang was a small, fast, and Japanese kamikaze pilots deliberately crash bomb- acrobatic plane. It was a powerful, bearing planes into Allied ships. TheJapanese single-seat fighter with the longer range considered these suicide missions the ultimate act of a bomber. Equipped with a Rolls- ofpatriotism. Royce engine, it could go 430 miles per hour at twenty-two thousand feet and was well-armed with six machine-guns. Sixteen thousand Mustangs were built and just in time. The plane came out in the autumn of 1944, when many B-17s were being shot down by the Luftwaffe and Allied air power was faltering. Nearly helpless against quick German fighters, B-17 crew members began re- ferring to the Mustangs as "little friends," and with good reason.

With its superior quickness, the P-51 was adept at shooting down German fighters. Staying close to the big bombers, a squadron of P-51s could chase off German attackers and allow

the B-17 to fly unmolested to its target area. In huge air battles with as many as eight hundred Mustangs escorting up

64 AIRPLANES The Boeing Flying Fortress was large and powerful, yet vulnerable to quick German fighter planes, which attacked the Boeings head on.

to thirteen hundred B-17s, the bomb- August 6, 1945. Another B-29, Bockscar ing of Germany resumed, and Berlin dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki was reduced to rubble. In desperation, on August 9, 1945. Japan surrendered the Germans worked day and night to on August 15, 1945, and World War II develop jet bombers and missiles, but ended. they were not in time. On May 7, 1945, From start to finish, the use of air- Germany surrendered. planes was a major strategic factor in The war continued in the Pacific, the war. The wholesale destruction they where at least half of the U.S. ships lost made possible caused some people to in the Pacific were sunk by Japanese question the real value of airplanes, kamikazes. Kamikazes were suicidal pi- which had once been seen as a poten- lots who purposely flew their aircraft di- tially great instrument of peace. In rectly at U.S. ships, effectively turning 1943, Senator Bennett C. Clark of their airplanes into large, guided Missouri said that the invention of the bombs. airplane was the "greatest disaster that has ever happened to mankind." Orville Wright felt differently: An Airplane Delivers a Deadly New Weapon I don't have any regrets about my part in the invention of the airplane, though no one could deplore more Another Boeing bomber, the B-29 than I do the destruction it has caused. Superfortress, was twice as powerful I feel about the airplane much as I do and much heavier than the B-17. It in regard to fire. That is I regret all the also had remote-control machine-guns. terrible damage caused by fire. But I The Superfortress delivered the final think it is good for the human race blow of the war. An atomic bomb was that someone discovered how to invent

dropped from the B-29 Superfortress fires and that it is possible to put fire to Enola Gay onto Hiroshima, Japan, on thousands of important uses.

CHAPTER 5 65 CHAPTER 6

The Jet Age

Following World War II, it was nearly places could be reached in hours, impossible not to become air-minded. rather than days or weeks. Airplanes seemed to be everywhere. The biggest change in aviation to

Millions of people had flown in them as come out of World War II was the depart of their duties in the armed ser- velopment of the jet engine, although vices. Many others worked in factories it came too late to be a major factor in building airplanes. Even those who did the war. In the late 1920s, Frank not encounter them directly saw air- WTiittle, a pilot and flight instructor in planes often on movie newsreels. At Great Britain's Royal Air Force, had home, building detailed model air- written a thesis on alternate ways of planes became a popular hobby. The propelling aircraft. He came up with airplane simply could not be ignored. It the idea of equipping an airplane with had become a fact of everyday life. a gas turbine, which was an old idea.

Just as World War I had been the But Whittle's jet engine would update great accelerator of airplane develop- the old gas turbine and greatly improve ment, World War II also resulted in im- airplane performance. proved airplane designs. Support systems of runways and fuel availability A New Spin on an Old greatly expanded. Navigation had also Idea improved. Radio signals beamed out from landing fields let pilots know if The principle behind Whittle's jet they were on course. Instruments like engine is simple. It is a variation of the the gyroscope, which shows what direc- gas-turbine engine, patented in 1791 by tion a plane is flying, and the altimeter, John Barber. Drawings made by Barber which measures altitude, gave pilots show the essential features of the gas- more information about their plane's turbine engine: a compressor, which

r r performance. In addition, W orld W ar II pulls in air and passes it to a continu- produced many thousands of trained ous-flow combustion chamber, where pilots who became available for jobs in the air is mixed with fuel and ignited; civil aviation. and a turbine, which is a rotary engine Also, the war fundamentally changed that spins as a result of the hot gases the way people thought about travel. (the exhaust) being expelled from the Before the war, a trip from the United combustion chamber. The energy gen- States to Europe or Africa required a erated by the spinning turbine may be two-week voyage on an ocean liner and used for thrust, or to spin a propeller. then two more weeks traveling back. This kind of engine is known as a turbo- After the war, people knew that faraway prop.

66 AIRPLANES HOW A JET ENGINE WORKS

ACTION REACTION

FUEL INJECTOR

COMBUSTION FAN TURBINE CHAMBER

A jet engine works on the principle heated by burning kerosene or of jet propulsion, which states that for paraffin. Next, the hot, high-pressure

every action there is an equal and air rushes toward the exhaust. On the

opposite reaction. With a jet engine, it way, it passes through turbines, which works like this: drive the compressors and the fan. A large fon draws air into the air Finally, the hot, high-pressure air leaves compressors. The air compressor the jet with great force. This action

compress the air, or raise its pressure. causes an equal and opposite Then the pressurized air flows into the reaction, which drives the jet forward.

combustion chambers, where it is

Working from this simple model, But the government was not persuaded, Whittle and others after him designed and Whittle's idea was turned down. more sophisticated jet turbines. They He had his design patented anyway in used strong, lightweight new alloys to January 1930. After working as a flight make combustion chambers that could instructor for several years, he finally withstand the heat and stress of burn- found private investors who were will- ing jet fuel. Scientists found that jet en- ing to take a chance on his idea in gines could produce far greater thrust 1936. With their funding, he estab- than was possible with propellers. For lished a company called Power Jets instance, the Wrights' first engine gen- Limited. erated twelve horsepower. The engine Meanwhile, scientists in Nazi in a DC-7 today generates thirty-four Germany were also working on a jet en- hundred horsepower at takeoff. gine. In 1939, Ernst Heinkel's aircraft Whittle had tried to convince the company produced the Heinkel He- British Air Ministry in 1929 that his in- 178, the first successful gas-turbine novative engine might benefit the plane. Then, near the end of the war,

Royal Air Force, if the British govern- .Allied pilots reported seeing an amaz-

ment would invest the money required. ing new German fighter plane. It was

CHAPTER 6 67 Frank Whittle stands by his revolutionary jet propulsion unit. This system had a major impact on airplane design and performance.

the Messerschmitt Me-262. It did not United States, where the General

have a propeller, and it flew faster than Electric company began producing ex- anything they had ever seen. These perimental planes for the war effort, sightings may have been what con- using the Whittle engine. The first of vinced the British government that these American jets, the Bell XP-59 Whittle's design was worth investigating Airacomet, flew in October 1942. By

after all. 1944, the British-made Gloster Meteor In 1941 the British had a jet was in full production and was used by airplane ready for test flight. The the Royal Air Force near the end of the Gloster E28/39 flew successfully. The war. But both the Meteor and the jet design was soon exported to the Messerschmitt Me-262 were developed

The British-made Gloster

Meteor, equipped ivith a jet engine, was used by the Royal Air Force at the

end of World War II.

