BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- Gallery 107: (a) Early Flight

DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- Gallery 107: (a) Early Flight:

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. GAL107_150822_001.JPG: The Fledglings Rudolph Dirks 1908 On November 3, 1908, the Aeronautic Society of New York staged one of the first air shows in America at Morris Park in the Bronx. The event attracted a host of flying machine experimenters and thousands of spectators, including Rudolph Dirks, a newspaper artist and creator of the comic strip "The Katzenjammer Kids." Dirks was so impressed by the aircraft he saw and excitement of the crowd that he returned to his studio and painted The Fledglings, one of the first works of art to document the public reaction to the dawn of the air age.
2. GAL107_150822_039.JPG: Flight in Antiquity: Flight is one of mankind's oldest dreams. Our remote ancestors peopled the heavens with winged gods and flying heroes who symbolized the desire of all human beings to take to the skies.
3. GAL107_150822_043.JPG: The ancients believed that Alexander the Great had been borne aloft by gryphons.
4. GAL107_150822_045.JPG: Winged Heroes: Stories of men who tempted fate by emulating the birds have been a staple element in world literature for centuries.
5. GAL107_150822_050.JPG: Winged lunar creatures are portrayed in this 19th-century Italian drawing
6. GAL107_150822_057.JPG: Cyrano de Bergerac, a French literary hero of the 17th Century, speculated about several means of flying. Here he is shown being borne aloft by bottles of dew tied to his belt.
7. GAL107_150822_059.JPG: Swedenborg Flying Machine: Emmanuel Swedenborg, a Swedish mystic, suggested the design for a flying machine in 1714. Its significant features include: the curved-airfoil wing; cockpit for the pilot; louvres in the propulsion paddles which had springs to help raise them in readiness for another downward-and-backward power stroke; wheels for take-off and landing; and a pendulum for stability. It was never constructed.
8. GAL107_150822_066.JPG: The Search Begins
9. GAL107_150822_069.JPG: Leonardo da Vinci: The sole commanding figure in aeronautics before the 19th Century, Leonardo da Vinci was fascinated by the mechanics of bird flight. He produced many sketches illustrating his views of the application of natural flight in imitation of the birds are the most common devices found in Leonardo's notebooks, he also suggested helical screw helicopters, parachutes, and other flying craft. His influence, however, was minimal because his drawers were lost for centuries.
10. GAL107_150822_078.JPG: The windmill first appeared in Europe during the 13th Century
11. GAL107_150822_080.JPG: The kite, which originated in the East, was first illustrated in this European manuscript of 1326-27.
12. GAL107_150822_083.JPG: Simple helicopter string-pull toys were in use in Europe as early as 1325. This drawing from the Royal Library of Copenhagen is the oldest known illustration of a powered aircraft.
13. GAL107_150822_085.JPG: The parachute first appears in this 15th-century manuscript by an unknown Italian technician.
14. GAL107_150822_090.JPG: After centuries of dreaming, mankind had failed to take a single serious step toward the realization of his goal. Not until the early years of the 19th Century were the first tentative steps taken toward a successful airplane. Sir George Cayley: Sir George Cayley has earned the title "Father of Aerial Navigation." An English baronet, Cayley was the first man to apply the methods of science to the problems of flight. He published the first modern conception of an airplane, with separate systems for lift, propulsion, and control. In addition, he built and flew the first successful flying models, and constructed two full-scale man-carrying gliders. William Samuel Henson: John Stringfellow: William S. Henson and John Stringfellow were two of the significant contributors to and publicists of the flying machine movement during the first half of the 19th Century. Inspired by the example of Sir George Cayley, William Henson designed and patented the Aerial Steam Carriage in 1842-43. This widely publicized, high-wing, wire-braced aircraft featured screw propellers, an engine housed in the fuselage, and separate tail-control surfaces. Stringfellow and Hensen [sic] founded the Aerial Transit Company to finance the construction of full-scale machines. Their attempts to fly a large model of the Aerial Steam Carriage were unsuccessful.
15. GAL107_150822_097.JPG: In 1804, Cayley constructed the world's first model glider. The original was 5 feet long and featured a main plane set at a 6 degree angle and a movable tail that combined rudder and elevator in a single unit.
16. GAL107_150822_100.JPG: Thousands of lithographs like these were distributed in Europe and America in an effort to raise funds for the Aerial Transit Company. The prints succeeded in fixing the modern configuration of the airplane on the public mind.
