The Origins of Aviation
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Man must rise above the Earth-to the top of the atmosphere and beyond-for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives. - Socrates |
Greek mythology: Daedalus
The mythical Greek character Daedalus was a skilled craftsman who escaped from the island of Crete by gluing feather wings together with wax. He flew on these wings with his son Icarus - but his son drowned when they flew too near the sun, melting the wax and ending up falling into the sea.
Pushpaka
Vimana of the Ramayana: mythical chariots
Hindu mythology also included
the dream of flight. The vimana is a mythical flying machine:"The
Pushpaka chariot that resembles the Sun and belongs to my brother
was brought by the powerful Ravana; that aerial and
excellent chariot going everywhere at will … that chariot
resembling a bright cloud in the sky … and the King [Rama] got
in.."
The Kongming lantern was a prototype of today's hot-air balloon, known in China from as early as 3rd century BC. The lantern invention is attributed to general Zhuge Liang, who is said to have used them to scare the enemy troops.
The Chinese were also said to have invented kites in 5th century BC. By 549 AD, paper kites were being flown and used as messages for rescue missions.
The
first glider attempt in history: the first
parachute
"What man-made machine will ever achieve the complete perfection of even the goose's wing?"
Abbas Ibn Firnas was the first person to demonstrate glider flight in 9th century BC. He lived in al-Andalus, which is present-day Spain. He made a set of wings using cloth stiffened by wooden struts. He jumped off the Grand Mosqur in Cordoba - he didn't fly, but slowed his fall. Today, this would be considered a prototype of the parachute.
The
first glider attempt in history
Leonardo Da
Vinci
reated this design in the 15th century:
Da Vinci knew humans were too heavy to fly with attached wings, so he proposed this device. The person would lie down on a plank and use hand levers, foot pedals and a pulley system to work two large thin wings. This kind of device is known as an Ornithopter - it comes from the Greek ornithos for "bird" and pteron for "wing". He never tried to produce these designs in real life.
An example of an
ornithopter:
an aircraft that flies
by flapping its wings (as opposed to an airplane's fixed
wings)
Image Credit: Sky God,Dutt,
Manatha Nath (translator), Ramayana, Elysium Press, Calcutta, 1892
and New York, 1910. Aathreya
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The air up there in the clouds is very pure and fine, bracing and
delicious. And why shouldn't it be? -it is the same the angels
breathe. |
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mukherjee_manisha25 said – Tue, 27 Jan 2009 10:20:03 -0000 ( Flag Edit Link )
This is not enough i wanted to know more.This ended abruptly…..