Birth of American Soaring Flight: A New Technology
2005; American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics; Volume: 43; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.2514/1.10390
ISSN1533-385X
Autores Tópico(s)Aerospace Engineering and Energy Systems
ResumoIntroduction S OARING provides man his closest approach to the capabilities of the birds. For some 4000 years,1 men looked at soaring birds, longing to imitate them, to fly without the use of an engine or muscular power. In the prehistory of aviation, when no engines were available to sustain an aircraft in the air, soaring was the means for heavier-than-air experimenters to keep their planes in the air for a prolonged period of time. So, where and when did soaring start? Historians2 and aeronautical engineers3 tend to agree that Otto Lilienthal of Germany should receive credit for being the first pilot to recognize,4 attempt and achieve soaring flight (Fig. 1), but who can take credit for this in the United States?
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