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1 Cayley, Sir George
SUBJECT AREA: Aerospace[br]b. 27 December 1773 Scarborough, Englandd. 15 December 1857 Brompton Hall, Yorkshire, England[br]English pioneer who laid down the basic principles of the aeroplane in 1799 and built a manned glider in 1853.[br]Cayley was born into a well-to-do Yorkshire family living at Brompton Hall. He was encouraged to study mathematics, navigation and mechanics, particularly by his mother. In 1792 he succeeded to the baronetcy and took over the daunting task of revitalizing the run-down family estate.The first aeronautical device made by Cayley was a copy of the toy helicopter invented by the Frenchmen Launoy and Bienvenu in 1784. Cayley's version, made in 1796, convinced him that a machine could "rise in the air by mechanical means", as he later wrote. He studied the aerodynamics of flight and broke away from the unsuccessful ornithopters of his predecessors. In 1799 he scratched two sketches on a silver disc: one side of the disc showed the aerodynamic force on a wing resolved into lift and drag, and on the other side he illustrated his idea for a fixed-wing aeroplane; this disc is preserved in the Science Museum in London. In 1804 he tested a small wing on the end of a whirling arm to measure its lifting power. This led to the world's first model glider, which consisted of a simple kite (the wing) mounted on a pole with an adjustable cruciform tail. A full-size glider followed in 1809 and this flew successfully unmanned. By 1809 Cayley had also investigated the lifting properties of cambered wings and produced a low-drag aerofoil section. His aim was to produce a powered aeroplane, but no suitable engines were available. Steam-engines were too heavy, but he experimented with a gunpowder motor and invented the hot-air engine in 1807. He published details of some of his aeronautical researches in 1809–10 and in 1816 he wrote a paper on airships. Then for a period of some twenty-five years he was so busy with other activities that he largely neglected his aeronautical researches. It was not until 1843, at the age of 70, that he really had time to pursue his quest for flight. The Mechanics' Magazine of 8 April 1843 published drawings of "Sir George Cayley's Aerial Carriage", which consisted of a helicopter design with four circular lifting rotors—which could be adjusted to become wings—and two pusher propellers. In 1849 he built a full-size triplane glider which lifted a boy off the ground for a brief hop. Then in 1852 he proposed a monoplane glider which could be launched from a balloon. Late in 1853 Cayley built his "new flyer", another monoplane glider, which carried his coachman as a reluctant passenger across a dale at Brompton, Cayley became involved in public affairs and was MP for Scarborough in 1832. He also took a leading part in local scientific activities and was co-founder of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in 1831 and of the Regent Street Polytechnic Institution in 1838.[br]BibliographyCayley wrote a number of articles and papers, the most significant being "On aerial navigation", Nicholson's Journal of Natural Philosophy (November 1809—March 1810) (published in three numbers); and two further papers with the same title in Philosophical Magazine (1816 and 1817) (both describe semi-rigid airships).Further ReadingL.Pritchard, 1961, Sir George Cayley, London (the standard work on the life of Cayley).C.H.Gibbs-Smith, 1962, Sir George Cayley's Aeronautics 1796–1855, London (covers his aeronautical achievements in more detail).—1974, "Sir George Cayley, father of aerial navigation (1773–1857)", Aeronautical Journal (Royal Aeronautical Society) (April) (an updating paper).JDS -
2 Aerospace
See also: INDEX BY SUBJECT AREA[br]Caproni, Giovanni BattistaDassault, MarcelGiffard, Baptiste Henry JacquesJohnson, Clarence LeonardKorolov, Sergei PavlovichSopwith, Sir Thomas Octave MurdochTsiolkovsky, Konstantin Eduardovich -
3 Henson, William Samuel
