Amelia Earhart - 'Lady Lindy'

Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart was called 'Lady Lindy' because of her resemblance to Charles Lindbergh (another famous aviator).

Earhart never wanted to wear the proper flying gear - instead she wore a dress or a suit. She was born on July the 24th, 1897 and dies on January the 5th, 1939. She went missing while flying.

Earhart was the first female pilot (known as an aviatrix) to fly straight across the Atlantic and she was the first person to fly both oceans. The transatlantic flight to 14 hours and 56 minutes. Amelia was 34 years old when she did this.

Amelia was homeschooled with her sister until the age of 12. Then she went to school.

What happened to Earhart on her final flight remains a mystery to this day.

The Wright Brothers by Lukas

The Wright brothers patent war (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Wilbur Wright (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Wright brothers, Wilbur(April 16, 1867–May 30, 1912) and Orville(August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948), were two American brothers, inventors, and aviation pioneers who were credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903. In the two years afterward, the brothers developed their flying machine into the first practical fixed-wing aircraft. Although not the first to build and fly experimental aircraft, the Wright brothers were the first to invent aircraft controls that made fixed-wing powered flight possible.

The Wright brothers were two of seven children born to Milton Wright (1828–1917) and Susan Catherine Koerner (1831–1889). Wilbur was born near Millville, Indiana in 1867; Orville in Dayton, Ohio in 1871. The brothers never married. The other Wright siblings were named Reuchlin (1861–1920), Lorin (1862–1939), Katharine (1874–1929), and twins Otis and Ida (born 1870, died in infancy). In 1878 their father, who traveled often as a bishop in the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, brought home a toy "helicopter" for his two younger sons. The device was based on an invention of French aeronautical pioneer Alphonse Pénaud. Made of paper, bamboo and cork with a rubber band to twirl its rotor, it was about a foot long. Wilbur and Orville played with it until it broke, and then built their own. In later years, they pointed to their experience with the toy as the initial spark of their interest in flying.

Both brothers attended high school, but did not receive diplomas.

In the winter of 1885–86 Wilbur was accidentally struck in the face by a hockey stick while playing an ice-skating game with friends, resulting in the loss of his front teeth. He had been vigorous and athletic until then, and although his injuries did not appear especially severe, he became withdrawn, and did not attend Yale as planned. Instead, he spent the next few years largely housebound, caring for his mother who was terminally ill with tuberculosis and reading extensively in his father's library. 

Orville dropped out of high school after his junior year to start a printing business in 1889, having designed and built his own printing press with Wilbur's help. Wilbur joined the print shop, serving as editor while Orville was publisher of the weekly newspaper the West Side News, followed for only a few months by the daily Evening Item. 

Wright brothers bicycle (Photo credit: nicomachus)

Capitalizing on the national bicycle craze, the brothers opened a repair and sales shop in 1892 (the Wright Cycle Exchange, later the Wright Cycle Company) and began manufacturing their own brand in 1896. They used this endeavor to fund their growing interest in flight.

The brothers' fundamental breakthrough was their invention of three-axis control, which enabled the pilot to steer the aircraft effectively and to maintain its equilibrium. This method became standard and remains standard on fixed-wing aircraft of all kinds. From the beginning of their aeronautical work, the Wright brothers focused on developing a reliable method of pilot control as the key to solving "the flying problem". This approach differed significantly from other experimenters of the time who put more emphasis on developing powerful engines. Using a small homebuilt wind tunnel, the Wrights also collected more accurate data than any before, enabling them to design and build wings and propellers that were more efficient than any before. Their first U.S. patent, 821,393, did not claim invention of a flying machine, but rather, the invention of a system of aerodynamic control that manipulated a flying machine's surfaces. They gained the mechanical skills essential for their success by working for years in their shop with printing presses, bicycles, motors, and other machinery. Their work with bicycles in particular influenced their belief that an unstable vehicle like a flying machine could be controlled and balanced with practice. From 1900 until their first powered flights in late 1903, they conducted extensive glider tests that also developed their skills as pilots. Their bicycle shop employee Charlie Taylor became an important part of the team, building their first aircraft engine in close collaboration with the brothers.

