Aviation

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

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 Motivation
to study Aerospace: Aeronautical + Astronautical

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Fly at higher altitudes at higher Mach
numbers with maximum safety.

Fields in Aerospace Engineering

Structures---reliable Flight mechanics-
Aerodynamics–lift Propulsion—to
light weight trajectory of vehicle,
generation propel the vehicle
structures stability etc.
 Aircraft UAV

Helicopter

Launch
Vehicle Missile
Industries Engines

MAV

Satellite
Epochs
• Pre-historic and Mythology
• Dawn of Flight: Human powered
• Powered Flight
• World War I
• Between the Wars
• Commercial Flights
• World War II
• Jet Age
 Idea of flight

• From the dawn of civilization, birds are seen to fly

Source: Fundamentals of flight by R D Shevell

Nzca Lines: The candor
Human, being most intelligent animals, must have caught
with the idea of flying like birds: depicted in cave paintings
 Mythology
• Almost in every civilization,
Gods are depicted to be
Neith
flying or with wings
Annunaki: Sumer
Ra

winged priest of
Zoroastrians Dudu

Wikipedia.org 6
GREEK MYTHOLOGY
DAEDALUS & ICARUS
Icarus is the son of the Daedalus. Icarus and
his father attempt to escape from Crete by
means of wings that his father constructed
from feathers and wax.

Icarus ignored his father's instructions not to

fly too close to the sun; when the wax in his
wings melted he tumbled out of the sky and
fell into the sea where he drowned, sparking
the idiom "don't fly too close to the sun".

Pegasus
Pegasus is
a mythical winged
divine horse, and one of the
most recognized creatures
in Greek mythology.
Usually depicted as pure
white, Pegasus is the The emblem of the World War II,
British Airborne
offspring of Forces, Bellerophon riding the
the Olympian god Poseidon. flying horse Pegasus. 7
Angels
An angel is a supernatural being in
various religions. Abrahamic religions often depict them
as benevolent celestial intermediaries
between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles
include protectors and guides for humans, and servants
of God.

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Indian Mythology: Many references of
Flying beings and Flying vehicles
• Garuda
• Hanuman
• Uparichara Vasu (Mahabharat): Upari -
Upwards and Chara - Going i.e. The one who
goes Upwards always
• Surya: Flying chariot

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 Vimanas
• Several descriptions of flying machines called vimanas are available in the Vedic literature of India

Two categories are found:

(l) Man-made craft that resemble airplanes and fly
with the help of birdlike wings
(2) Unstreamlined structures that fly in a mysterious
manner and are generally not made by human beings.

Those in category (1) are described mainly in medieval, secular Sanskrit works dealing with
architecture, military siege engines, and other mechanical contrivances.

Those in category (2) are described in ancient works such as the Rig Veda, the Mahabharata, the
Ramayana, and the Puranas.

Resourses from http://www.ufoevidence.org/topics/vimanas.htm

Some books are also available

Books:
1. Vimana Aircraft of Ancient India and Atlantis
-by D. H. Childress and Ivan T. Sanderson

2. Vaimanika Shastra by Pandit Subbaraya

Shastry
(English translation by Mr. G. R. Josyer was published in 1973)

One critical review of the book Vaimanika Shastra

may also be found in link given below
http://cgpl.iisc.ernet.in/site/Portals/0/Publications/ReferedJournal/ACriticalStudyOfTheWorkVaiman
ikaShastra.pdf