68 AIRPLANES too late in the war to have an impact on its outcome. The jet engine had many advantages over the piston-driven engines that preceded it. Instead of becoming less efficient at high speeds and high altitudes as the piston engine did, the jet engine became more efficient under those conditions. It allowed aircraft to go much faster and higher with less vibration than the conventional piston- driven craft. Propeller-driven airplanes could fly at a maximum of about 450 miles per hour. Jets, properly designed, would be able to go much faster. For these reasons, the jet was an exciting On September 17, 194 7, President Harry advance for military aviation designers. Truman signed legislation creating the U.S. Air They eagerly began developing new jet Force. This incited a boom in the development of planes. jets for the military.

place and the reality of jet power Another Boom in Aviotion emerging, military aviation was ready to progress. Recognizing that airplanes The timing was perfect for another would be a major factor in national de- boom in the aviation business. When fense from then on, President Harry S. the war ended, there were still many Truman signed legislation on Septem- airplane factories that had been set up ber 17, 1947. This legislation created for rapid production of warplanes. the U.S. Air Force out of the old U.S. With this manufacturing structure in Army Air Service. With this separate

U.S. jet pilots stand in

front of the first U.S. jet fighter, the Lockheed F-80

Shooting Star. This jet

was able to reach a speed ^ of up to 580 miles per hour.

CHAPTER 6 69 This powerful Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star has a 39-foot wing span, a

length of over 34 feet, and a weight of 15, 000 pounds.

branch of the military dedicated to avi- developed using the swept-wing design. ation, the research and development of Other innovations and improvements jet planes became a priority. emerged as manufacturers continued Several jets were quickly produced to experiment with new designs and using the standard straight-wing air- materials. In performance tests, these plane design. But some forward-think- new jet planes broke all the old records ing designers had a new idea. Perhaps a set by piston-powered aircraft. more aerodynamic wing shape would Just as in the early days of flight, take better advantage of the increased courageous pilots were eager to set new power offered by jets. These designers flight records of speed and distance. proposed that the wings and tail section Flight testing soon became a science, as be swept back at a thirty-five-degree engineers worked to develop a jet plane angle rather than the standard ninety that could withstand the pressure of fly- degrees. Data captured from a World ing faster than the speed of sound.

War II German aerodynamics research center confirmed what American designers suspected: wind tunnel tests per- Pushing the Limits of formed by the Germans showed that the Possibility swept-wing design would allow a jet to fly faster and more efficiently. Captured Named for Austrian physicist and Messerschmitt jets were also studied. ballistics expert Ernst Mach, a Mach

The first operational U.S. jet fighter number is the ratio between the speed was the Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star, of an object and the speed of sound. A introduced in 1945. With a thirty-nine- plane traveling at Mach 3.0 would be foot wingspan, the fighter jet could traveling at three times the speed of reach a speed of 580 miles per hour at sound. In theory, traveling this fast was twenty-five thousand feet. A few years possible, but no one had ever done it. later, the North American XP-86 was To reach supersonic speeds—speeds 70 AIRPLANES That problem was solved by launching the first rocket-propelled aircraft, the bullet-shaped X-l, from another plane already in midair. On October 14, 1947,

Chuck Yeager piloted the X-l on its ninth flight, above the Mojave Desert in Southern California. Nicknamed "Glamorous Glennis" after Yeager's wife, the X-l was dropped out of a B-29 Superfortress at thirty-five thousand feet. Yeager turned on the rockets and climbed to seventy thousand feet. A loud boom echoed through the desert as he became the first person to break the sound barrier. Yeager also set a new speed record of 670 miles per hour. Enthralled with the idea of traveling Ernst Mach ofAustria developed the Mach faster than the speed of sound, the number, in which speed of an airplane is pub- expressed as a multiple of the speed of sound. lic followed Yeager's flight and those after it with great interest. Research on equal to or up to five times greater than rocket-powered flight continued until the speed of sound—would be to ven- development of the speedy X-l 5. First ture into the realm of the unknown. flown in 1959, it was fueled by a mix In their quest for greater speed, sci- of liquid oxygen and ammonia. Pilot entists turned to rocket technology as a Joseph Walker achieved the world speed possible solution. As in jet propulsion, rockets, first created by the Chinese in On October 14, 1947, Chuck Yeager became the about a.d. 1100, burn fuel within a first person to break the sound barrier when he chamber to create thrust. But while jets flew the X-l over the Mojave Desert in Southern use an intake valve to mix air with fuel, California. rockets burn a mixture of more powerful propellants within a closed chamber to generate even greater thrust. Liquefied gases, such as hydrogen and oxygen, create a powerful reaction when burned. Scientists found that when these types of gases are mixed with solids like nitroglycerin and then ignited, the resulting thrust might be enough to reach Mach 1, or the speed of sound. A plane could not carry enough fuel to generate more than two or three minutes of the thrust that would be needed to break the sound barrier.

CHAPTER 6 71 W!>^ On October 3, 1967, Joseph Walker achieved the View of the X-15, which exploded inflight, world speed record of 4,520 miles per hour in the killing pilotJoseph Walker. rocket-poivered X-15. record of 4,520 miles per hour, or Mach by the heat from its exhaust and then

6.7, on October 3, 1967, in an X-15 that destroy it. was launched in midair from a B-52. When one country made a break- Although rocket-powered aircraft through in technology, the other would could achieve incredible speeds, they scramble to catch up. Both sides de- did not seem very useful until later. In pended on surveillance, espionage, and the early 1950s, jet-powered aircraft had research to make sure their technology more practical applications, especially was up-to-date. U.S. and Soviet Union for the military. Jet-engine technology air power stayed evenly matched for played a crucial role in the military years. Two military jets with compara- throughout the 1950s, as tensions ble capabilities were the Soviet MiG-15 mounted between the United States and and the U.S. F-86 Sabre. Both jets were the Soviet Union. Neither side wanted capable of climbing to about fifty thou- to be vulnerable to weapons like the sand feet, and both had top speeds of atomic bombs that had been dropped about 680 miles per hour. During the on Japan at the end of World War II. Korean War, pilots flying these fighters To bolster their national defenses, often encountered each other over scientists in both countries worked to Korean airspace. Despite being evenly develop aircraft capable of flying faster, matched on paper, U.S. pilots won higher, and farther than ever before. more often in the air. Credited with They also developed sophisticated new better training and more experience, weapons, such as heat-seeking missiles, U.S. pilots shot down 827 MiGs and lost which could track down an enemy jet only 78 Sabres.

