Of Men Who Found Walking Boring

Like every man with too much free time on his hands coming up with crazy ideas, Wilbur Wright was no exception. Like Issac Newton before him, he practically stumbled upon the concept of lift by doing nothing more than sit around watching birds soar. 

Sure, you may call it important now, but remember that when he was wasting time looking at birds soar, he was wasting time. 

Thus we come to the conclusion that "Research, until it bears fruit is nothing but a waste of time to a casual observer."  


In all seriousness (geddit?)

Wilbur Wright (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Wright Brothers spent a great deal of time observing birds in flight. They noticed that birds soared into the wind and that the air flowing over the curved surface of their wings created lift. Birds change the shape of their wings to turn and maneuver. They believed that they could use this technique to obtain roll control by warping, or changing the shape, of a portion of the wing.

Early quad-line steerable kite by Wright Brothers as they aim for powered flight. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So, in 1899, after Wilbur Wright had written a letter of request to the Smithsonian Institution for information about flight experiments, the Wright Brothers designed their first aircraft: a small, biplane glider flown as a kite to test their solution for controlling the craft by wing warping. Wing warping is a method of arching the wingtips slightly to control the aircraft's rolling motion and balance.

Over the next three years, Wilbur and his brother Orville would design a series of gliders which would be flown in both unmanned (as kites) and piloted flights. They read about the works of Cayley, and Langley, and the hang-gliding flights of Otto Lilienthal. They corresponded with Octave Chanute concerning some of their ideas. They recognized that control of the flying aircraft would be the most crucial and hardest problem to solve. 

Following a successful glider test, the Wrights built and tested a full-size glider. They selected Kitty Hawk, North Carolina as their test site because of its wind, sand, hilly terrain and remote location.

In 1900, the Wrights successfully tested their new 50-pound biplane glider with its 17-foot wingspan and wing-warping mechanism at Kitty Hawk, in both unmanned and piloted flights. In fact, it was the first piloted glider. Based upon the results, the Wright Brothers planned to refine the controls and landing gear, and build a bigger glider.

In 1901, at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, the Wright Brothers flew the largest glider ever flown, with a 22-foot wingspan, a weight of nearly 100 pounds and skids for landing. However, many problems occurred: the wings did not have enough lifting power; forward elevator was not effective in controlling the pitch; and the wing-warping mechanism occasionally caused the airplane to spin out of control. In their disappointment, they predicted that man will probably not fly in their lifetime.

During 1902, the brothers flew numerous test glides using their new glider. Their studies showed that a movable tail would help balance the craft and the Wright Brothers connected a movable tail to the wing-warping wires to coordinate turns. With successful glides to verify their wind tunnel tests, the inventors planned to build a powered aircraft.

After months of studying how propellers work the Wright Brothers designed a motor and a new aircraft sturdy enough to accommodate the motor's weight and vibrations. The craft weighed 700 pounds and came to be known as the Flyer.

Of the Sinister Six

While flying a plane without any electronics would be appealing to the Wright Brothers, the commercialization of air travel has seen to higher standards in safety and navigation. Since planes still tend to crash, it's safe to assume that at least the aviation engineers got the navigation part right!

Instruments are used by pilots to maneuver the plane and navigate precisely, while maximizing performance and safety. 

Of these various instruments, 6 shown below prove to be an invaluable asset to aerial navigation.

six flight instruments; basic-T, basic flight instruments (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In early 1930s, the arrangement of these specialized instruments on a panel mounted independently of the remainder is a custom which comes to us from the United States.

These Flight instruments can be divided into two basic categories based on their working:

Pitot-Static Instruments:

This group of instruments comprises of three instruments mentioned below in detail. The reason they are classified as Pitot-Static is due to the fact that all these instruments rely on readings taken solely from the air pressure surrounding the aeroplane. 

The Pitot-Static system is comprised of pitot tubes and static ports that are usually located on either side of the forward fuselage, underneath the pilots’ windows. The pitot tubes are mounted parallel to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft and generally in line with the relative wind. 

There are always several pitot tubes and static ports so that the pressure readings can be averaged out and also to ensure that there are backup and alternate sources.

• Air Speed Indicator

The Airspeed Indicator measures the speed of the aircraft through the air,  this is the speed at which the air is flowing over the airplane.  The dial is usually calibrated in Nautical miles known as Knots.

The airspeed indicator is connected to the Pitot Static System. To give a reading of speed through the air, the flight instrument measures the difference between the dynamic pressure in the Pitot Tube and the atmospheric pressure from the Static vent. 

When the airplane is standing still on the ground, the pressure in the two systems will be the same resulting in a reading of zero. However, when the airplane is travelling through the air, the dynamic pressure in the Pitot system will increase and a reading is registered.

The Indicated airspeed (IAS) is the reading displayed on the face of the instrument. The small windows at the top and bottom of the Airspeed Indicator are used for determining True Airspeed (TAS). Remember, the Airspeed Indicator displays the Indicated Air Speed (IAS), and adjustments are needed to calculate the Calibrated Airspeed (CAS) and True Airspeed (TAS).

• Altimeter

The Altimeter measures the Altitude or height of the aircraft above Sea Level. Remember, ground elevation varies widely, so the Altimeter reading does not measure height about the Ground, but instead above Sea Level. The Pilot must be aware of the Ground elevation, to then calculate the height of the airplane above the Ground.

English: Schematic of a drum-type altimeter (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Altimeter reading is based on barometric pressure, and barometric pressure is constantly changing. This requires the altimeter to be set prior to every flight, and during flight as barometric pressure in your flying area changes.

• Vertical Speed Inidcator

The Rate of Climb and Rate of Descent are indicated on the Vertical Speed Indicator (VSI). This is measured in Feet Per Minute, and displayed in Hundreds of FPM.

The pilot relies on both the Altimeter and the Vertical Speed Indicator to monitor altitude and altitude changes. At a glance, the VSI shows the pilot if they are flying at a steady altitude, or if they are ascending or descending, and the rate at which their altitude is changing in feet per minute.

Gyroscopic Instruments:

A Gyroscope is a rotor or spinning wheel, rotating at a high speed. Usually, this is powered by the Vacuum System Pump. Gyroscopic Inertia is the tendency of a rotating body to maintain its plane of rotation, known as Rigidity in Space. Gyroscopic Precision is the tendency of a rotating body to consistently react to a force being applied by turning in the direction of its rotation exactly 90 degrees to its axis. These principles of physics are used to make very precise Flight Instruments:

• Attitude Indicator

The Attitude Indicator uses a Gyroscope to stabilize a horizon bar which stays parallel to the natural horizon. The miniature airplane in the center of the Attitude Indicator will pitch and bank around the horizon bar to indicate the airplanes current attitude relative to the horizon.

• Heading Indicator

The Heading Indicator is gyroscopically stabilized. Unlike the magnetic compass, the Directional Gyro is not as affected by banks, turns, and speed changes. However, the Heading Indicator is NOT a magnetic compass.

The outline of an aircraft is positioned over a 360 degree scale with markings for North, East, South and West. The larger markings indicate 10 degrees each, and the smaller markings denote 5 degree variations.

• Turn Coordinator

This instrument gives information about the direction and rate of a turn. Additionally, it indicates if the turn is being flown in coordinated flight. If the aircraft is slipping or skidding during a turn, the ball (inclinometer) in the bottom portion of the Turn Coordinator will not be centered.

During a coordinated turn, the ball will remain centered. If the ball is not centered, the pilot must adjust the turn by using more or less rudder to correct for adverse yaw.