SUBJECT AREA: Aerospace[br]b. 3 May 1812 Nottingham, Englandd. 22 March 1888 New Jersey, USA[br]English (naturalized American) inventor who patented a design for an "aerial steam carriage" and combined with John Stringfellow to build model aeroplanes.[br]William Henson worked in the lacemaking industry and in his spare time invented many mechanical devices, from a breech-loading cannon to an ice-machine. It could be claimed that he invented the airliner, for in 1842 he prepared a patent (granted in 1843) for an "aerial steam carriage". The patent application was not just a vague outline, but contained detailed drawings of a large monoplane with an enclosed fuselage to accommodate the passengers and crew. It was to be powered by a steam engine driving two pusher propellers aft of the wing. Henson had followed the lead give by Sir George Cayley in his basic layout, but produced a very much more advanced structural design with cambered wings strengthened by streamlined bracing wires: the intended wing-span was 150 ft (46 m). Henson probably discussed the design of the steam engine and boiler with his friend John Stringfellow (who was also in the lacemaking industry). Stringfellow joined Henson and others to found the Aerial Transit Company, which was set up to raise the finance needed to build Henson's machine. A great publicity campaign was mounted with artists' impressions of the "aerial steam carriage" flying over London, India and even the pyramids. Passenger-carrying services to India and China were proposed, but the whole project was far too optimistic to attract support from financiers and the scheme foundered. Henson and Stringfellow drew up an agreement in December 1843 to construct models which would prove the feasibility of an "aerial machine". For the next five years they pursued this aim, with no real success. In 1848 Henson and his wife emigrated to the United States to further his career in textiles. He became an American citizen and died there at the age of 75.[br]BibliographyHenson's diary is preserved by the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences in the USA. Henson's patent of 1842–3 is reproduced in Balantyne and Pritchard (1956) and Davy (1931) (see below).Further ReadingH.Penrose, 1988, An Ancient Air: A Biography of John Stringfellow, Shrewsbury.A.M.Balantyne and J.L.Pritchard, 1956, "The lives and work of William Samuel Henson and John Stringfellow", Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society (June) (an attempt to analyse conflicting evidence; includes a reproduction of Henson's patent).M.J.B.Davy, 1931, Henson and Stringfellow, London (an earlier work with excellent drawings from Henson's patent).JDS
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Cayley, Sir George — (27 dic. 1773, Scarborough, Yorkshire, Inglaterra–15 dic. 1857, Brompton, Yorkshire). Pionero británico de la navegación aérea y fundador de la ciencia de la aerodinámica. Ya en 1799 había establecido los aspectos básicos de la configuración del… … Enciclopedia Universal
Cayley, Sir George — born Dec. 27, 1773, Scarborough, Yorkshire, Eng. died Dec. 15, 1857, Brompton, Yorkshire British pioneer of aerial navigation and founder of the science of aerodynamics. By 1799 he had established the basic configuration of the modern airplane.… … Universalium
Cayley, Sir George, 6th Baronet — ▪ British inventor and scientist born Dec. 27, 1773, Scarborough, Yorkshire, Eng. died Dec. 8, 1854, Brompton, Yorkshire English pioneer of aerial navigation and aeronautical engineering and designer of the first successful glider to carry a… … Universalium
Sir George Cayley — Sir George Cayley, 6. Baronet, (* 27. Dezember 1773 in Scarborough, Yorkshire; † 15. Dezember 1857 in Brompton), auch „Erfinder der Wissenschaft des Fluges“ oder moderner „Vater der Aeronautik“ genannt. Er baute das erste Segel … Deutsch Wikipedia
George Cayley — Sir George Cayley „Hubschrauber … Deutsch Wikipedia
George — George, David Lloyd George, Henry George, Pierre George, Stefan * * * (as used in expressions) Aberdeen, George Hamilton Gordon, 4 conde de George William Russell Akerlof, George A. Alexander, Harold (Rupert Leofric George) Alexander, 1 conde… … Enciclopedia Universal
George Cayley — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Cayley. Sir George Cayley Sir George Cayley (27 décembre 1773 15 dé … Wikipédia en Français
sir — /serr/, n. 1. a respectful or formal term of address used to a man: No, sir. 2. (cap.) the distinctive title of a knight or baronet: Sir Walter Scott. 3. (cap.) a title of respect for some notable personage of ancient times: Sir Pandarus of Troy … Universalium
George — /jawrj/, n. 1. a figure of St. George killing the dragon, esp. one forming part of the insignia of the Order of the Garter. 2. Brit. Slang. any coin bearing the image of St. George. 3. a word formerly used in communications to represent the… … Universalium
sir — (Voz inglesa.) ► sustantivo masculino Tratamiento honorífico empleado por los británicos. * * * sir (ingl.; pronunc. [ser]) m. *Tratamiento de respeto usado en Inglaterra delante de un nombre de hombre o para dirigirse a la persona de que se… … Enciclopedia Universal
Sir George Cayley — science of flight … Inventors, Inventions