72 AIRPLANES The U.S. Air Force's

fastest jet fighter, the North American F-86, attained speeds of up to 680 miles per hour.

The Streaking Comet change the way that people travel. The Boeing 707 made its first flight in 1954. Jets had uses outside of the military, Travelers who had flown on noisy, rela- too. They were also being developed tively slow, propeller-driven planes soon for civilian travel and transportation became accustomed to the speed and

purposes. The first commercial trans- comfort of traveling on the 707. It be- port jet, the British-made de Havilland came the preferred way to travel. The Comet, was a fast, comfortable aircraft. 707 gained the prestige of providing

Introduced in 1952, it was expensive to presidential travel when one was or-

fly because it required so much fuel. dered in 1959 to serve as Air Force

Therefore, it was used for relatively One, the president's private jet. Another short flights—from London to Rome Boeing plane, the 704, was a big plane and from Rome to Johannesburg. with four jet engines. It was the precur- Several of the Comets tragically sor of modern jets that many passen- exploded in flight after just a few gers fly in today. hours in service, however, and the re- Soon after the 704 was developed, maining Comets were grounded. the Douglas Aircraft Company, a Following a thorough investigation, en- Boeing competitor, introduced the DC-

gineers found that the metal in some 8, a longer jet that was capable of seat- critical parts of the plane had weak- ing up to 250 people. Jets continued to ened and cracked. These cracks would grow ever larger until Boeing built the

spread until the plane literally fell 747 "jumbo jet." It first flew in 1969 and apart. De Havilland designers went could carry almost 500 passengers. back to the drawing board and later in- These large jetliners were purchased troduced the successful Comet IV. by airline companies that planned to In the United States, Boeing intro- provide long-distance passenger service duced several planes that would forever to major cities around the country and

CHAPTER 6 73 overseas. Regional airlines bought smaller propeller-driven planes like the

DC-3, a surplus World War II plane, and carried passengers between smaller cities and from small towns to larger cities. The world became a network of destinations, none more than a day or so away from anywhere else. The term

jet set was coined in 1951 to describe world travelers who took advantage of this fantastic mobility. Commercial aircraft were also built for more specialized needs. Hoping to find a market among busy corporate executives, William Lear designed a six- seat jet capable of traveling at five hundred miles per hour at forty-five thousand feet. Lear used the sleek design of a jet fighter that had been scheduled to be produced by the government of Switzerland but was canceled. Transformed from a small jet fighter to a transport plane, the jet could barely hold six people and would not allow anyone to stand up straight. Despite these limitations, the Lear jet

became a smashing success. It allowed elite business travelers to fly high above storms and turbulence and to zoom directly to their destinations, rather than wait for a scheduled airline flight. With

its jet-fighter looks and superfast speed, the Lear jet became a symbol of corporate success.

(top) In the 1950s, the British developed the de The Controversial SST Havilland Comet for civilian transportation. The comet became obsolete after several exploded For the average air traveler, however, inflight. the speed and convenience offered by (middle) In 1954, the introduction of the Boeing the Lear jet was not available. Military 707 had a major impact on air travel. This jets had succeeded in breaking the model was pctpularfor its comfort and speed, years before, there (bottom) In 1969, crowds watch as thefour-jet sound barrier but Douglas Aircraft DC-8 soars skyward. This was were no commercial jets capable of the largest jetliner to date. traveling that fast. In the early 1960s,

74 AIRPLANES The LearJet, named after creator William Lear, became a symbol of prestige. Its sleek design and speed made it especially popular among business travelers.

however, the United States, the Soviet and required great amounts of fuel. In Union, and a partnership between the United States, the SST encountered

Britain and France all worked sepa- opposition from environmental groups rately to develop a supersonic transport concerned about the effects of the in- (SST) jet. Such an aircraft would take credible noise generated by the jet. advantage of the many improvements Environmentalists were also concerned that had occurred in every area of avia- about the damage that its emissions tion, from aerodynamic and electronic might inflict on the ozone layer high innovations to more powerful engines. up in the earth's atmosphere. (The

The SST would be capable of flying at ozone layer is a layer of gases that sur-

Mach 2.7. It would transport travelers rounds the earth. It protects the earth to different points around the world from the sun's ultraviolet rays.) faster than ever. One solution to the noise problem As development on the SST pro- was to schedule the SST to follow gressed, manufacturers found that the routes that went over the water, where high-powered jet was extremely loud there were no people. But the super-

The Concorde SST, the supersonic commercial passenger plane developed by France and

Britain, was first flown in 1976.

CHAPTER 6 75 sonic plane would still generate incredi- records flight data and a cockpit voice ble noise at takeoff. The controversy recorder. The flight-data recorder mon- grew, and in 1971, the U.S. House of itors the cockpit's instruments and Representatives voted to halt funding of keeps track of air speed, engine set- the SST project. The Soviet Union went tings, altitude, and other flight infor- ahead with its SST, but it was put out of mation. The voice recorder captures service in 1977, after less than one year everything that is said between pilots of operation. Only sixteen Concorde and air-traffic controllers. When a crash SSTs were built by the joint British- happens, investigators immediately French project. Some of them now op- begin looking for the small black box. erate on flights from Paris to New York It is located in the tail section of the air- and Washington, D.C. Although its pas- craft, which usually receives the least sengers are transported with amazing impact in a crash. If they find the black speed, few people can afford to fly on box, investigators have a better chance the SST. Tickets are unusually expensive of understanding why the crash hap- due to the high cost of the fuel it uses. pened and perhaps how future crashes The aerospace industry, the industry can be avoided. that builds aircraft, wanted to make air As the use of commercial aircraft travel affordable to more people. It con- continues to grow, one of the most centrated on building airliners that high-pressure jobs in the industry is were more fuel-efficient than the SST that of air-traffic controller. Using radio was. In helping to provide affordable air equipment and radar screens to com- travel to everyone, aerospace manufac- municate with pilots, air-traffic con- turers became a major part of the trollers coordinate the use of runways American economy by the 1970s. In and the overcrowded air space around 1965, for instance, airplanes worth $1.2 the nation's busiest airports. Directing billion were delivered to the airlines. By an increasing volume of traffic, air-traf- 1975, that figure had risen to $3.8 bil- fic controllers help pilots avoid acci- lion. Jobs in manufacturing, service, dents and keep airports running and research were created. Many thou- smoothly. sands of people still work in the aviation industry. Ticket agents, aerospace engineers, construction workers who help Military Aviation Today build airports, pilots, flight attendants, and ground personnel all help keep the The Lear jet and the SST incorporated airlines in business. some of the technological advances Today's jetliners incorporate an made in military aviation. Military array of high-tech safety features, in- planes, however, continued to improve cluding life-support systems like drop- far beyond commercial aviation through- down oxygen masks and seat cushions out the 1960s. For example, one military that double as life preservers. Another aircraft produced in this era, the important safety device is the so-called Gruman F-14 Tomcat, flies at Mach 2, "black box." twice the speed of sound. The Tomcat This durable, fireproof box con- also has good maneuverability at slow tains a computerized recorder that speeds. Its "swing wings" give the F-14 its

76 AIRPLANES (right) In 1974, General Dynamics built this lightweight F- 16. The forward-sweep wings give this jet fighter great stability and flexibility.

