Surname 1 Name Tutor Course title Date Otto Lilienthal In the history of flight, Otto Lilienthals name features

prominently due to his contribution to the aviation industry. He was a pioneer in many areas in the aviation industry and his contributions helped propel the industry to greater heights and brought the reality of airplanes closer to becoming a reality. He also inspired the future aviation industry experts for instance the Wright brothers. This paper will discuss who Otto Lilienthal was, what he did and how he contributed to the aviation industry. Otto Lilienthals Background Otto Lilienthal was born in 1848 in a place known as Aklam which was close to the Baltic Sea. He had a profound interest in flying and was constantly reading aeronautical materials during his early childhood. His brother Gustav was also interested in flying and when both boys were in their early teenage years, they attempted to build their first pair of wings. This attempt was not successful (Hirschel, Prem and Madelung 20). Otto and his brother were fascinated by how the birds flew. They would spend a lot of time observing hoe birds flew. They paid particular attention to the flight habits of the storks and concluded that it was easy to lift up with the wind rather than against the wind. These

Surname 2 observations were used in all their attempts to create their own wings (Hirschel, Prem and Madelung 21). Otto left high school and joined a vocational institute in 1864.This institute was in Potsdam. He graduated from this institute after 2 years. During his time at the institute, he began his experiments on flight techniques. In these experiments, Otto made measurements on the drag of wings; he mounted the wings vertically and experimented on how to achieve the highest lift from the wings. During these initial scientific experiments, he discovered that one could get the highest lift and the least amount of drag if the wing had a surface that was slightly cambered. This was similar to the structure of a birds wing (Hirschel, Prem and Madelung 21). On leaving this institute, he moved to another vocational institute that was located in Berlin, this was in 1867.In 1868, Otto and his brother attempted another flying experiment. They created a flying apparatus that was able to lift 80kgs by using a counterweight of 40kgs.By using this experiment; Otto observed the amount of effort that was required to lift objects over a long time period was a lot. Due to these observations, he sought to calculate the exact amount of energy that was required for flight. It is in this process that he discovered that forward movement was as vital as wing strokes during flight (NASA 5). On completing his education, Otto joined the war in 1870.During the war he observed the ways in which the French attempted to deploy balloons during the war. These observations helped reinforce Ottos belief in flight and how extraordinary bird flight was. He returned from war and decided to come up with a rotational experimental apparatus, this was because the other methods were expensive and he didnt have adequate funds (NASA 5). Otto Lilienthals Career

Surname 3 Otto trained as an engineer and majored on flight mechanics as well as aerodynamics. On graduating from school, he started working in Berlin in 1871 as an engineer. He worked here till 1883, during this time period; he devoted his personal time in aviation research. He kept doing his personal experiments and researching more on bird flight (MIT par 3). Otto started making boilers and steam engines and in 1883 he opened his own factory in Berlin. It was at this point that he invented a small ad safe engine whose design was based on the tubular boiler system. This invention improved his financial means and helped him devote more time in his aviation aspirations. (MIT par 4). Otto and his brother also joined the German association for the promotion of airship aviation during this period. Soon after joining this association, he gave his first lecture here concerning the use of light engines in aviation. Soon afterwards he started giving lectures concerning the theory of bird flight. In these lectures, he attempted to explain the effects that bird flight would have on making free flight viable (Wittenberg and Torenbeek 17). In addition to his lectures, Otto wrote a book about bird flight in 1889.This book delved into the use of bird flight as a basis for flying. In this book, Otto detailed his investigations into bird flight and the results from his numerous experiments. In this book, Otto describes the different structures and types of bird wings and the dynamics that go into the movement of the birds while on air. This book also detailed Ottos ideas on how he would incorporate his findings about bird flight in making human flight a reality. This information was presented in his book in a very clear manner and the findings that were presented in his book set the basis of further research into human flight. This book was regarded as one of the first publications that detailed

Surname 4 aeronautical engineering. The information in this book has been used all over the world in relation to aeronautics (Wittenberg and Torenbeek 18). While continuing with his lectures, Otto carried on with his experiments on artificial wings and how they reacted to the forces of air and the wind. It was at this time that Otto also begun his pursuits in innovations and patenting his various innovations. In the course of his career, Otto earned 25 patents. They ranged from mining machines to building blocks for children. Out of all the patents that Otto was awarded with, only four of them were related to the aviation industry (MIT par 5). Otto started his practical flight tests in 1890.He performed these tests numerous times and never gave up in spite of experiencing some failure. In these tests, he used cambered wings and created a flight hill near his home where his did the practical flight tests. He later transferred these tests away from his house to allocation that had more favorable wind conditions. His new location was Rhinow Mountains which were near Berlin (Wittenberg and Torenbeek 19). He carried out numerous tests while at Rhinow Mountain. He was constantly testing new limits and he succeeded on getting a lift of over 820ft.During these tests, he also developed different gliders which possessed different characteristics. For instance he created gliders with rudders, flapping machines as well as some that ran on engines that ran on carbonic acid (Jakab 600). Ottos debut glider model was the Derwitzer Glider and this was built in 1891.This glider was created using cotton fabrics as well as willow rods. Using this initial glider, he managed to glide for 80 feet. The main problem with this model was that he was required to shift his body weigh constantly so as to control the direction the glider was taking (MIT par 4).