17. GAL107_150822_107.JPG: Stringfellow Engine (1868) John Stringfellow was awarded a prize of 100 pounds for this engine at the Aeronautical Society of Great Britain Exposition in 1868. It was judged the lightest engine exhibited in proportion to its power, producing one horsepower for a weight of 13 pounds.
18. GAL107_150822_115.JPG: Aeronautics 1860-1903
19. GAL107_150822_129.JPG: Bleriot XI Manufactured by Bleriot Aeronautique and flown by John Domenjoz, this aircraft is typical of the machines being flown in aeronautical exhibitions across the United States today. Since Louis Bleriot's successful crossing of the English Channel in a similar craft in 1909, the trim Bleriot monoplanes have been among the most popular airplanes in the world. The single seat model on exhibit is capable of remaining in the air for up to 3 hours and can climb to 1640 feet in 5 minutes. The classic type XI Bleriot was designed by Raymond Saulnier.
20. GAL107_150822_134.JPG: The Early Birds
21. GAL107_150822_137.JPG: The Early Birds: Commemorating with admiration and gratitude the significant contributions to the progress of flight made by these pilots who flew solo before December 17, 1916.
22. GAL107_150822_139.JPG: Arnold, Henry H. --> Henry "Hap" Arnold
23. GAL107_150822_148.JPG: The Wright Brothers: Fulfilling the Dream: The pioneering aeronautical work of Wilbur and Orville Wright is not only at the heart of the aircraft of the Wright Company, but of virtually all successful flying machines. The products of most of the exhibitors here today stem from the original ideas formulated by the Wright brothers just over a decade ago. Their ground-breaking experiments made possible the wonderful new age of flight featured in our exhibition. The Decision to Fly: The Wright brothers formally began their aeronautical research in the late 1890s by first learning what their predecessors had accomplished. After exhausting the resources of their family library and the libraries of their hometown, Dayton, Ohio, they wrote to the Smithsonian Institution in May 1899 requesting a list of publications relating to aeronautics. Control: The Key to Flight: After absorbing the literature they received from the Smithsonian Institution and elsewhere, the Wright brothers realized that devising a practical means of control was one of the most significant steps toward developing a successful flying machine. Most experimenters focused merely upon getting a craft into the air, with little thought of controlling it once off the ground. The Wrights recognized that this approach was flawed, and as a result, moved well ahead of their contemporaries early in their research.
24. GAL107_150822_151.JPG: The Glider Years: 1899-1902: Some experimenters achieved promising results with piloted gliders controlled by shifting body weight. The most notable was the German, Otto Lilienthal. One of his inspiration gliders is on display at the entrance to the exhibition. The Wrights realized that while shifting body weight may prove marginally satisfactory for a small, lightweight hang glider, it would be a totally ineffectual means of control for a larger, much heavier powered aeroplane. The 1899 Kite: The Wrights devised a system whereby the tips of the wings could be physically twisted, or warped, in opposite directions to provide lateral control. They successfully tested this idea with a 5-foot span biplane kite in 1899. A movable forward elevator was added to their later full-size gliders to control climb and descent. Riding the Winds: In 1900, Wrights built the first in a series of gliders with which they accomplished three things essential to their ultimate success with powered flight: (1) they refined their control system; (2) they developed an efficient wing surface and structural design; and (3) they taught themselves to fly, a seemingly obvious, but rarely considered part of the inventive process. The Wrights' first two gliders were designed largely using aeronautical data compiled by other researchers, particularly that of Otto Lilienthal. Although the Wrights' control system worked reasonably well, the gliders did not produce as much lift as calculations predicted they should. Puzzled by this unexplained lack of performance, the Wrights decided to build a wind tunnel and conduct their own experiments with lift and drag. The Wind Tunnel: There is a special display about the Wright wind tunnel on the opposite side of the Wright Company Exhibit.
25. GAL107_150822_155.JPG: The 1902 Glider: After completing an extensive series of wind tunnel tests, the Wrights were satisfied they had reliable data. Confident that they were on the threshold of success, the brothers built their third and final glider in 1902. After they made a few last refinements to the control system, the 1902 glider flew extremely well, making consistent flights of over 500 feet. The Wrights had solved all the basic aerodynamic, structural, and control problems, and were now ready to build a powered aeroplane. The Dream Realized: The 1903 Wright Flyer: In September 1903, the Wrights returned to the isolated stretch of beach at Kitty Hawk, NC, the site of their highly successful glider tests. This time they came with a much larger machine equipped with their own home-made, 12-horsepower engine and two beautifully designed, very efficient propellers. At 10:35am, on the chilly wind-swept morning on Dec. 17, 1903, Orville Wright lifted into the air on board a 605-pound aircraft the brothers simply called the Flyer. He traveled 120 feet in 12 seconds. Finally, a human had flown. The best flight achieved with the 1903 Flyer covered 852 feet in 59 seconds.