(below) A three-quarter rear view of the F-l 6 fighterjet.

great flexibility. At takeoff, the wings are more than expected. The more heavily in the ninety-degree position that gives armed F-15 goes for $17 million. aircraft the lift necessary to leave the Emerging technologies continue to im- ground. When the F-l 4 is in flight, the prove the abilities of aircraft. High- wings can be swept back to a thirty-five altitude spy planes such as the U-2 now degree angle. This gives the aircraft the cruise as high as seventy thousand feet. stability needed for flight at very high In the early 1980s, the Northrop speeds. Corporation used new technology to Military aircraft eventually began create the sleek B-2, also known as the flying at altitudes where the pull of Stealth bomber. The smooth contours gravity is not as strong as it is on earth. of the B-2 are designed to make it

In the atmosphere of near-space, pilots harder for radar to detect it. Its surface had to be equipped with supertight is covered with tiles that absorb radar flight suits that offset the effects of zero waves. These features make the B-2 dif- gravity on the body. These special suits ficult if not impossible for radar to are outfitted with air bladders that spot. But scientists are already develop- squeeze the pilot's body to keep blood ing better radar that would offset these flowing to the brain so that the pilot advantages. does not pass out. Such sophisticated features were costly to build. In 1974, the F-l 6 was de- The Ultralights veloped by General Dynamics as a lightweight, "economy" jet fighter. At The dream of a flying machine in every

$14 million each, however, they cost garage has still not been realized. But

CHAPTER 6 77 Designer Hurt Rutan,

left, and pilots Jeanna Yeager and Dick Rutan

pose in front oj the

Voyager aircraft. In 1987, the Voyager made an historic flight by going around the world without stoppingfor fuel there has been a growing interest in In the 1970s, an EAA member and civil aviation over the decades. Many Oshkosh fly-in regular named Burt people bought used surplus planes, es- Rutan designed several planes out of pecially the Fairchild PT-19, a training fiberglass and epoxy. These were plane, after World War II. But small, lightweight planes that could go very private planes like Cessna, Beechcraft, far on little fuel. For years, he experi- and Piper became more and more ex- mented with and improved upon his pensive, and few people were able to af- homemade flyers. Then in December ford their own planes. As small planes 1986, his brother Dick Rutan and pilot became more expensive to own, pilot Jeanna Yeager flew Burt Rutan 's Voyager license applications declined in the on a twenty-six thousand mile, nine-day,

1980s. There are still many uses for nonstop flight around the globe, with- smaller planes, however, from crop out refueling. Like Charles Lindbergh's dusting to business travel. flight almost sixty years before, this Some people with a yearning to fly trek focused the attention of millions but without the money to invest in their on an aerial feat of endurance. The own planes have turned to ultralight flight earned Yeager and Rutan the flyers. Like the first flying machines, Presidential Citizen's Medal from Presi- these small-engine planes are open-air, dent Ronald Reagan. carry only the pilot, and are of simple design. They allow the pilot to experience the thrill of open-air flight—much Linking the World like the Wright brothers' early flights.

Ultralights and planes of all kinds Inspiring events like Lindbergh's solo travel every year to the Experimental flight and the record-breaking saga of

Aircraft Association's (EAA) annual fly- the Voyager touch people deeply. Such in at Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Easily the extraordinary breakthroughs are cele- largest aviation event in the world, it brated as triumphs of the human spirit, draws about one million air-minded and they also lead to changes in the people for one week every August to see way we live. Lindbergh's flight paved the fifteen thousand aircraft that fly in. the way for airlines to start organizing There are minijets, balloons, old mili- in the 1930s. Today, airlines serve thou- tary planes, and experimental flyers. sands of businesspeople, vacationers,

78 AIRPLANES ?v^

The Voyager, followed by a chase plane, flies over Southern California during its historic 1987 flight. and other travelers every day. Scattered humanity has become more a world families are able to reunite from distant culture than it was in the past. places for holidays, weddings, and The airplane has helped make the other important occasions. Millions of world a smaller place in many ways. pieces of business mail are shipped Alaska and Hawaii, the forty-ninth and across the country overnight, thanks to fiftieth states, respectively, are both far air express services. from the rest of the nation. They did Whether we want to send some- not join the United States until 1959, thing to another place or to go our- when the jet age was well under way. selves, doing it is much easier than it Alaska and Hawaii probably would not was a few decades ago. In the jet age, have become part of the United States the number of miles between places if it were not for the convenience of air- has become far less important. Choices plane travel to and from the forty-eight that in the past were confined by dis- other states. tance are now more realistic options. Flying has affected people's lives in These options have multiplied the pos- very personal ways, too. Soon after jet sibilities in our lives. travel was introduced, those who trav- No matter where in the world a per- eled by jet often complained of exhaus- son is today, he or she can be thou- tion and mental fatigue in the days sands of miles from that point the next following a flight. Late in the 1950s, sci- day. In fact, it is now possible to fly to entists came up with an aptly named ex- any point in the world in thirty-six planation: jet lag. In traveling rapidly hours or less. As a result, people from from one time zone to another, the different cultures have been able to body struggles to readjust its inner learn much about each other. They rhythm of sleeping, eating, and other have shared ideas and have incorpo- activities. Scientists found that without rated techniques and philosophies they proper rest, jet travel is capable of have learned from other cultures into wreaking havoc with a body's well-estab- their own cultures. The result is that lished routine. CHAPTER 6 79 Another problem with air travel is In the late 1970s, author Tom Wolfe the danger and risks associated with fly- wrote The Right Stuff, which was about ing. That air travel can be dangerous test pilots and astronauts, and the best- has been brought home many times by selling book was made into a movie. the deaths of famous Americans in Top Gun, a popular movie of the 1980s, plane crashes. Popular humorist and was about Navy pilots in a high-pow- social critic Will Rogers died in 1935 in ered flight training school. a crash with pioneering pilot Wiley Some of the Hollywood lore sur- Post. Notre Dame football coach Knute rounding flight may have added an ele- Rockne died in a plane crash in 1931, ment of romance to the idea of flying. and rock and roll star Buddy Holly per- But the age-old dream of flight has al- ished in a crash in the 1950s. Most peo- ways stirred deep feelings. For some ple realize that airplane travel is safe people, once they could fly, there was and that the odds of a crash occurring nothing else they could want. As early are low. Yet some people refuse to fly. mail pilot Dean Smith described his TV football commentator John chosen profession: "It was so alive and Madden, for one, always goes by bus, rich a life that any other conceivable despite a rigorous travel schedule. choice seemed dull, prosaic, and hum- drum." For Charles Lindbergh and many The Entertainment World others, time above the clouds became Takes Flight time for wonder and reflection on the vast world and each person's place in

Despite the risks, and maybe because of it—or above it: them, the theme of flight has also be- I may be flying a complicated air- a part of American entertain- come plane, rushing through space, but this ment. As early as 1910 there was a hit cabin is surrounded by simplicity and flying, song about called "Come thoughts set free of time and space. . . .

