loneers of Flight LLHAUSER Compliments of Disabled American Veterans Pioneers of Flight by Henry T. Wallhauser Illustrations by Jack Woodson HAfflOHD INCORPORATED Acknowledgments Picture credits — The Boeing Company: 90. Brown Brothers: 18 (Cayley design), 25, 29, 31 (H. Quimby), 58, 73, 75, 77. Culver Pictures, Inc.: 18 (Lilienthal glider), 81, 89. Douglas Aircraft Co., Inc.: 90. C. H. Gibbs-Smith: 15 (Da Vinci sketch & Da Vinci ornithopter), 18 (Penaud design). National Cash Register Co.: 20 (Wright motor). The New York Times: 87. North American Rock- well Corp.: 91. Scientific American Supplement, 1910: 18 (Maxim steam plane). Smithsonian In- stitution, National Air and Space Museum: 9, 10, 11, 12, 15 (Da Vinci portrait), 16, 17 (Baldwin photo), 18 (Cayley portrait), 20 (Wright plane), 22, 27, 30, 31 (White on street before White House), 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40, 45. 47, 48, 51, 52, 56 (Patrick & Mitchell), 59 60, 61, 64, 65, 67, 71, 80, 82, 85, 86. U.S. Air Force: 90 (Bell X-1). U.S. Army Air Force National Archives: 23, 32, 56 (pilots, 11th Bomb. Sq.) U.S. Signal Corps National Archives 17 (Baldwin dirigible), 26, 38. U.S. War Dept. General Staff National Archives: 41. Text credits — Quotation on page 51 from Ricken- backer, by Capt. Edward V. Rickenbacker. Prentice Hall, Inc. Quotation on page 55 from Memoirs of World War 1, by William Mitchell. Random House, Inc. Quotation on page 80 from The Airmail — Jennies to Jets, by Benjamin P. Lipsner. Wilcox and Follett. ENTIRE CONTENTS ©COPYRIGHT 1969 BY HAMMOND INCORPORATED All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher. LmRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER 72-83276 PRINTED IN THE UNTTED STATES OF AMERICA Contents Chapter 1 1903 — THE PIVOTAL YEAR 8 Professor Langley, The Wright Brothers 2 THE BEGINNINGS 15 Historical Background, Omithopters, Balloons, Dirigibles, Helicopters, Gliders 3 THE CHALLENGERS 21 Glenn Curtiss, Aerial Experiment Association, The Wright Army Contract and Paris Exhibition 4 THE DAREDEVILS 27 Races and Competitions, Cal Rodgers and Lincoln Beachey 5 GROWING PAINS 33 Naval Aviation Begins, Glenn L. Martin 6 TASTE OF BATTLE 38 Beginning of Army Air Service, Mexican Campaigns 7 LAFAYETTE ESCADRILLE 43 Formation of Squadron, Colorful Flyers 8 AMERICA JOINS THE FIGHT 50 The Air Service in France, The Aces, Mitchell's Bombing Tactics 9 TOO LITTLE TOO LATE 56 U.S. Wartime Production Goals, The Liberty Engine, Jenny and DH-4 Production, Martin Bomber 10 ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 62 The NC-4 Flight, Alcock and Brown 11 RECORD MAKERS 68 New York to San Diego, U.S. Army Round-the-World Flyers 12 BARNSTORMING 74 Gypsy Flyers, Stuntmen and Film Making 13 AIRPLANE IN THE ASCENDANCY 79 U.S. Airmail Service, Commercial Aviation Begins 14 FLIGHT OF FLIGHTS 84 Lindbergh's New York-Paris Flight, Its Impact on Aviation 15 UNLIMITED HORIZONS 88 Aviation After 1927, Wartime Developments, Jets and Rocket Engines, Supersonic Flight, The Space Age Index 93 1903-Tlie Pivotal Year "God didn't intend man to fly," the saying though, serious and dedicated men were went. "If He had, He would have given him trying to prove flight was possible. Europe a set of wings." Such was the sober judgment was the scene of numerous experiments, of the man in the street on the record of several of which stand as landmarks along flying attempts as the 20th century began. the path toward sustained flight. True, men had been drifting through the At the dawn of the 20th century attention skies in balloons for more than a hxmdred suddenly shifted to America. There, three years. Small and primitive model aircraft had men prepared to challenge the skies for the floated for brief distances before they sput- prize that had so long eluded humanity. Two tered out and died. Gliders also had been of them were obscure bicycle builders from built that could sail off hilltops and alight the Midwest. The third was an eminent sci- safely upon the earth. And there had even entist whose work in astronomy and the study been reports during the 1890's of fixed-wmg of the sun had already gained him an inter- flying machines leaving the ground under national reputation. Ironically, it was the their own power for short hops of a few Wright brothers from Dayton, Ohio, who feet. But none of these efforts added up to were to triumph. And it was the scientist. the age-old dream of flying — the ability of Professor Samuel P. Langley, who was to man to take off and keep himself in the air fail. The year of their great attempts was with such controlling factors as wings