Legends of Flight

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Legends of Flight

• The ability to fly has been a dream of humans
  dating back to over 4,000 years ago.
• Much of what we see today has come from the ideas
  of the people back then.
• Many of these ideas are based on legends and
  myths, but some are based on scientific data and
  analysis.

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Our Quest to Fly Like the Birds
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The Babylonians

• The Legend of Daedalus and Icarus.
• Found on the seal of Babylonia from 3500 BC.
• First recorded legend of mans quest to fly.

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Moral of the story listen to your father!
The fate of Icarus
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The Persians

• Kind Kai Kawus, 1500 BC.
• Was supposed to have had a flying throne carried
  aloft by four eagles.
• Similar myth regarding Alexander the Great, 336 BC

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The Chinese

• Emperor Wan Hoo, 1100 AD
• Is said to have attempted a flight to the moon by
  strapping 47 rockets to a wicker thrown.

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Early Scientific Research

• Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), the great Italian
  artist.
• Devoted many years of his life to understanding
  the mysteries of flight and left the world with
  160 pages with
• Sketches
• Mathematical Equations
• Reports
• Documented Experiments.

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What Leonardo studied

• The importance of the center of gravity.
• The importance of the center of pressure.
• The advantages of streamlining.

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Sketches and Descriptions
Da Vincis Ornithopter
a flying machine kept aloft and is propelled
by flapping wings.
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Other Basic Scientific Research

• Many stories and books written between
  1500s-1800s
• 1670 Jesuit priest, Francesco de Lana, wrote
  about an aerial ship.
• 1766 Flammable Air discovered, later named
  hydrogen.
• 1782 Joseph Montgolfier created the first hot
  air balloon.
• 1852 Henri Giffard created the first dirigible
  in the world.

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A Quick Review

• Mans quest for flight dates back to 4000 BC.
• Some of the ideas/research discovered since that
  time, still apply to flight today.
• Some important names to remember
• Leonardo da Vinci, Francesco de Lana, Henry
  Cavendish, Joseph Montgolfier, and Henri Giffard.