26. GAL107_150822_161.JPG: The 1905 Wright Flyer: The World's First Practical Aeroplane: The Wrights' third powered aircraft, the Wright Flyer of 1905, truly represented the final step in the invention of the aeroplane. This was the first aircraft in history that could stay aloft for extended periods, bank, turn, make circles, and perform figures-of-eight, all under the complete control of the pilot. The 1905 Wright Flyer was the world's first practical aeroplane. It was first flown from a cow pasture named Huffman Prairie near the Wright home in Dayton, Ohio, in June 1905. More than 40 flights were made with this aeroplane, one of which lasted over 38 minutes. Because of the lack of steady winds at their new Dayton flying site, the Wrights devised a catapult launching system to aid in getting their flying machine airborne. Having completed the experimental phase of their aeronautical work, the Wright brothers turned their attention to the sale of their invention. The Secret of the Wright's Success: The inventive work of the Wright brothers was characterized by systematic experimentation based on sound engineering principles and techniques. Their work incorporated many original and significant ideas, and showed a strong continuity in design. Each succeeding aircraft, beginning with the simple kite of 1899, followed by the three full-sized gliders, and then the three powered aeroplanes, was a step by step advancement of a single basic design. These aspects of the Wrights' approach to invention set them apart and were at the root of their success.
27. GAL107_150822_167.JPG: The Wright 1909 Military Flyer: We are proud that the first aeroplane ever acquired by the US military forces was a Wright machine. It was developed for the use of the Army Signal Corps, and is often referred to as "Signal Corps No. 1." The aeroplane was constructed in 1909 in response to a Signal Corps specification for a 2-seat observation aircraft. It was significantly different from the earlier 1908 Flyer which Orville flew on earlier tests. In July 1909, he flew this aeroplane at Ft. Myer, Va. His flights were witnessed by many dignitaries, including then-President William Howard Taft. On July 27, Orville Wright set an endurance record of 1 hour, 12 minutes, and 40 seconds. On July 30, accompanied by Lt. Benjamin D. Foulois, he set an average speed record on a 10-mile course of 42.5 miles per hour. As a result of these sucessful [sic] trials, the Signal Corps purchased the 1909 Military Flyer from the Wrights for $30,000, making it the world's first military aircraft. The Wright Company is proud that one of our most historic machines, the first military flyer aircraft of this type, performed splendidly for the US Army at College Park, Md., and Ft. Sam Houston, Texas. It was presented to the Smithsonian Institution by the War Department in 1911.
28. GAL107_150822_170.JPG: The Wright 1909 Military Flyer: We are proud that the first aeroplane ever acquired by the US military forces was a Wright machine. It was developed for the use of the Army Signal Corps, and is often referred to as "Signal Corps No. 1." The aeroplane was constructed in 1909 in response to a Signal Corps specification for a 2-seat observation aircraft. It was significantly different from the earlier 1908 Flyer which Orville flew on earlier tests. In July 1909, he flew this aeroplane at Ft. Myer, Va. His flights were witnessed by many dignitaries, including then-President William Howard Taft. On July 27, Orville Wright set an endurance record of 1 hour, 12 minutes, and 40 seconds. On July 30, accompanied by Lt. Benjamin D. Foulois, he set an average speed record on a 10-mile course of 42.5 miles per hour. As a result of these sucessful [sic] trials, the Signal Corps purchased the 1909 Military Flyer from the Wrights for $30,000, making it the world's first military aircraft. The Wright Company is proud that one of our most historic machines, the first military flyer aircraft of this type, performed splendidly for the US Army at College Park, Md., and Ft. Sam Houston, Texas. It was presented to the Smithsonian Institution by the War Department in 1911.
29. GAL107_150822_172.JPG: The 1909 Signal Corps Flyer being readied for flight. Here Wilbur Wright (in white shirt and derby) watches as Orville Wright (between skids) makes final adjustments to the aircraft before takeoff.
30. GAL107_150822_174.JPG: The 1909 Flyer in flight at Ft. Myer, Va., during tests on July 2, 1909. The [???] tower is part of the Flyer's launch system.