Surname 5 In 1982, Otto devised a model that was more sophisticated. It allowed him to glide to heights of 270 feet. This was followed by a better model that allowed him to glide 1150 feet. This design earned him a patent. He constructed a better craft in 1893.This model incorporated flapping wings and imitated the movement of birds while on flight. This model was however not successful (MIT par 6). Otto created his most successful glider in 1894.It was known as the Normal-Segelapparat. He recreated this craft for people in different countries which included Russia, Ireland Argentina as well as the U.S. Otto went for more than 2000 flights on his gliders before he met his death. During his career he created 18 glider models and made a huge impact on the aeronautical industry (MIT par 7). Otto had a serious crash during one of his practice tests. This had been caused by gusts of wind and the fact that he had attempted a steep dive. As a result, he developed body harnesses that would help prevent stalling and at the same time control the stabilizers. However, this did not help avert the disaster that happened in August 1896.Otto crashed during one of his practice runs in the mountain. He fell 50 ft to the ground and broke his back. He didnt survive this fall; he died the next day in hospital. In his death bed, he said that sacrifices had to be made. This marked the end of a brilliant life of a man who could have revolutionized the aeronautical industry (Jakab 600). Contributions to the aviation Industry Otto was the first person to create gliders that were practical. These gliders brought the dream of airplanes closer to life. By creating the gliders and being successful in glider flights, he proved that it was possible for flight to be achieved. This was an important stepping stone in the

Surname 6 aeronautical industry. Otto also clearly defined the various theoretical problems that were associated with flight. This information helped future innovators like the Wright brothers while performing their experiments (Anderson 60). Otto also explored the principles that governed winged flight. The data he got about these principles and their effects on winged flight were captured in tables and in his book. This information proved useful to the future innovators in the field. He also used the information he had gathered to come up with gliders that countered the principles of flight. By doing this, he created some crafts that he sold to individual customers in various countries for instance the US and Russia (Britannica 149). Otto inspired the future innovators of the aeronautical industry. The Wright brothers were among the people who had watched Otto Lilienthals progress in Bird flight. The information that was in the book that he published helped the Wright brothers come up with their own version of the airplane. The results of Ottos experiments and observations helped these innovators during their research. Otto provided proof that a person could launch himself to the air and remain airborne for some time. This information was important as it open doors for other researchers to come up with better ways of improving the glider flights. These innovations helped grow the aeronautical industry to its current state (Jakab 601). Otto provided proof that cambered airfoils were more superior to the flat plates. This proof was provided through his book which provided data that showed that cambered air foils had more lift and less drag as compared to the flat plated. This information was to be used later by the future players in the aeronautical industry. The cambered air foils were to be used in the next century in the creation of flying machines (Anderson 59).

Surname 7 Otto was the first person to provide substantial data about flight. His data was the first known information regarding aerodynamics. This information acted as a basis for the future research. This data and the theories that Otto advanced acted as a launching pad for the future innovators in the industry. During his practice tests, Otto came up with mono plane gliders, biplane gliders as well as engines. These innovations were important in the aeronautical industry as they acted as a starting point to the invention of the airplanes (Jakab 602). Otto introduced the use of aerodynamic coefficients in the reporting of aerodynamic force data that was measured in his experiments. Instead of reporting raw data, Otto divided the data into different ratios that were based on the angle by which the wing was attacked by force. These ratios were values that were then referred to as force coefficients. When the aerodynamic force is presented in form of coefficients, it is easy for calculations of smeatons coefficient as well as the velocity to be done. The use of the drag coefficients can be traced to the modern day where modern aerodynamics measure the lift and drag in terms of the drag and lift coefficients (Wittenberg and Torenbeek 22). Ottos methods of glider control are still applied to date in parachute landings and in the hand gliders as well as in space planes. His methods included the shift of the center of gravity which in turn changed the direction in which the glider was flying. He shifted the centre of gravity by moving his feet from one side to the other. The modern day space planes use wing like devices for landing and they also use cables to alter the center of gravity (Wittenberg and Torenbeek 25). The mistakes that Otto made in his designs were used by the Wright brothers as lessons. The Wright brothers initially tried using gliders for flight. They were careful to make sure that

Surname 8 they avoided the mistakes that brought Ottos glider down due to wing stalling. They studied Ottos flight details to ensure that they avoided such mishaps in their flights. This helped the Wright brothers make big strides in the Aeronautical industry (Wittenberg and Torenbeek 28). Conclusion The contributions that Otto made to the aeronautical industry cannot be faulted. He provided a reference point for the future innovators in this field. Future innovators like the Wright brothers constantly looked at the work that Otto had done while creating the airplane. His concepts are still used as reference points for the modern day engineers who still hail him as the flying man.

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References Anderson, John. The Airplane, a History of Its Technology. California: AIAA, 2002. Print. Wittenberg, H and Torenbeek, Egbert. Flight Physics: Essentials of Aeronautical Disciplines and Technology, with Historical. Netherlands: Springer. 2009. Print. Britannica Educational Publishing. The 100 Most Influential Inventors of All Time. New York: The Rosen Publishing, 2009. Print. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Flying Machine. Inventor of the week, Sept. 2007. Web. 18th Sept 2013. NASA. Celebrating a century of Flight. Washington: NASA Publication, 2002.Print. Jakab, Peter. Otto Lilienthal, The greatest of the Precursors. IAAA Journal.35.4 (1997). 600607.Web.18th Sept 2013. Hirschel, Heinrich., Prem, Horst and Madelung, Gero. Aeronautical Research in Germany: From Lilienthal until Today. Netherlands: Springer, 2004.Print.