Aviation Paper
Aviation
Aviation Aviation is a field of study for science, math, and engineering, a career path, and a source of obsession for many people. It shapes the world people live in today, often without them even knowing, or rather thinking about it. Winston Churchill once said “Air power may either end war, or end civilization” (“Air Power”). This quote represents aeronautics’ importance in the aspect of military endeavor, which is a major part of the world. Aviation is a fascinating subject encompassing a long intricate history, a complex modernization, and many applications.
Aviation includes a long intricate history of trial and error, and success and failure. Leonardo da Vinci, the great Italian artist, experimented with aircraft so far back as the 15th century. He used his engineering skills, along with his curious mind, to create 160 pages full of sketches of different “flying machines”. He only ended up actually building one, but his designs were very advanced for their time. (Murtaugh, “Leonardo da Vinci: The Engineer”). An Englishman named Sir George Cayley was the first pioneer to enter the area of heavier-than-air flight in the 19th century (Century of Flight). While a teenager, he built small model gliders, which are not powered by an engine, and studied the flight of birds, much like Leonardo da Vinci. In 1804 he invented a whirling arm device, much like a modern wind-tunnel, which could test the effects of various types of wings. A single sentence in one of his published journals laid the entire foundation for all modern aviators, “The whole problem is confined within these limits, namely to make a surface support a given weight by the application of power to the resistance of air.” (Murtaugh, “Leonardo da Vinci: The Engineer”). During his lifetime, he identified the forces of lift, drag, and thrust as they apply to aviation. He also, contradictory to popular belief, built the first successful,
Aviation Aviation is a field of study for science, math, and engineering, a career path, and a source of obsession for many people. It shapes the world people live in today, often without them even knowing, or rather thinking about it. Winston Churchill once said “Air power may either end war, or end civilization” (“Air Power”). This quote represents aeronautics’ importance in the aspect of military endeavor, which is a major part of the world. Aviation is a fascinating subject encompassing a long intricate history, a complex modernization, and many applications.
Aviation includes a long intricate history of trial and error, and success and failure. Leonardo da Vinci, the great Italian artist, experimented with aircraft so far back as the 15th century. He used his engineering skills, along with his curious mind, to create 160 pages full of sketches of different “flying machines”. He only ended up actually building one, but his designs were very advanced for their time. (Murtaugh, “Leonardo da Vinci: The Engineer”). An Englishman named Sir George Cayley was the first pioneer to enter the area of heavier-than-air flight in the 19th century (Century of Flight). While a teenager, he built small model gliders, which are not powered by an engine, and studied the flight of birds, much like Leonardo da Vinci. In 1804 he invented a whirling arm device, much like a modern wind-tunnel, which could test the effects of various types of wings. A single sentence in one of his published journals laid the entire foundation for all modern aviators, “The whole problem is confined within these limits, namely to make a surface support a given weight by the application of power to the resistance of air.” (Murtaugh, “Leonardo da Vinci: The Engineer”). During his lifetime, he identified the forces of lift, drag, and thrust as they apply to aviation. He also, contradictory to popular belief, built the first successful,
References: ALLSTAR network. “Wings- The Beginning.” ALLSTAR Network. 12 March 2004. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. Century of Flight. “The History of Flight.” Century of Flight. n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2013. Churchill, Winston, and Wright, Orville. “Air Power.” SKYGOD. n.d. Web. 24 February 2013. Dugdale-Pointon, T. “A Brief History of Air Warfare.” Historyofwar.org. 30 March 2007. Web. 25 February 2013. Murtaugh, Leallyn. “Leonardo da Vinci: The Engineer.” Illumin. 4 November 2005. Web. 20 February 2013. Wang, Hung Chien. “New World for Fighter Aircraft.” Aviation Week & Space Technology 171.14 (2009):54. MAS Ultra-School Edition. Web. 13 Feb. 2013.