Invention of airplane

R.CHIPI CHAKKARAVARTHY
12BME014
FINAL YEAR B.E.,
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
If birds can fly, why not people?

•  Originally, engineers thought that when a bird's wings flapped, that

motion was what caused it to lift by forcing air downward.

•  Many early flying machines were based on the flapping motion, all of
which failed.

•  The secret was discovered by Sir George Cayley and later by Otto
Lilienthal in the 1890s. They found that the thrust and lift from a bird's
flight are separate.

•  The flapping of a bird's wings is actually directing air mostly

backwards. It is the SHAPE of the wing that causes lift by changing
the air pressure above and below the wing as air rushes over it. This
principle is what makes flight possible on modern airplanes.
 The physics of flight
There are four basic forces when an airplane is at flight:

1. Lift
2. Thrust
3. Gravity
4. Drag
Only gravity is constant.
•  If an airplane is flying at a constant speed, all the
forces are in equilibrium.
Lift:
•  The lift on the plane can be achieved through the
cross-sectional shape wings.
•  As the plane flies, the air over the top of the
wing flows faster than the air under the bottom. So the
top part of the wing generates the lower pressure and
the bottom part creates the high pressure. This pressure
difference generates the lift on the airplane in an
upward direction.
•  The angle of the wings causes the plane to fly at
different angles.
Thrust:  
•  Propellers are the key to the plane's thrust. The air in
front of the propeller is sucked in and is pushed back
toward the tail.
• The force generated by this action is thrust. A more
powerful propeller makes the plane go faster.
• The thrust is controlled by raising or lowering the rate
per minute (rpm) of the engine by using the throttle.
Drag:
•  When an airplane travels using the propeller, an
undesired effect is created: resistance.
• When the aircraft travels through the air, its frontal
area pushes against the air in front of it, and the air
flowing over the aircraft causes friction. This is know
as drag.
• So, a narrower and lighter aircraft goes faster because
it reduces drag and resistance.
Airfoil geometric parameters
Airfoil geometric parameters
Pressure distribution around an airfoil
Aviation Through the Ages
1250 to 1750

Leonardo da Vinci spent most of his life exploring flight

and left the world about 160 documents of sketches and
observations about flight
Aviation Through the Ages
1750 to 1850

Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier designed the first successful flying

craft. Their observations led them to believe that burning created a gas,
which they called "Montgolfier's gas causing a craft to rise.
Aviation Through the Ages
1850 to 1900

Sir George Cayley experimented with gliders at his home in Yorkshire. He

was the first to discover how wings work. Cayley discovered that wings are
lifted on the air. He also constructed the first aircraft that was heavier than
air. He is now recognized as the father of aviation. He came up with many
principles of heavier-than-air flight.
Aviation Through the Ages
1850 to 1900

• In 1896, the German engineer, Otto Lilienthal, tested several

monoplane and biplane gliders.
• He built and flew the first glider capable of carrying a person, but died
when he crashed in a sudden gust of wind before he could finish his
powered plane.
Aviation Through the Ages
1900 to 1935

 At 10:35 a.m. on December 17, 1903 the world's first successful airplane
known as the Flyer Accelerated along its launching rail and flew through
the air.
 Twelve seconds later it landed 100 yards away on the soft sand at Kill Devil

Hills near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

 The pilot Orville and his brother Wilbur had experimented for four years

with kites and engines to make the first successful flight ever.
Aviation Through the Ages
1900 A.D to 1935 A.D

 The Wright brothers continued to perfect their plane and

it was in a Wright biplane that the first transcontinental
flight was made by Calbraith P. Rodgers, in 1911.
Aviation Through the Ages
1935 A.D to 1950 A.D

New technologies developed throughout the course of World War II. The motto was if you
commanded the skies you could win the war.
monoplanes
bombers
fighters
P-51 Mustang
C-4U Corsair
B-17,
Grumann F6F Hellcat
Aviation Through the Ages
1950 A.D to 1975 A.D

 After Chuck Yeager's supersonic flight in 1947,

aviation entered a new era dominated by jets.
 The years following the war saw the aviation
industry grow in leaps and bounds.
Aviation Through the Ages
1975A.D to 2000A.D

 The world's first supersonic commercial passenger

aircraft operating regular scheduled flights was
the Concorde. It was developed jointly by Great
Britain and France during the 1960s and 1970s.
Aviation today

 It will carry 250 - 290 passengers on routes of

8,000 to 8,500 nautical miles
 The airplane will use 20 percent less fuel for
comparable missions than today's similarly sized
airplane. It will also travel at speeds similar to
today's fastest wide bodies
Types os airplane wings
 Rectangular Wing
 Elliptical Wing
 Swept Wing
 Delta Wing
Rectangular Wing
 A rectangular wing is used on slower aircraft,
typically training aircraft.
 It is somewhat maneuverable but allows for a

high margin of pilot error.

 It also produces a large amount of lift so that

the wing can be smaller in comparison to the

body of the aircraft.
Elliptical Wing
 An elliptical wing is similar to the rectangular
wing but is usually lighter and generates
much more lift.
 It is often found on gliders and ultra-light

aircraft.
Swept Wing
Swept wings are usually found on jet aircraft.
The thinner profile produces less drag,
meaning it can fly at faster speeds.
 It is also much more maneuverable. These

aircraft are less capable of flying at slow

speeds however, so most swept wings are
fitted with additional devices such as flaps or
slats to assist in producing lift at low speeds.
Delta Wing
The delta wing is used on very high speed
(supersonic) aircraft, which are extremely
maneuverable but much harder to control at
slower speeds.
 As with the swept wing, they are also fitted

with additional components to assist at

slower speeds.
Thank you