Air Navigation: The History of Our Future
By: Hamzah Jameel,
Staff Writer
While riding on an airplane, have you ever thought how the idea of air navigation came into being? Well, this idea started 2,400 years ago and went through many improvements until our present days.
In about 400 BCE, China used kites as a spying tool for military, communication, and warfare weapon purposes. Abbas ibn Firnas (810-887), a polymath inventor and physician, made the first attempts to fly with wings. He was the first to make attempts to fly in a scientific way. The glide he used was successful but the landing was not, because Abbas should have put more feathers for the tail.
In Europe, at the time of 1485, Leonardo da Vinci made the first real studies of flight in the 1480s. He illustrated his theories and made over one-hundred drawings. Leonardo da Vinci also illustrated the ornithopter, although it was never really created. His purpose was just to show that humans can fly. Today’s helicopter is based on his theory of the ornithopter.
In the 18th century, Sir Isaac Newton theorized that a machine moving forward in great speed can cause the hot air to blast backwards. His theory was based on his third law of motion. Later, Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier invented the first hot air balloon in 1783. The two brothers smoked hot air into a silk bag that was attached to a basket. The bag eventually rose because the bag became lighter than air. In November 21, 1783, the first manned flight occurred. Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier and Francois Laurent were the first passengers to ride a hot air balloon. It was a successful flight. After that, George Cayley (1799-1850) designed many different versions of gliders that depended on the movements of the body to be controlled.
In the 1900s the Wright Brothers made the first airplane, the “Flyer.” It generated almost twelve horsepower. Their final flight was on Flyer III on October 5, 1905, when Wilbur piloted the plane. The flight lasted for 39 minutes passing about 24 miles of circles around the Huffman Prairie. After that, Charles Lindbergh took a flight on the “Spirit of St. Louis,” on May 20, 1927. It crossed France in the evening of May 21, 1927. This was the first successful transatlantic flight from New York to Paris. Later, Frank Whittle, a British pilot, designed a turbo jet. His design successfully flew in the April of 1937. After that John Glenn contributed to the history of flight. He flew aboard Friendship-7 on February 20, 1962. His mission lasted for nine days and accomplished 134 Earth orbits traveling 3.6 million miles in 213 hours and 44 minutes!
Next time, when you hear “We are going on an airplane,” remember that the invention is not something that started yesterday. Today, scientists are still improving air navigational ideas. Taking a wild guess of the futuristic inventions, one can predict about air navigation: today’s cars are going to be displayed in future museums, and helicopters will take the lead, roaming the skies of tomorrow. One thing is for sure:
While old ideas reach their sunset, a new dawn will prevail.
Works Cited
Zhaoyun. Use of Kites in Ancient Chinese Military. China History Forum. 4 Sept 2006. 15 Dec 2012. <http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/index.php?/topic/13643-use-of-kites-in-ancient- chinese-military/>.
Abbas Ibn Firnas. Awesome Scientist. 15 Dec 2012. <http://www.awesomescientist.com/abbas.html>.
Shaw, R. History of Flight. NASA. 27 Aug 2010. 15 Dec 2012. <http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/k-12/UEET/StudentSite/historyofflight.html>.
Bellis, M. History of Early Jet Engines. About.com. 15 Dec 2012. <http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bljjetenginehistory.htm>.
Lindbergh Flies the Atlantic, 1927. Charles Lindbergh AN AMERICAN AVIATOR. 15 Dec 2012. <http://www.charleslindbergh.com/history/paris.asp>