31. GAL107_150822_176.JPG: "It is therefore incontestably the Wright brothers alone who resolved, in its entirety, the problem of human mechanical flight... This resulted from their tests from 1903 to 1905. Men of genius -- erudite, exact in their reasoning, hard workers, outstanding experimenters, and unselfish -- the brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright have, more than anyone else, deserved the success which they achieved. They changed the face of the globe." -- Charles Dollfus
32. GAL107_150822_182.JPG: Military Aviation Make American First in the Air!
33. GAL107_150822_185.JPG: In 1911, the aeroplane made its combat debut in North Africa. Engaged in war with Turkey over possession of Tripolu, Italy employed French and German-built aircraft for reconnaissance and light bombing duties. Balkan belligerents made limited use of military aeroplanes in the Balkan wars. Although the military services of major powers continued to be dominated by those who regarded the aeroplane as little more than a curiosity, many far-sighted officers pressed for an increased awareness of the importance of the aeroplane in national defense. In the US, this desire for an aeronautical awareness led to the creation of an Aeronautical Division within the Army's Signal Corps on Aug. 1, 1907, and the birth of American naval aviation in 1910-11. As a result of Orville Wright's flight trials at Ft. Myer, Va. (1908-09), the Army obtained aircraft and established an airfield at College Park, Md. The pioneering flights of Eugene Ely, in which he flew a Curtiss pusher from the deck of the cruiser USS Birmingham and, at a later date, landed a Curtiss pusher on the deck of the USS Pennsylvania, encouraged those who desired to unite the flexibility of the airplane with the steam turbine-driven warship. After 1910, however, American invasion lagged behind technical developments in Europe. Concern among defense planners and aeronautical enthusiasts led to the creation of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA).
34. GAL107_150822_189.JPG: Our Founder: The Early Years: Glenn Curtiss: From Motorcycle to Aeronautical Enterpreneur Like the Wrights, Glenn Curtiss was a builder of bicycles. He went on to develop his own motorcycles as well. In 1904, Curtiss built a 5-horsepower engine for airship developer, Thomas Baldwin. In 1906 and 1907, at the request of Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, he built two other aero engines. Joining forces with Bell in Nova Scotia, Curtiss became "Director of Experiments" for the Aerial Experiment Association (AEA) founded by Bell in 1907. The goal of the AEA was to build a successful man-carrying airplane.
35. GAL107_150822_192.JPG: Curtiss Motorcycle: This motorcycle was built in late 1906 by Glenn H. Curtiss as a test bed for a 40-horsepower, V-8. air-cooled Curtiss aircraft engine. In addition to testing the engine for aircraft use, Curtiss set an unofficial world land speed record of 137 miles per hour with this motorcycle at Ormond Beach, Fla. on Jan. 24, 1907.
36. GAL107_150822_222.JPG: Types of Engines: Three basic cylinder arrangements have been developed for aeronautical power plants. Each of these arrangements has advantages and disadvantages which must be considered in selecting an engine. The Horizontally Opposed Engine: Engine cylinders are in banks placed 180 degrees from one another. This is an ideal arrangement for low-horsepower requirements, providing good cooling, excellent streamlining, improved pilot visibility, low cost, smoothness of operation, and reduced weight.
37. GAL107_150822_230.JPG: The Radial Engine: In a radial power plant, the cylinders are arranged in circular fashion around the crankcase. This provides for more efficient cooling. There are two types of radial engine. The stationary radial remains fixed to the aeroplane; while in the rotary, the engine and the propeller revolve around a fixed crankshaft.
38. GAL107_150822_240.JPG: The In-Line Engine: In-line engines have the cylinders positioned behind the other in single or multiple banks. The V-8 is one type of in-line engine.
39. GAL107_150822_259.JPG: La Minerve: The interest in balloons which swept across Europe in the 18th century had many expressions. La Minerve was designed by the French aeronaut Etienne Robertson in 1803. Completely fanciful, Robertson's self-contained aerial community represents the hopes which many Europeans held for the bright future of air travel. This is a modern model of Robertson's conception.
40. GAL107_150822_265.JPG: The Cock, symbol of vigilance
41. GAL107_150822_268.JPG: Needle to indicate the balloon's pressure
42. GAL107_150822_269.JPG: Church. Telescope.
43. GAL107_150822_275.JPG: Wing for ornament. Small balloon, an auxiliary vehicle to be inflated and released as required.