Stay tuned for the next chapter of the story of The Wright Brothers

Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin

Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin was born on July 8, 1838. He was the first to make rigid airships.

When he was 20 he was part of the army of Germany. He had to go to the United States for his work in the army. While he was there he went on his first balloon flight that was lighter than air.

Count Zeppelin in  the army

He wanted to make a steerable airship that was lighter than air. He spent nearly a decade working out the ideas to make the airship. He built the first one in 1900. They were called Zeppelins after his name. In 1910 there was the first flight for passengers. Zeppelins were used in World War 1 to bomb London. After the war they flew between Europe and America. The flight took about 3 days.

Graf Zeppelin

Ferdinand von Zeppelin died on March 8, 1917.

The Hindenberg was an airship that caught fire in New Jersey in 1937. 35 out of the 97 people on board died. The era of the airship ended that day.

Hindenberg

 by Joachim

References

http://inventors.about.com/od/xzstartinventors/ss/Zeppelin.htm

http://www.airships.net/count-ferdinand-von-zeppelin

The Montgolfier Brothers and the Hot Air Balloon

Joseph Montgolfier came up with the balloon idea while watching a fire in his fireplace.

On June 4, 1783, the Montgolfier brothers filled up a paper bag with hot air and it floated. It was called a balon (in french).

On September 19, same year, they flew a balloon with passengers. the passengers were really scared and it took a long time for them to get their courage to get into the air. They were famously known as Sheep, Duck and Rooster, because that is what they were! Reports from the time state that the sheep had an anxiety attack when the ballon went into the air and it kicked the duck and broke it's wing.


Are you wondering how long it took before they flew a balloon with people? Less than a month. I am afraid the Montgolfier borthers are classsified as cowards in our minds as they got their friends to go up first! Amazingly they were not tethered - they were in free flight!

The Montgolfier brothers thought they had actually discovered a new gas, which they named 'Montgolfier Gas'. But the gas was just air that was lighter because it had been heated.

Chuck Yeager

The First Man to Break the Sound Barrier

Chuck Yeager is the most famous test pilot of all time. He won a place in the history of aviation as the first pilot ever to fly faster than the speed of sound in the Bell X-1.

Charles Elwood Yeager was born in 1923 in Myra, America. He joined the United States Army Air Corps to serve in World War II. One day after his first kill he was shot down.  Thanks to the French he escaped being captured and made his way to Spain.

The sound barrier is not just a normal barrier.  It is when you go faster than the speed of sound. The speed of sound is called Mach 1.  Sound travels at a speed of 343.2 metres per second or 1,236 kilometres per hour.  On 14 October 1947 an orange bullet plane was dropped from a B29 bomber plane.  Chuck Yeager was the test pilot.  He broke the sound barrier at the speed of Mach 1.07 and became the first supersonic pilot.

Plane breaking sound barrier

When an aircraft begins to move toward the speed of sound the sound waves pile up in front of it. When it breaks the sound barrier there is a shock wave that comes down and creates a sonic boom. Instead of hearing the noisy aircraft overhead you hear BOOOOOM!!!

Chuck Yeager is still alive today. He made his last flight on October 14, 1997, the 50th anniversary of his history-making flight in the X-1. He by once again broke the sound barrier, this time in an F-15 fighter.

 References:

Chuck Yeager Biography 2012 http://www.biography.com/people/chuck-yeager-9538831

Academy of Achievement 2012 http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/yea0bio-1/

Graham, I, 1997, Built for Speed Aircraft, Belitha Press, London.

Welcome to Men Of Flight

Flight International Cover (Photo credit: SuperJet International)

We hope you all enjoy the stories and tales of these famous historic Aviators.  From Leonardo Da vinci to Bert Hinkler and The Wright Brothers, all these men shared the same love and passion for flight.  

It took many years to design and perfect the building and construction of an aircraft that would sustain the pressures of staying airborne.  Today we give thanks to all these adventurous and courageous people who persevered with their dreams because without them we would not be able to travel to far off countries and experience the wonders of the world.

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