Josephine in My Flying Machine." By Here, in The Spirit of St. Louis, I live in a the 1960s, a popular song was a somber different frame of time and space .... ballad about "Leaving On a Jet Plane." How detached the intimate things Over the years there have been around me seem from the great world down below. How strange is this many movies about military aviation. A combination of proximity and separa- 1928 movie called Wings, starring Gary tion. That ground—seconds away—thou- Cooper, won the Academy Award as sands of miles away. This air, stirring best picture of the year. In 1945, mildly around me. That air, rushing by Thunderbolt portrayed P-47 fighters dur- with the speed of a tornado, an inch ing II in the World War Allied offensive beyond. These minute details in my Italy; in 1959, Twelve O'Clock High, star- cockpit. The grandeur of the world ring Gregory Peck, depicted the com- outside. The nearness of death. The mander of a B-17 squadron in England. longness of life.

80 AIRPLANES ,

CHAPTER 7

Aircraft in the Space Age

If Wilbur and Orville Wright had lived satellite to orbit the earth. The Soviet to see the SST, they would have been Union launched the basketball-size

astonished. They would have found satellite on October 4, 1957. In the the size, speed, and noise of the big United States, a near-panic took hold as jet plane overwhelming when com- scientists and policymakers realized pared to their original invention. that the Soviets were ahead in the race Likewise, if we could see the flying to put humans in space. machines of the future, we would be In education, there was a sudden amazed. Tomorrow's aircraft will inte- emphasis on science and engineering. grate today's emerging technologies In the aeronautics industry, rocket re- and will be radically different from search became more critical than jet the airplanes we are familiar with. technology. The dream of faster, far- We have seen how two world wars ther, first-ever flights became a major helped spur the evolution of airplanes national priority. On May 21, 1961, in the past. Modern, advanced aircraft President John F. Kennedy gave the are descendants of a third great wave of United States the goal "before this

aeronautical development. The event decade is out, of landing a man on the that triggered this third wave and moon and returning him safely to the marked humanity's entry into the space earth. No single space project of this

age, was the flight of Sputnik 1, the first period will be more impressive to

An aeronautical engineer examines the Sputnik-1

the Soviet satellite that orbited the earth on

October 4, 1957.

CHAPTER 7 81 HOW THE SPACE SHUTTLE GETS ITS POWER LIQUID FUEL ROCKET ENGINE LIQUID COMBUSTION FUEL CHAMBER

SOLID FUEL ROCKET CHANNEL

/i; | f.",>^*».i»'i*.T£L J MlV.£-"*7*-Wfl!^ ^vv^-_i:-iv:^.

PROPELLANT (FUEL)

The space shuffle has five rockef gianf Roman candle. Inside ifs mefal

engines fo launch if info space. There are casing, fhe rockef is filled wifh solid, fhree liquid-fuel rockef engines locafed highly combusfible fuel. The fuel af fhe rear of fhe shuffle and fwo huge surrounds an empfy channel fhaf runs

solid-fuel boosfers fixed alongside if. The fhe length of fhe rockef. Once fhe fuel

solid-fuel boosfers burn up all fheir fuel is ignifed, fhere is no sfopping fhis kind

wifhin fwo minufes affer fhe shuffle is of rockef. If burns of fhe maximum rafe

launched. Then fhey defach from fhe unfil all fhe fuel is spenf. The burning

shuffle and fall back fo fhe earfh. fuel heafs fhe air inside fhe channel,

The single largesf sfrucfure in fhe producing hof, pressurized gases fhaf

shuffle configurafion is fhe external fuel rush ouf fhe back of fhe rockef, fank. This enormous, cone-shaped propelling fhe rockef forward. cylinder confains fhe liquid hydrogen The propulsion of a liquid-fuel

and oxygen needed fo fuel fhe shuffle's rockef engine is caused by hof,

main engines. They use oil fhe fuel in pressurized gases escaping from fhe

fhe exfernal fank fo gef fhe shuffle engine, jusf as if is in fhe solid-fuel moving fasf enough fo escape fhe pull boosfer. Buf fhe liquid-fuel rockef of fhe earfh's gravity. Then fhe huge confains fuel pumps and valves fhaf tank detaches from the orbifer and falls confrol fhe rafe of combusfion. Like a to the earth. Affer this, the shuffle relies convenfional jef engine only much

on its smaller liquid-fuel engines fo more powerful, a liquid-fuel rockef can maneuver into and ouf of orbif. speed up, slow down, or shuf down

A solid-fuel rocket engine is like a altogefher and sfarf up again.

82 AIRPLANES mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space."

It was the most daring dream of flight yet. Kennedy did not live to see the goal achieved. But 500,000,000 people, the largest television audience ever, watched the dream come true. On July 21, 1969, in an area of the moon called the Sea of Tranquility, U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person

to set foot on the moon. As he put it: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." Following the successful moon flights, development of rocket-powered aircraft continued. By the early 1980s,

the National Aeronautics and Space Apollo 1 1 commander Neil Armstrong sits in

Administration (NASA) space shuttle the Lunar module as it rests on the moon 's

Challenger was ready for its first flight. surface.

Designed with the wing structure of an speed of 16,600 miles per hour at an al- airplane but powered by rockets, the titude of 400,000 feet. Then Challenger

Challenger in 1981 broke all the records set the record for time aloft when it for fixed-wing aircraft. Flying in the stayed up for ten days and seven hours earth's orbit, Challenger reached the on its sixth mission in 1983.

Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin plant an American flag on the moon during the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing on July 21, 1969.

