Here's a brief introduction to some of the key innovators in aviation that you should definitely know about.
Throughout the last hundred years of flight, a handful of designers and engineers boldly strode forwards where none had gone before. They pushed the boundaries of what was possible and developed new technologies that are sometimes taken for granted today. It's important to remember these pioneer's achievements, so here is a brief introduction to the work of four significant aviation designers.
Louis Blériot (1873 - 1936)
Blériot was the first person to cross a body of water in an airplane and the first to create a practical monoplane.
After experimenting with monoplane designs, in 1909 Blériot made a name for himself when he crossed the English Channel and won a £1000 pound prize that had been up for grabs. He went on to establish a successful aircraft company and helped to kick-start aviation as a viable industry. His Type XI Monoplane was sold to tens of different nations.
"It is as though we have grown wings, which thanks to Providence, we have learnt to control."
Burt Rutan
As a child, Burt Rutan would experiment with his own aircraft designs by piecing together crashed balsa wood models in different ways. By his early 30s, the now legendary designed had years of experience as an Air Force test pilot under his belt. He also had much experience in designing, building and selling his own aircraft.
Thanks to his early start with experimentation, Rutan's designs all have a distinctive, out-of-this-world look. Among his many accolades, he has designed an aircraft that circumnavigated the earth in just nine days without refueling, the world's first privately built and flown spaceplane, and a high-endurance aircraft designed to investigate the use of aircraft as high altitude telecommunications relays. We got the opportunity to interview Burt Rutan on a podcast back in 2015. You can listen to that podcast here.
Hugo Junkers (1859 - 1935)
You may have heard of Hugo Junkers through his company Junkers Flugzeug which produced some of the Luftwaffe's aircraft during WW2, such as the JU88 bomber and JU87 Stuka dive bomber. However, the German engineer Hugo Junkers had little affinity with the Nazis who went on to use his technology to flatten much of Europe. Sadly, in 1935, the anti-war designer had his company forcibly acquired by the Reich. He died shortly afterwards leaving a legacy of advances in metallurgy and mechanical engineering that helped develop the aviation industry.
Junkers is credited with designing the very first all-metal airplane in the world. This machine, the J1, became the fastest aircraft in the world in 1915 with its tight metal skin and sleek design. After the success of this remarkable aircraft, Junkers went on to develop more aircraft for the German aviation industry that were made almost entirely of metal and used innovative cantilevered wing designs that helped remove the needs for complex struts and external bracing wires.
In 1919, Hugo Junkers turned towards the proto-commercial airline industry and developed the first All Metal Passenger Aircraft. After this, his company designed and built the Junkers G.38, a large transport aircraft that first flew in 1929. This huge beast could carry passengers inside its wings!
Igor Sikorsky (1889 - 1972)
Sikorsky developed numerous aircraft but most notably designed the first production helicopter. He also designed numerous highly successful flying boats during the 1930s.
Sikorsky began to experiment with helicopters way back in 1909. Being able to see that the technology wasn't yet ready for a successful helicopter, he then moved onto more conventional flying machines.
'I had learned enough to recognize that with the existing state of the art, engines, materials, and – most of all – the shortage of money and lack of experience... I would not be able to produce a successful helicopter at that time'.
In 1939, he successfully designed the Vought-Sikorsky VS-300, the world's first practical helicopter. His legacy lives on in aircraft like the Sikorsky Skycrane. You can find out more about the life of this designer here.
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Article by James Whomsley
Editor of FliteTest.com
Contact: james@flitetest.com
YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/projectairaviation
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