The ability to fly like a bird is an ancient aspiration of mankind. There
are many legendary accounts of men flying, the most famous of which is the
Greek legend of Daedalus and Icarus, his son. Daedalus was a famous
architect and sculptor, working for King Minos of Crete. He displeased the
king, so the king imprisoned Daedalus and his son. Wanting freedom,
Daedalus fashioned wings out of wax and feathers. These he put on himself
and Icarus so they could fly to freedom. He cautioned Icarus not to fly too
close to the sun, but once they were in the air Icarus became enraptured by
the flight and flew higher and higher until the sun was close. Too close,
because the wax began to melt and the feathers fell out of the wings.
Icarus fell to his death in the sea, becoming the first aircraft casualty!
Icarus' fate illustrates the dangers the early aviators faced. Many gave
the ultimate sacrifice in giving mankind the gift of flight.
Kites were the first aircraft, and were flown by the ancient Egyptians and
other cultures. The Mysteries Of Nature And Art by John Bates, first
published in 1634, includes a woodcut of a man flying a diamond kite.
The first person to take a scientific approach to human flight was Leonardo
Da Vinci. His designs included three types of aircraft - the ornithopter,
helicopter, and glider. his designs required human power to fly, and thus
were impractical. but remember, he was working well before the steam or
internal combustion engine. Human powered craft in recent years have been
built and flown.
By the 1800's the model builders finally entered the scene. Modeling has,
and still plays an indispensable role in aircraft development. An early
modeler, John Stringfellow, built a steam powered model aircraft in 1848.
Although it did not fly, it did demonstrate lift and proved the viability
of the concept. Steam engines also powered the first models built by
aviation pioneer Samuel Pierpont Langley. Two of these flew 3000 and
4200 feet respectively. Langely built full size craft in early 1903
utilizing gas engines. These failed their test flights, however, and
powered human flight was still unachieved.
Many other power sources were used for model airplanes in the late 1800's.
Rubber bands, compressed air, compressed air motors, comprise some of the
more successful flying models. Although none of these modelers succeeded
in achieving powered, sustained, controlled human flight, they were
contributing to the vast amount of knowledge being accumulated.
Glider pilots were also making progress. The most successful and famous -
Otto Lilienthal of Germany - experimented extensively with kites and
gliders. He met Icarus' fate in 1896 when he lost control of his glider
and crashed.
Model aircraft, gliders, and kites all played an indispensable role in the
development of practical aircraft that could sustain powered, controllable,
human flight. This was finally achieved, of course, by Orville and Wilbur
Wright on the sands of Kitty Hawk on December 17. 1903. The Wright
brothers designed their craft using the best technology of the time, their
own considerable ingenuity, and the accumulated knowledge of those who came
before.
Model building still plays an important role in the developement of
aircraft. You can easily learn to build model aircraft similiar to the
ones the early aviators built and flew. These aircraft models are fun to
build and fly, and can be an exciting hobby. Next week we’ll explore
the hobby building and flying stick built airplane models.
Balsa Model Airplanes and Flying Toys Product Line
