The Aerospace Age. Aerospace Education I.

212 Pages·2007·4.38 MB·English

DOCUMENT RESUME
ED 068 286
SE 014 550
AUTHOR
Smith, J. C.
TITLE
The Aerospace Age. Aerospace Education I.
INSTITUTION
Air Univ., Maxwell AFB, Ala.
SPONS AGENCY
Department of Defense, Washington, D.C.
PUB DATE
71
NOTE
211p.
EDRS PRICE
MF-$0.65 HC-$9.87
DESCRIPTORS
*Aerospace Education; *Aerospace Technology;
Development; *Instructional Materials; Resource
Materials; *Science History; Supplementary Textbooks;
*Textbooks
ABSTRACT
This book is written for use only in the Air Force
ROTC program and cannot be purchased on the open market. The book
describes the historical development of aerospace industry. The first
chapter contains a brief review of the aerospace environment and the
nature of technological changes brought by the aerospace revolution.
The following chapter discusses how ancient men learned about basic
aerodynamic principles. The third chapter contains a description of
how the first airplane was developed and subsequent modifications in
design, speed and comfort. Finally, the evolution of spacecraft is
described, as well as possible future developments in the aerospace
industry.
(Author/PS)
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AEROSPACE EDUCATION I
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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH.
EDUCATION & WELFARE
OFFICE OF EDUCATION
THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRO.
OUCEO EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM
THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIG
INATING IT POINTS OF VIEW OR OPIN-
IONS STATED 00 NOT NECESSARILY
REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICE OF EOU-
CATION POSITION OR POLICY
AIR FORCE JUNIOR ROTC
AIR UNIVERSITY/MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, ALABAMA
LV
CC)
(NJ
CO
Aerospace Education I
CD
CI
The
Aerospace Age
J. C. Smith
Academic Publications Division
3825th Support Group (Academic)
AIR FORCE JUNIOR ROTC
AIR UNIVERSITY
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, ALABAMA
2
1971
of
the
publication has been reviewed and approved by competent personnel
This
policy, essentiality,
preparing command in accordance with current directives on doctrine,
propriety, and quality:
It is for use only in the Air Force ROTC program.
This book will not be offered for sale.
AE-1 Course Director,
We gratefully acknowledge the contribution of Capt Fay A. Roe,
AFJROTC, to the development of this text.
Preface
THE RAPID GROWTH of science and technology in the
twentieth century is nowhere more obvious than in the
fulfillment of man's ancient dream of flying through
the air. Born within the lifetime of most people living
today, the airplane and, more recently, space vehicles,
have removed the barriers of time and space from
man's ability to move from one place to the other.
The modern airplane represents one of the earliest tech-
nologies to require a close association of scientists,
engineers, and industrialists. No single human mind
could acquire the knowledge or develop the skills
aircraft or
necessary to design, build, and operate a jet
has be-
a space vehicle like the Apollo. Modern man
develop-
come accustomed to numerous technological
ments, such as nuclear energy, high-speed electronic
computers, and automated machinery. But it was the
airplane that first advanced from the creation of a
pioneer inventor to the work of specialists who co-
ordinate their efforts for a product far beyond the
capacity of a single individual.
The purpose of this unit is to describe the evolution
of mechanical flight from the time that man could only
dream of flying to the modern Aerospace Age when
human flight has become almost as routine as travel
by automobile. The first chapter contains a brief view
of the aerospace environment and the nature of tech-
nological changes brought by the aerospace revolution.
The chapter describes how man, in a relatively short
period, advanced the flying machine from the simple
iii
design of the Wright brothers' biplane to the com-
plexities of the Apollo spacecraft.
In the second chapter, the story shifts to ancient
man and his early efforts to imitate the flight of birds.
For centuries, he considered the problem of human
flight only in terms of simple downward and backward
arm motions similar to swimming in water. Not until
he learned to adapt his machines to the flow of air
about them did he achieve sustained and controlled
Although his experiences with balloons and
flight.
dirigibles led him for a brief period away from his pri-
mary objective of winged flight, they enabled him to
learn more about basic aerodynamic principles that
control the flight of winged aircraft.