CHAPTER 7 83 The rocket-poivered

Challenger is prepared

for take-offfrom Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

But the Challenger flight the world in space. For instance, some scientists

remembers best was a disaster. On predict that it will be possible to mine January 28, 1986, the shuttle exploded asteroids for minerals that are unavail-

seventy-three seconds after lift-off, killing able on earth.

all seven crew members aboard. It was Of course, the dream of such space another grim reminder of the constant exploits depend on further developing danger of flight. the flight technology we have now. The Accepting that danger as a neces- greatest hope for advancing this tech- sary risk, humans continue to explore nology lies in inventing a new way to the frontier of space. Scientists are propel spacecraft. So far, all powered making exciting plans as they prepare human aircraft, both for use in outer to further explore the reaches of our space and closer to the earth, have been solar system and perhaps someday go fueled by the combustion of petroleum

beyond it. They dream of permanent products or chemicals. With a limited colonies, where humans can live, work, supply of oil on earth, jet fuel will be- and play in outer space. Such space sta- come more scarce and more expensive tions would relieve some of the strain in the future. Rocket fuels are also on the natural resources of the earth tremendously expensive. At a cost of and help us discover greater resources about one thousand dollars per pound,

84 AIRPLANES TOMORROW'S LASER JET

ACTION REACTION

HOT GASES <4

COMBUSTION CHAMBER COMPRESSOR FAN

A laser jet engine would work like a started, it would use a loser to heat the

conventional jet engine, but it would compressed air necessary to create require only a small amount of liquid propulsion. fuel for ignition. Once the engine was

the price of putting a one-hundred-ton beams from space. Mathematicians have aircraft into space soon becomes unaf- found five special spots in the space be- fordable. tween the earth and moon. Influenced

The answer is to develop a cheap, by the gravitational pulls of these two readily available power source that celestial bodies, objects orbiting in would be useful on earth and in space. these spots remain locked in the same Some futurists predict that within a few position. Scientists could place huge decades, we will have aircraft powered power plants in these spots. They could by laser-driven engines. The laser (an be nuclear reactors, or they could col- acronym for light amplification by stim- lect and convert the abundant solar en- ulated emission of radiation) is a device ergy in outer space and then beam it in that creates and amplifies an intense the form of a laser to aircraft below. beam of light. This concentrated beam Some scientists predict that within a of light consists of excited atoms that few decades, aircraft pilots will be able to release photons, or particles of light. request a power-generating laser beam These photons, when emitted in a that will follow the flight path of their chain reaction, create a burst of radia- aircraft. With a virtually inexhaustible tion. Scientists think this energy can be supply of energy from the sun, these used to power aircraft engines in the laser-powered aircraft would be inexpen- future. Laser-powered engines would sive to use. A cheap form of transporta- be a revolutionary step forward in air- tion, they might eventually become craft development. available to everyone. Different models

In one scenario of future flight, sci- could be equipped for short hops entists would power planes using laser around the neighborhood or for half-

CHAPTER 7 85 hour flights to almost any location Oil The Wrights' creation was often earth. On-board computers would coor- used as a destructive force in the first dinate with local traffic control to avoid half of the century. But humankind's ca- collisions. Big passenger planes with sev- pacity for flight has more recently be- eral laser-receiving lenses located on top come a cause for greater hope. Airplanes will probably look something like flying have played a part in helping people saucers. They will have several engines from different nations see that they do that use a mixture of hydrogen- and indeed share one world. The flying ma- laser-powered rockets to propel them at chine has made a major impact on hvpersonic speeds—speeds greater than world culture and cleared the way for five times the speed of sound. These huge changes still to come. We can see planes will reach up to Mach 15, at alti- that Wilbur and Orville Wright took the tudes of up to 300,000 feet. first running steps for humankind's leap Compared to these dreams of future into space. flying machines, the Wright Flyer I seems What will the future of human flight a quaint piece of clumsy machinery. Yet hold? The reply that Orville Wright the first airplane was a revolutionary in- once gave still holds true: "I cannot an- vention. As it evolved, it reshaped the swer except to assure you that it will be boundaries of the world we live in. spectacular."

86 AIRPLANES Glossary

aileron: A hinged or movable surface hydrodynamics: The study of the mo- located on the trailing edge of an air- don of fluids. plane wing. hydrogen: The simplest and lightest of alloy: A mixture of metals that often the elements; a colorless, odorless, flam- produces a stronger new metal. mable gas. altimeter: A device for measuring alti- kamikaze: A member of the Japanese tude above an agreed upon level, such as air force of World War II assigned to sea level. A radio altimeter measures the commit suicide by crashing his plane time it takes a radio wave to travel to into an enemy ship. earth and back to the airplane. Luftwaffe: The German air force in angle of attack: The angle at which the World War II. leading edge of an airplane's wings Mach number: The ratio of a body's meets the wind. speed to the speed of sound. Mach 2, for barnstormer: Someone who indepen- example, is twice the speed of sound. dentiy flies a small plane, offering cheap meteorology: The study of the atmos- rides and performing stunts, usually in phere, with regard to weather and its rural areas. forecasting. compressor: A machine that reduces the navigation: The science of guiding volume of a gas, thus creating greater ships, aircraft, or spacecraft from place pressure. to place. elevator: A movable piece of the tail of pitch: The up and down movement of a an airplane; it controls the up and down plane. movement of the plane.

roll: The movement of a plane in which equilibrium: A state of perfect balance. it turns over and over in a circular man- fuselage: The body of the airplane, ner. where passengers, cargo, engines, and Strut: A piece of wood, wire, or metal equipment are held. used in airplane construction; it gyroscope: A device with a wheel that strengthens and supports the airplane's spins around an axis in such a way that wing. the wheel maintains its own balance. supersonic: Speeds equal to the speed of Used to counteract rolling, it is part of sound (Mach 1) and up to five times an airplane's automatic steering system.

GLOSSARY 87 greater than the speed of sound (Mach5). turbine: An rotary engine that spins as a result of a current of air. turboprop: A jet engine that produces thrust by means of a turbine-driven propeller. yaw: The side to side motion of a plane.

88 AIRPLANES For Further Reading

Walter J. Boyne, The Smithsonian Book of Flight. New York: Orion, 1987. Fred Howard, Wilbur and Oruille: A Biography of the Wright Brothers. New York: Knopf, 1987.

Charles J. Kelly, Jr., The Sky's the Limit: The History of the Airlines. New York: Coward-McCann, 1963. Leik Myrabo and Dean Ing, The Future ofFlight. New York: Baen Publishing Enterprises, 1985. Orville Wright, How We Invented the Airplane. New York: David McKay, 1953. Melvin B. Zisfein, Flight: A Panorama of Aviation. New York: Pantheon, 1981.

FOR FURTHER READING 89 Works Consulted

Richard Bach, A Gift of Wings. New York: Delacorte, 1974. Roger E. Bilstein, Flight in America, 1 900-1 983: From

the Wrights to the Astronauts. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1984. RogerE. Bilstein, Flight Patterns: Trends ofAeronautical Development in the United States, 1 91 8-1 929. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1983. John Blake, Aviation, TheFirst Seventy Years. London: Tribune Books, 1973. Joe Christy with Alexander T. Wells, American Aviation: An Illustrated History. Blue Ridge Summit, PA: TAB Books, 1987. Donald C. Clarke, ed., Aircraft and Airports. New York: Arco, 1978. Harry Combs with Martin Caidin, Kill Devil Hill: Discovering the Secret of the Wright Brothers. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1979.

