Otto Lilienthal

Romanian Flight Pioneer Traian Vuia and his Flying Machines

18. March 2021 Harald Sack

On March 18, 1906, the flying machine of Romanian inventor Traian Vuia lifted briefly to a powered hop of 11 metres. Though unsuccessful in sustained flight, Vuia‘s invention influenced Louis Blériot in designing monoplanes.[3] In difference to the flying machine of the Wright brothers that made first motor powered flight in December 1903 [2], Vuia‘s machine had the capability to take off from a flat surface, without assistance such as an incline,…

aviation

Octave Chanute – One of the Fathers of Aviation

18. February 2021 Harald Sack

On February 18, 1832, French-born American railway engineer and aviation pioneer Octave A. Chanute was born. He provided many budding enthusiasts, including the Wright brothers [6] with help and advice, and helped to publicize their flying experiments. At his death he was hailed as the father of aviation and the heavier-than-air flying machine. “Let us hope that the advent of a successful flying machine, now only dimly foreseen and nevertheless thought to be…

aviation

The Controversial Flights of Gustave Whitehead

1. January 2021 Harald Sack

On January 1, 1874, German-born aviation pioneer Gustav Albin Weißkopf was born. He emigrated from Germany to the United States and called himself Gustave Whitehead. He designed and built gliders, flying machines, and engines between 1897 and 1915. Controversy surrounds published accounts and Whitehead’s own claims that he flew a powered machine successfully several times in 1901 and 1902, predating the first flights by the Wright Brothers in 1903.[1] Gustav Weißkopf –…

aviation

Otto Lilienthal, the Glider King

23. May 2020 Tabea Tietz

On May 23, 1848, German aviation pioneer Otto Lilienthal was born, who was the first person to make well-documented, repeated, successful gliding flights. For his contributions to aviation he is often referred to as “The Father of Flight.” Otto Lilienthal – Early Years Otto Lilienthal received a good education at a grammar school in Anklam despite the sudden death of his father and the financial struggles of his family. Flight tests and experiments…

aviation

George Cayley and the Science of Aeronautics

27. December 2019 Tabea Tietz

On December 27, 1773, English engineer and important pioneer of aeronautics Sir George Cayley was born. Many consider him the first true scientific aerial investigator and the first person to understand the underlying principles and forces of flight. “About 100 years ago, an Englishman, Sir George Cayley, carried the science of flight to a point which it had never reached before and which it scarcely reached again during the last century.” – Wilbur Wright, 1909…

aviation

Albrecht Berblinger, the Tailor of Ulm and His Flying Machine

31. May 2019 Tabea Tietz

On May 31, 1811, Albrecht Ludwig Berblinger, also known as the Tailor of Ulm, failed to give the proof that his machine was able to fly and fell into the Danube river during the demonstration. He is famous for having constructed a working flying machine, presumably a hang glider. Forced to Become a Tailor Albrecht Berblinger was born as the seventh child of the servant Albrecht Ludwig Berblinger the Elder and his…

aviation

The Wright Brothers Invented the Aviation Age

17. December 2018 Harald Sack

On December 17, 1903, the brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright wrote history with the first flight of their Flyer One, the very first successful powered aircraft in the sands south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, U.S. “Isn’t it astonishing that all these secrets have been preserved for so many years just so we could discover them!” – Orville Wright Prior Attempts Although the Brothers Montgolfier had ascended in their first hot air balloon…