The Flying Man: Otto Lilienthal—History, Flights and Photographs (Springer Biographies)

Description

"Of all the men who attacked the flying problem in the 19th century, Otto Lilienthal was easily the most important. His greatness appeared in every phase of the problem. No one equaled him in power to draw new recruits to the cause; no one equaled him in fullness and dearness of understanding of the principles of flight; no one did so much to convince the world of the advantages of curved wing surfaces; and no one did so much to transfer the problem of human flight to the open air where it belonged." These words were spoken by Wilbur Wright, who successfully accomplished the first powered flight together with his brother Orville in 1903 on the sand dunes of the Outer Banks off the coast of North Carolina. Wilbur was talking about the most important of their predecessors, Otto Lilienthal. Lilienthal attracted worldwide attention due to the spectacular photographs showing him in flight, made possible by technology that had only just been developed by him. This fortuitous union between a pioneer of aviation and the pioneers of so-called “instantaneous photography” is responsible for the immense contemporary popularity of Lilienthal’s flights around the globe, the first ever free flights performed by man. This book traces the life of the German aviation pioneer, focusing on the designs of his many aircraft and the photographic documentation that has survived. The presentation ends with a remarkable research project conducted by one of the authors, right up to and including his own training exercises with Lilienthal’s “normal soaring apparatus” and “large biplane”. This project offered new insight into Lilienthal’s work, and also led to a spectacular aerial meeting of Lilienthal's 1895 biplane and the Wright brothers’ 1902 biplane at a historic location on the Outer Banks. The book provides access to video material, largely stemming from this project. Preface Acknowledgments About This Book Contents About the Authors The Beginning of an Era The Sky Over Pomerania From Poor Student to Excellent Scholar Lodger–Engineer–Manufacturer Life Goal: Inventor From the Dream of Flight to the Science of Aerodynamics From Theory to Flying Machine 1891—The Leap into a New Century Captured in Mid-Air Modelled After a Bat—The Path to Aircraft Production Practical Flying—Training and Records An Engine—Again Inspired by Birds The Fliegeberg—A Real Airfield Production, Sales, and Imitations Lilienthal’s Customers 1 Charles Eugene Lancelot Brown 2 Heinrich Seiler 3 Count Charles de Lambert 4 Alois Wolfmüller 5 Dr. Kilian Frank 6 T. J. Bennett 7 Professor George F. Fitzgerald 8 Nikolai Yegorovich Zhukovsky 9 William Randolph Hearst More Difficult Than Anticipated: Control A Clever Idea: The Biplane Unfinished Ideas and August 9, 1896 To Fly is Everything—Lilienthal 125 years Later Appendix 1: List of Lilienthal’s Known Flying Machines 1 Earlier Airplane Models 2 Derwitz Glider 1891 3 Südende Glider 1892 4 Maihöhe-Rhinow Glider 1893 5 Small Ornithopter (Wing Flapping Apparatus) 1893–96 6 Normalsegelapparat from 1894 Onward 7 Sturmflügelapparat Model 1894 8 Experimental Monoplane 1895 9 Small Biplane 1895 10 Large Biplane 1895 11 Large Ornithopter (Wing Flapping Apparatus) 1896 12 Other Designs and Constructions Appendix 2: Otto Lilienthal—A Timeline Appendix 3: Flight Testing Stability and Controllability of Otto Lilienthal’s Monoplane Design from 1893 1 Introduction 2 Glider Dimensions During Wind Tunnel and Flight Tests 3 Familiarization of the Test Pilot—Tethered Flights and Winch Supported Flights 4 Trimming of the Glider 5 Acquirement of Longitudinal Control Skills—Free Flights 6 Conclusion and Outlook Appendix 4: On the Flying Qualities of Otto Lilienthal’s Large Biplane 1 Introduction 2 Glider Reconstruction and Dimensions 3 Balance Measurements 4 Acquiring Lateral Control Skills—Winch Flights 5 Acquiring Longitudinal Control Skills—Free Flights 6 Conclusion and Outlook Appendix 5: Wind Tunnel and Flight Testing of Otto Lilienthal’s Experimental Monoplane from 1895 1 Introduction 2 Wind Tunnel Tests 2.1 Performance 2.2 Stability 2.3 Controllability 3 Flight Tests 4 Summary of Test Results 5 Lilienthal’s Progress in the View of the Wright Brothers Bibliography