JosephJ. Corn, The Winged Gospel: America 's Romance with Aviation, 1900-1950. New York: Oxford University Press, 1983. Heiner Emde, Conquerors of the Air: The Evolution of Aircraft 1903-1945. New York: Viking, 1968.

H. Guyford Stever et al., Flight. New York: Time- Life Inc., 1965.

90 AIRPLANES Index

aerial steam carriage, 17 engines Gloster E28/39, 68 aerodrome, 18-19 gasoline, 19, 29 Gloster Meteor, 68 aerodynamics gas turbine, 66, 67 Gruman F-14 Tomcat, 76

theoryof, 16, 17, 27, 45 internal-combustion, 16 Lear Jet, 74, 76 aeronautical engineering, jet, 66-67 Lockheed F-80 Shooting 55 piston-powered, 40 Star, 70 Air Force One, 73 radial, 51 North American XP-86, air forces steam, 17 70

German Luftwaffe, 61-62, turbo-prop, 66 Soviet Mig-1 5, 72 64 water-cooled, 36, 49 U.S. F-86, 72 U.S. Air Force, 69 fighters, 62 June Bug, 36 air-traffic controllers, 76 FokkerE-1,43 manufacturers, 58, 59-60 aircraft carriers, 63 , Gruman F4F Wildcat, 63 movies about, 80 airplanes Havilland DH-4, 45 New Orleans, 47 accidents, 18,35,41,60, Messerschmitt Me-262, 68, passenger, 55, 59, 73-75 73, 80, 84 70 Boeing, 73 Air Force One, 73 Moraine-Saulnier Bullet, de Havilland Comet, 73 and advertising, 40-41 43 Douglas DC-8, 73 and American economy, North American P-51 predictions for, 42-43 76 Mustang, 64-65 private and early exhibition flight, flight theory Beechcraft, 78 35-36, 38-39 landing, 38 Cessna, 78 as personal vehicles, 59-60 steering, 27-28, 37-38 Piper, 78 benefits of, 55-56, 58, 61 takeoff, 37 rocket-powered "black box", 76 three basic movements, 28 X-1,71 bombers, 62 Handley Pages (H.P.) 42, 59 X-l "Glamorous Glennis", Stealth bomber, 77 impact on society, 42, 43, 71 B-29 Superfortress, 71 78-79, 86 X-15, 71-72 Boeing B-17 Flying improvements during World safety features, 76

Fortress, 63-65 War I, 45 seaplanes, 48

Boeing B-29 Superfortress, improvements during World Spirit of St. Louis, 51, 53,

65 War II, 66 54,80 Douglas Dauntless SBD, 63 in Korean War, 72 spy planes

Chicago, 47 in World War I, 43-45 U-2, 77

commercial uses, 45, 46, in World War II, 61-65 stunts, 49 55-56, 78 Battle of the Coral Sea, 62 U.S. Navy's NC-4, 46 contests, 39-40, 48, 49, 50 Battle of Midway, 63 ultra-light, 78 costs of, 76, 77 Pearl Harbor, 62 Voyager, 78 CurtissJN-4 (Jenny), 49 jets uses for, 40-41,43, 46 CurtissR3C-l,48 and national defense, 72 VinFiz, 40-41 Curtiss R3C-2, 48 Bell XP-59 Airacomet, 68 Waterman Arrowbile, 60 designing of, 57-58 Concorde supersonic Winnie Mae, 55

Douglas DC-3, 59, 74 transport (SST), 75-76 Wright Flyer I, 29, 30, 33

Douglas World Cruisers, 47 General Dynamics F-16, 77 Wright Flyer II, 33

INDEX 91 •

Wright Flyer III, 33 Challenger space shuttle, 83-84 Experimental Aircraft see also flight Chanute, Octave, 19-20, 26 Association (EAA), 78 Alcock, John, 46 and the Wright brothers, altimeter, 66 19, 23, 33 Armstrong, Neil, 83 Charles, Jacques, 14 Army Air Service, 47 Clark, Bennett C, 65 F-14 Tomcat, 76 Arnold, Leslie, 47 Coli, Francis, 52 F-16, 77 atomic bombs, 65, 72 Coolidge, Calvin, 54 fighters, 62 Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor FokkerE-1,43 Company, 58 Gruman F4F Wildcat, 63 balloon flight Curtiss, Glenn, 36, 39, 48, 57 Havilland DH-4, 45

history of, 13-15 planes made by Messerschmitt Me-262, 68, Barber, John, 66 Curtiss JN-4 (Jenny), 49 70 barnstormers, 49 Curtiss R3C-1, 48 Moraine-Saulnier Bullet, Battle of the Coral Sea, 62 Curtiss R3C-2, 48 43 Battle of Midway, 63 North American P-51 Battle of Pearl Harbor, 62 Mustang, 64-65 Bell, Alexander Graham, 36 Daedalus, 12 flight Bernoulli, Daniel, 15, 27 d'Arlandes, Marquis, 14 and balance, 18, 22 Bettis, Cyrus, 48 da Vinci, Leonardo, 13 and balloons, 13-15 birds Davis, Noel, 52 and birds, 13, 15,23 and flight, 13, 15,23 Dayton-Wright Company, 45 and the Chinese, 12, 13 "black box", 76 de Lesseps, Jacques, 39 and gas-powered engines, 19, Bleriot, Louis de Rozier, Jean-Francois Pilatre, 29 flight over the English 14 and gliders, 15-20 Channel, 36 dirigibles, 34 becomes popular, 38-39, Bockscar, 65 Doolittle, Jimmy, 48 55 Boeing 747, 73 Douglas DG3, 59, 74 changes during World bombers, 62 Douglas DC-8, 73 War II, 66 Stealth bomber, 77 Durant, Charles, 15 contests, 39-40, 46, 48, 49, B-29 Superfortress, 71 Dutrieux, Helene, 39 50 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, costs of, 76, 77, 84 63-65 firsts Boeing B-29 Superfortress, Earhart, Amelia, 55 controlled powered 65 engines human, 10, 29-32 Douglas Dauntless SBD, gasoline, 19, 29 cross-country trip, 63 gas turbine, 66, 67 40-41 Brooks, Henry, 60 internal-combustion, 16 non-stop flight around Brown, Arthur Whitten, 46 jet, 66-67 the world, 78 Bureau of Air Commerce, 60 piston-powered, 40 solo trip across Atlantic, radial, 51 50-53 steam, 17 time sound barrier Cavendish, Henry, 14 turbo-prop, 66 broken, 71 Cayley, George water-cooled, 36, 49 trip around the world, invention of gliders, 15-17, 27 Enola Gay, 65 47

