The Birthplaces of Aviation
It didn't all happen at Kitty Hawk.
- By Roger A. Mola
- Air & Space magazine, July 2009
Still on the ground in Ireland, Harry Ferguson’s monoplane looks like it’s already having lateral control issues.
Ferguson Family Museum, Freshwater, Isle of Wight
In the story of the airplane’s invention, there are more characters than just the Wright brothers. And more settings too: In the first decade after the Wrights’ landmark 1903 flight, airplanes were being invented in countries far beyond America and the other two hotspots of early aviation: France and England.
Many of the aircraft included here were the first to fly in their countries. Though big news locally, word of their success traveled very slowly. The 1912 edition of Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft says, regarding Chile’s efforts in aviation, “There are vague rumors of machines building in Chili [sic], but so far as can be discovered, none have got beyond the model stage.” Though that was technically true, a Chilean named José Luis Sanchez-Besa, living in France, was building both land- and seaplanes.
Many of the aircraft builders in this story clearly got ideas from fellow inventors; a few of these designs are close duplicates of successful forebears. But other inventors appear to have worked in isolation, largely unaware of other airplanes springing to life around the world. Besides the Wrights’ crisp, sensible designs, the world began seeing airplanes with more exotic or eccentric appearances—and some could even fly.
Romania
Though Trajan Vuia earned a doctorate in law in 1901, between scholastic assignments he sketched airplane designs. He moved to Paris to join what he considered the hub of the aviation community, and in February 1903 he offered a design to the Committee of Aeronautics of the Science Academy. The committee, adhering to the prevailing wisdom that the best design would be a double-prop biplane, rejected his single-propeller monoplane as a dream.
Still, that August, Vuia licensed his airframe design in France, and the next year licensed another design incorporating his 20-horsepower engine in Great Britain. He completed the full machine by December 1905.
That month, outside Paris and beyond the view of journalists, Vuia began maneuvering the body of his vehicle as a car; later he added wings and practiced faster taxiing.
While the first officially observed airplane flight in Europe was made by Brazilian Alberto Santos Dumont in Paris on October 23, 1906, according to some reports, on March 18 of that year, Vuia rolled the Trajan Vuia 1 for 150 feet, lifted three feet above the dirt, and flew for 36 feet. Then his engine quit. Vuia is reported to have flown again in June, July, and August.
Germany
Like the Wright brothers, Hans Grade was schooled in the mechanics of two-wheel vehicles. He built his first motorcycle in 1903, and in 1905 founded a shop in Magdeburg, Germany, where he tinkered simultaneously with aircraft design and motorcycles.
By 1907 he had finalized a concept for a triplane. On October 28, 1908, his aircraft flew 24 feet. The following August, his monoplane, named Libelle (dragonfly) and based on Santos Dumont’s Demoiselle—began hops from Borkheide.
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Comments (5)
Dear Mr. Mola,
Although your article, "The Birthplaces of Aviation
It didn't all happen at Kitty Hawk", is very well written, you have omitted one of the most important countires in the birth of aviation, ITALY.
This year, Italy is celebrating the 100th Anniversary of powered flight 1909-2009. Wilbur Wright trained the first successful Italian pilot, Mario Calderara in Centocelle (Rome)on April 15 1909, the first powered flight in Italy
How could you forget to include Italy, when it has contributed so much to Aviation. Vincenzo Anzani, inventor of the radial engine in 1907, just to mention one important figure and contributer to aviation.
In fact, his engine was used by Bleriot in 1909, to cross the English channel.
Gianni Caproni, known as the father of Italian aircraft industry, used the Wright brothers engine design for several of his aircraft.
World’s first Seaplane developed by Mario Calderara in 1911.
By the end of the First World War, Italy had emerged as the fourth biggest Air power after France, England and the USA. EDITORS' REPLY. We weren't interested in the countries with the most air power, nor were we interested in documenting every country building aircraft in the first decade of powered flight. The article is meant to document countries that people do NOT generally think of in terms of early aviation--countries like Ireland, and Hungary.
Posted by Vincent Biondi on August 3,2009 | 04:11 PM
Don't forget New Zealand's Richard Pearse. This eccentric inventor/designer/farmer attempted to fly his own aircraft in March 1903! Unlike the Wright Flyer which was based on incremental improvements to a biplane glider, Pearce's aircraft was a clean sheet design and had revolutionary design ideas such as: wheeled tricycle undercarriage, tractor propellor, seated pilot position, and a high wing monoplane featuring of all things, moveable panels for roll control-yes- ailerons. Basically your modern micro-light!!
After a 50-150 yard 'hop'(accounts vary) into a gorse hedge, "Mad Pearse",realised that this flying caper was not altogether straight forward -with his engineering skills far exceeding his airmanship. Go to www.richardpearse.co.nz for more information.
Posted by Tim on August 8,2009 | 04:40 PM
When william wallace gibson's plane was slammed into that tree, crushing all but his engine and spirit, do you think he said something along the lines of "You may crush my plane, you may crush my engine, but you cannot crush....my freedom!"? EDITORS' REPLY: Either that, or "OW."
Posted by Lew on August 14,2009 | 08:41 AM
I wonder why the flight of the Silver Dart wasn't even mentioned as this was an important event in Canada.
EDITORS' REPLY: Again--we deliberately focused on the under-documented aircraft and inventors of the first decade of flight, not the well-known ones.
Posted by John Mattinson on October 8,2009 | 10:58 AM
The Wright Flyer was the first powered aircraft designed and built by the Wright brothers. They flew it four times on December 17, 1903, near the Kill Devil Hills, about four miles south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. It was damaged that day by a gust of wind and never flew again.
The U.S. Smithsonian Institution describes the aircraft as “...the first powered, heavier-than-air machine to achieve controlled sustained flight with a pilot aboard.” The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) described the 1903 flight during the 100th anniversary in 2003 as "the first sustained and controlled heavier-than-air powered flight."
Between 1899 and 1905 the Wright brothers conducted a program of aeronautical research and experimentation that led to the first successful powered airplane in 1903 and a refined, practical flying machine two years later. All successful airplanes since then have incorporated the basic design elements of the 1903 Wright Flyer.
The genius of Wilbur and Orville lay not only in the singular act of getting a flying machine into the air, but also in the approach they evolved and employed to create the technology of flight. Their method of evaluating data gathered by testing an aircraft in flight, then refining the design based on those results, remains an essential tool in aerospace research and development.
The Flyer was based on the Wrights' experience testing gliders at Kitty Hawk between 1900 and 1902. Their last glider, the 1902 Glider, led directly to the design of the Flyer. The Wrights built the aircraft in 1903 using 'giant spruce' wood as their construction material. The wings were designed with a 1-in-20 camber. Since they could not find a suitable automobile engine for the task, they commissioned their employee, Charlie Taylor, to build a new design from scratch. A sprocket chain drive, borrowed from bicycle technology, powered the twin propellers which were also made by hand.
Posted by Terrence I. Murphy on March 24,2013 | 11:49 AM