and 1903. It marked the beginning of modem motive power. aviation history. Nineteenth century aerial experiment was Samuel Pierpont Langley was well into littered with crackpots and cranks. Devices middle age when he tackled the problem of which seemed as weird then as they seem flight in earnest. Behind him were many now flapped, fluttered, clanked and coughed years of scientific achievement as a first- their way to utter failure. At the same time, rate contributor in the field of astronomical 8 Opposite Below Langley's steam-operated model A erodrome White-bearded Prof. Langley and his assistant and pilot, Charles Manly research. In the year 1886, when he was 52 years old, Prof. Langley listened intently to a speech in Buffalo, N.Y., on the flight of soaring birds. As a boy in Massachusetts he had been fascinated by the motion of winged creatures in the skies. The talk, given at a meeting of professional scientists, reawakened that old interest. Now this somewhat stiff and formal man with intelligent eyes and stout figure embarked upon a painstaking study of the possibility of man's flight. Building a revolving table equipped with 30- foot arms and a 10-horsepower steam engine he attempted to gauge the effects of aero- dynamic lift upon swiftly moving surfaces. Although his results varied, Langley could conclude by 1891 that flight at high speeds "... is not only possible but within the reach of mechanical means which we now possess." The white-bearded scientist next moved on to come. After his model Aerodrome experi- to more sophisticated tests by first using a ments he had written of the military poten- rubber-band-powered model and then building tial of flying machines, predicting that their steam-powered models as large as 16 feet in use as mobile observation posts could change length. Langley called these models "Aero- the whole nature of warfare. Two years after dromes" (a combination of Greek words he had called his aerial work finished, Amer- meaning air runner) and catapulted them ica went to war with Spain. Langley soon from a houseboat anchored in the Potomac received a request from President William River near Washington, D.C. With his Aero- McKinley asking him to resume his experi- drome No. 6 he achieved a miniature triumph ments, as well as a promise from the War in November 1896 when the machine shot Department of $50,000 to help carry them off the houseboat and traveled three-quarters out. At first the ex-professor of astronomy of a mile before it ran out of fuel. The hesitated. By now he was the head of the world took little notice, however, and Langley famed Smithsonian Institution in Washington seemed to be satisfied with his accomplish- and very busy with his duties there. But he ment. He wrote soon after, "I have brought finally agreed, believing that the building of to a close the portion of the work which a man-carrying plane would be of great seemed specially mine — the demonstration aid to his nation. of the practicability of mechanical flight — The craft he produced after five years of and for the next stage, which is the com- research was an outsized Aerodrome 55 feet mercial and practical development of the long, 48 feet wide and with a wing area of idea, it is probable that the world may look 1,040 square feet. Although it hewed closely to others." to the design of its smaller predecessors, it Though he did not realize it at the tune, differed radically in the power it used. Steam Langley's most ambitious projects were still had propelled the model Aerodromes, but 9 The Manly engine, a radial design well in advance of its time, put out 52.4 hp for its 124-pound weight Bottom of page Langley's Aerodrome was launched twice from its houseboat catapult only to plunge each time into the Potomac River Langley knew that steam could not give him and were deeply cambered (curved) from the lightweight power he would need for this leading edge to trailing edge. The only con- larger machine. And so he turned to the trollable element of the plane was the tail, internal combustion engine, already being which could be moved up and down but used widely as the power plant for the newly not horizontally. Not only was the plane un- introduced automobile. With a bespectacled precedented in appearance, but it was un- assistant named Charles M. Manly, Langley precedented in cost. More than $70,000 was began searching for an engine which would spent on the project, including the War De- weigh about 100 pounds and develop at partment's $50,000 and an additional sum of least 12 horsepower. A New York manufac- at least $20,000 from the Smithsonian.