92 AIRPLANES trip over water, 36 hot-air balloon laser engines, 85-86 trips across the oceans, invention of, 13-14 Law, Ruth, 39

46 Huffman Prairie Lear Jet, 74, 76 woman pilot to cross and Wright brothers' flights, Lear, William, 74 the Atlantic, 55 33,34 Lilienthal, Otto, 18,20,21, future of, 84-86 hydrogen balloon, 14 23,25 moon landing, 83 Lindbergh, Anne Morrow, myths about, 12 54

records set, 39, 46, 48, 51, Icarus, 12 Lindbergh, Charles A., 49, 71,72,78 78,80

space, 81-86 first solo flight across Challenger, 83-84 jet lag, 79 Atlantic, 50-53

first satellite, 81 jets goodwill tours, 54 theories of, 27-28, 37 and national defense, 72 Louis XVI, 14 timeline, 10-11 Bell XP-59 Airacomet, 68 Luftwaffe, 61-62, 64 training for, 39, 40, 45-46 Concorde supersonic women in, 39 transport (SST), 75-76 world speed record, 71-72 General Dynamics F-16, Mach, Ernst, 70

see also airplanes 77 Mach number, 70-71 flying schools, 39, 40 Gloster E28/39, 68 Madden, John, 80 Fokker, Anthony, 43, 55 Gloster Meteor, 68 Manly, Charles, 19 Fonck, Rene, 52 Gruman F-14 Tomcat, 76 Marie Antoinette, 14 Ford, Henry, 45, 59 Lear Jet, 74, 76 Maxim, Hiram, 17 Fort Myer Lockheed F-80 Shooting Montgolfier Etienne and and Wright brothers' flights, Star, 70 Joseph, 20 35-36 North American XP-86, 70 invention of hot air balloon, Soviet Mig-15, 72 13-14 U.S. F-86, 72 moon landing, 83 Gatty, Harold, 55 Johnstone, Ralph, 39 gliders, 15-20 June Bug, 36 and Wright brothers, 21-28 Nagasaki, 65 Graham-White, Claude, 39 National Aeronautics and Space gravity, 13 Kamikaze pilots, 64, 65 Administration (NASA), 83 Guggenheim Fund for the Kennedy, John F., 81,83 Nelson, Erik, 47 Promotion of Aeronautics, 54 Kitty Hawk (North Carolina) Newton, Sir Isaac, 13,32 and Wright brothers' first gyroscope, 66 Noonan, Frederick J., 55 tests, 25-28 Nungesser, Charles, 52 first powered flight, 10, Harding, Warren G., 46 29-32 Hearst, William Randolph, 40, Knight, Jack, 47 Ogden, Henry, 47 41 Korean War, 72 ornithopter, 13 Heinkel, Ernst, 67 Orteig, Raymond, 50 Henson, William, 17 Langley, Samuel B., 22 Hiroshima, 65 invention of aerodrome, Holly, Buddy, 80 18-19 parachutists, 49

INDEX 93 Penaud, Alphonse, 20 space shuttle, 82, 83 World War II and the planophere, 17, Challenger, 83-84 air raids, 62 21 space stations, 84 and airplanes, 61-65 pilots Spirit of St. Louis, 51, 53, 54, Battle of the Coral Sea, become heroes, 40, 44, 47 80 62

women, 39, 54, 55 Sputnik I, 81 Battle of Midway, 63 planophere, 17 Stealth bomber, 77 Pearl Harbor, 62 Polo, Marco, 12 Stinson, Katherine, 39 sea battles, 62-63 Post, Wiley, 55, 80 Stinson, Marjorie, 39 Wright, Orville and Wilbur, Power Jets Limited, 67 supersonic transport (SST), 10, 21-32, 58, 86 Presidential Citizen's Medal, 75-76 and balance in flight, 22-23 78 and bicycles, 22 propellers, 29-31 and da Vinci's theories, 13 Pulitzer, Herbert, 48 Taylor, Charlie, 29, 31, 41, 57 and Octave Chanute, 19,

Pulitzer, Joseph, Jr., 48 total war, 62 23,33 Pulitzer, Ralph, 48 Treaty of Versailles, 61 and the planophere, 17,

Pulitzer Trophy, 48 Truman, Harry S., 69 21 and the U.S. Army, 33, 35

first glider tests, 23-27

Reagan, Ronald, 78 U-2 spy plane, 77 first powered flight, 29-32 rockets U.S. Air Force flights in France, 35-36 X-l, "Glamorous Glennis", 71 creation of, 69 flight school, 40 Rockne, Knute, 80 U.S. Army Air Service, 69 Orville's accident at Fort Rodgers, Calbraith P. ultra-light airplanes, 78 Myer, 35 cross-country flight, 40-41 on the invention of airplanes, Rogers, Will, 80 65 Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, Vidal, Eugene, 60 study of flight, 22 60 Vin Fiz, 40-41 theory of flight, 27-28, 37 Rutan, Burt, 78 Voyager, 78 Wilbur's death, 42 Rutan, Dick, 78 Wright Company, 58

Wright Flyer I, 29, 30, 33, 40, Wade, Leigh, 47 86 Schneider, Jacques, 48 Walker, Joseph, 71-72 Wright Flyer 77,33 Schneider Trophy, 48 Whittle, Frank, 66-67 Wright Flyer III, 33 Scott, Blanche, 39 wind tunnel Wright, Katherine, 29 seaplanes, 48 and airplane tests, 25, 70 Selfridge, Thomas, 35 wing-walkers, 49, 50 Smith, Dean, 80 wing-warping, 23-26 Yeager, Chuck, 71 Smith, Lowell, 47 Winnie Mae, 55 Yeager.Jeanna, 78 Smithsonian Institution Wolfe, Tom, 80

and flight, 18, 19 World War I sound barrier, 71 and airplanes, 45, 61

94 AIRPLANES About the Author

The author, Tom Stacey, is a graduate of Michigan State University. He has worked as a reporter and editor for several West Coast newspapers, and now lives and works as a freelance writer in La Jolla, California.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 95 Picture Credits

Cover photo by Eric Meola/The Image Bank AP/Wide World Photos, 61 (both), 63 (bottom), 64 (top left & right), 65, 69 (top), 74 (middle & bottom), 77 (both), 78, 79, 81 British Airways, 75 (bottom) Lear Jet Corporation, 75 (top) National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 72 (right), 83 (both), 84 (both) Smithsonian Institution, 12, 13, 14, 15 (both), 17, 19 (all), 20 (all), 21 (both), 22, 23, 25 (both), 26, 27, 29 (both), 31, 33, 34 (both), 35 (all), 36, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 44 (both), 46, 47, 48, 50 (all), 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57 (both), 60, 62, 63 (top), 64 (bottom), 68 (both), 69 (bottom), 71 (both), 72 (left), 74 (top) U.S. Air Force photo, 70, 73 Lawrence E. Wilson, 59

96 AIRPLANES ^

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