Sir George Cayley was the first man to set forth the
basic aerodynamic principles that led to the develop-
ment of the airplane. Beginning with Cayley's experi-
ments, the text traces the process by which man learned
to propel a winged aircraft through the air. The story
is one of constant change as the airplane advanced
through a series of complicated steps that ultimately
brought modern aerospace flight. Not only did the
shape and design of the airplane change as its speed
increased from 30 to 4,000 miles per hour. Aviation
technology also advanced from piston to jet engines,
from wood and fabric construction to steel, aluminum,
and titanium, and from bridgelike trusses to thin metal
shells reinforced by metal beams. Then came the
rocket and the fantastic flights of spacecraft to the
moon and outer space. Finally, the text provides the
reader with a glimpse into the future and further mo-
mentous developments as aerospace technology con-
tinues to advance.
iv
Contents
PREFACE
iii
AN INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1
1
The Aerospace Environment
3
4
The Air Age
The Space Age
7
14
Summary
I
AN AGE-OLD DREAM
17
Chapter 2
The Beginliings of Human Flight
19
. .
Myths and Legends of Flight
19
.
.
22
Tower Pimpers and Wing Flappers
.
25
Lighter-Than-Air Flight
26
The Monsgolfier Brothers
Gas-Filled Balloons and Practical
29
Parachutes
Controlled Balloon Flight
33
36
Nonrigid and Rigid Dirigibles
39
Summary
43
WINGED FLIGHT: A REALITY
Chapter 3
.
44
Heavier-Than-Air Flight
The Beginnings of Practical
45
Aviation
47
The Fixed-Wing Glider
52
Powered Flight
The Wright Brothers
55
Powered Flight in Europe
64
70
Aviation Before World War I
74
Aviation and World War I
The Early Role of Military
74
Aircraft
77
Effects of War on Aircraft Design
.
82
Summary
6
.--
-:cr-
7
-
Chapter 4
AVIATION COMES OF AGE
87
Postwar Aviation
88
Daredevils and Barnstormers
88
Some Famous Pioneer Flights
91
The Airplane and the Public
96
Mail Delivery on Wings
97
The Growth of Commercial
98
Aviation
Major Changes in Airplane Design
and Structure
101
The American Revolution in
Aircraft Design
102
The Shape of the Airplane
105
Improved Propellers and Wings
107
.
Engine Development
110
Improved Fuels
113
Other Refinements
113
The DC-3: A Biography
116
121
Summary
Chapter 5
THE AEROSPACE THRESHOLD
125
.
Jet Propulsion and Rocketry
127
3et Propulsion and Its Implications
128
.
:Rocket Development
131
The Airplane and World War II .
134
.
Improvements in Speed, Performance,
and Endurance
135
Pilotless Missiles and Long-Range
142
Rockets
The Jet Takes Over
145
The Practical Helicopter
147
Civil Transport Aircraft
152
Summary
155
Chapter 6
THE MODERN AGE
159
Developments Since 1945
160
Aerodynamic and Structural
Improvements
161
Military Aviation
165
Commercial Aviation
171
The Space Age: A Beginning
178
.
The Future of Aerospace
188
vi
Winged Flight
189
Space Exploration
190
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING
199
201
INDEX
An Introduction
THIS CHAPTER is an introduction to the Aerospace
Age and its impact on modern transportation sys-
tems. First, it describes the achievements of winged
aircraft in
setting new records for speed, dig.
tones, and altitude and the effects of rapid, tech-
Next, it pro
nological change on world travel.
vides a brief review of man's accomplishments
in the space environment, with primary attention
to the scope and impact of the Apollo program.
When you have studied this chapter, you should be
able to do the following: (1) discuss the impact of
the Aerospace Age on man's ability to transport
himself from place to place; (2) identify some of
the molar aerospace developments since the intro
duction of the Air Age in 1903 and the Space
Age in the late fifties; and (3) describe the scope
of the US manned space program.
HUMAN PROGRESS is closely linked to
the development and improvement of
transportation systems. Even before the in-
vention of the wheel, man used sleds and
similar conveyances to move from place to
place. As crude as early modes of transpor-
tation were, they played a major role in the
lives of individuals and groups of individuals.
They provided the necessary mobility for
the satisfaction of physical needs, but, more
importantly, they encouraged the exchange
of ideas and the development of human as-
sociations. They were, in effect, controlling
forces in the evolution of civilized society.
The discovery of the wheel marks the
first major advance in man's quest for better
1). With the wheel,
transportation (Fig.
man entered a world of machinery and me-
chanical change. Through the centuries, he
1
9