History of Flight

1st Class Cadet Training

Objectives

• Appreciate the early efforts made by mankind to fly

• Display a knowledge of early developments in “Heavier-than-Air” craft

• Name the significant achievements in powered flight

Lighter than Air

Hot Air Balloon

Hot air is less dense than surrounding air – giving lift

Propane gas is used today

First Balloon Flight - 1783

• Montgolfier Brothers

• Hot Air• Later balloons

used hydrogen or helium

Airship Development Hydrogen Gas

and DISASTER!

The Hindenburg

1937

Modern Helium Airships – A modest comeback

Heavier than Air

Air supports the weight of the kite

Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) “flapping wings”

Design

Sir George Cayley – 1st Model Glider - 1804

First manned gliders – Otto Lilienthal (1848-

1896)

Modern Hang Glider

•Gossamer Condor – Man Powered Glider - 1977

Wright Brothers – First Powered Flight 1903

First Cross Channel Flight – 1909

Louis Bleriot

•Looking VERY worried before his epic flight!

The Air Race across the Atlantic - 1919

• First Flight Across the Atlantic

• Captain Brown &

• Lieutenant Alcock

• 1919

Vickers Vimy

After landing in Ireland

First Solo Flight across Atlantic - 1927

Amy Johnson

First Solo Flight by a Woman to Australia in 1930

RAF wins Speed Record 1931 (407.5 mph) in the Schneider

Trophy races

Supermarine S6b

The Schneider Trophy – won for the third and final time in 1931 by the Great Britain team

R J Mitchell – Spitfire Designer

Spitfire Sculpture – Castle Vale, Birmingham

Sikorsky Helicopter - 1939

Development of the Jet Engine – Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle OM KBE CB FRS

First RAF jet aircraft Gloster E28/39 first flight in 1941

Meteor vs. V1 “Doodlebug”

1947 - General Chuck Yeager breaks the Sound Barrier in the Bell X1

De Havilland Comet – First Jet Airliner 1949

Boeing 747 – “Jumbo Jet”

First and only supersonic jet airliner - Concorde

The New “Super Jumbo” Airbus A380

Harrier GR7 – VSTOL “Jump Jet”

Objectives

• Appreciate the early efforts made by mankind to fly

• Display a knowledge of early developments in Heavier-than-Air craft

• Name the significant achievements in powered flight

Questions?

Questions

• Name the brothers who first flew in a hot air balloon

• What did the Wright brothers achieve?

• Who was the first pilot to fly across the English Channel?

• Which aircraft first flew across the Atlantic?

• Who invented the jet engine?

Questions

• What are the main disadvantages with hydrogen-filled airships?

• Which airship burst into flames in 1937?

• Name the much safer gas used in modern airships

• Describe the contribution to aviation made by Sir George Cayley and Otto Von Lilienthal

Questions

• Which trophy was won outright by the RAF in 1931?

• In what year was the first man-powered flight made?

• Who designed the Spitfire?• Who was the first man to break the

sound barrier?• Who was the first woman to fly solo

to Australia?