44. GAL107_150822_276.JPG: A horn. Cannon for signaling.
45. GAL107_150822_279.JPG: Barrel in which to store food, water, and wine. Outbuilding.
46. GAL107_150822_280.JPG: Kitchen. Cage.
47. GAL107_150822_288.JPG: Church
48. GAL107_150822_298.JPG: "The Winged Prussian" The men who built and flew hang gliders during the closing years of the 19th Century laid the foundation for the design of the first successful flying machines. German glider pioneer, Otto Lilienthal, was the most successful and influential of this group of early airmen who sought to develop a stable glider as the first step toward powered flight.
49. GAL107_150822_301.JPG: Otto Lilienthal 1848-1896
50. GAL107_150822_308.JPG: Lilienthal Research Report: This report, written by Lilienthal for his "Practical Experiments for the Development of Human Flight," was sent to James Means and published in Mean's Aeronautical Annual for 1896.
51. GAL107_150822_313.JPG: Liliethal Hang Glider of 1894: Otto Liliethal built this Normal-Segelapparat (standard sailing machine) glider in 1894. He considered it the safest and most successful of all his designs. The wings and tail surfaces are covered with doped cotton cloth and a horizontal stabilizer is connected to the frame by a pivot at the front of the rudder. The wings folk rearwards for ease in transporting and storage. The pilot was suspended between the wings by bars that passed beneath his arms. The movement of the pilot's legs and torso altered the center of gravity location and provided limited control. Liliethal made glides of up to 1150 feet in machines of this type. In 1896. newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst purchased this glider from Liliethal. Harry Bodine flight-tested it on Long Island in April and May of that year. Following Liliethal's tragic death in 1896, the glider was placed in storage. It was briefly exhibited at the New York Aero Club Show in January 1906, before being acquired by John Brisbane Walker, editor of Cosmopolitan, who donated it to the Smithsonian Institution in February 1906. It was restored later by Charles J. Newcomb. (The horizontal stabilizer is not original to the machine.)
52. GAL107_150822_340.JPG: Wilbur Wright Greets Lady Liberty Dean Mosher 2012 On the morning of September 29, 1909, Wilbur Wright took off from Governors Island in New York Harbor on a 7-minute flight that included a circle around the Statue of Liberty. Five days later, he flew up the Hudson to Grant's tomb and back. The fights, commemorating the 300th anniversary of Henry Hudson's discovery of the harbor and the centennial of Robert Fulton's first steamship voyage from New York to Albany, were peak moments of Wilbur's career. They were also the first time many New Yorkers had seen an airplane in flight. This being his first flight over water, Wilbur secured a canoe to the underside of the airplane -- just in case.
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Description of Subject Matter: Early Flight
March 26, 1980 – July 8, 2019
Early Flight celebrates the first decade of flight by evoking the atmosphere of an aviation exhibition from that period: the fictitious Smithsonian Aeronautical Exposition of 1913. The gaily decorated gallery is crammed with fabric-covered aerial vehicles, some fanciful, most real, along with trade show–style exhibits featuring cutting-edge technology of the day.
Gracing the gallery is a rare 1894 Lilienthal glider, along with Samuel P. Langley's Aerodrome #5 and Quarter-Scale Aerodrome, powered, unmanned vehicles that successfully flew in 1896 and 1903. Early Flight also features the most original and complete of the Museum's three Wright airplanes, the 1909 Wright Military Flyer, the world's first military airplane. Other treasures include a Curtiss Model D "Headless Pusher," an Ecker Flying Boat, and a Bl�riot XI monoplane.
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Directly Related Pages: Other pages with content (DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- Gallery 107: (a) Early Flight) directly related to this one: [Display ALL photos on one page]:
- 2010_DC_SIAIR_Gall107A: DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- Gallery 107: (a) Early Flight (19 photos from 2010)
Same Subject: Click on this link to see coverage of items having the same subject: [(Smithsonian) Air and Space Museum (Everything)] [(Smithsonian) Air and Space Museum (Non-Events)] [Museums (History)]
2015 photos: Equipment this year: I mostly used my Fuji XS-1 camera but, depending on the event, I also used a Nikon D7000. I retired from the US Census Bureau in god-forsaken Suitland, Maryland on my 58th birthday in May. Yee ha! Trips this year: a quick trip to Florida. two Civil War Trust conferences (Raleigh, NC and Richmond, VA), and my 10th consecutive San Diego Comic-Con trip (including Los Angeles). Ego Strokes: Carolyn Cerbin used a Kevin Costner photo in her USA Today article. Miss DC pictures were used a few times in the Washington Post. Number of photos taken this year: just over 550,000.
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