Flying Throughout History
Since the days when Orville and Wilbur Wright jumped into the first real airplane, man has come up with some highly interesting, if not imaginative, airplane designs. From simple jet packs strapped to the back to huge multi-winged monstrosities, the airplane has seen it all. Here are just a few of the inventive ways man has tried to take to the skies.
1.) The Wright Military Flyer
In 1908, the military announced that they needed a small 2-seated aircraft for observations. The following year, the Wright Brothers created the very first military aircraft from a wire-braced biplane, complete with a 30 or 40 HP engine that powered 2 wooden propellers. Though initial test runs went rather smoothly, it was when Lt. Thomas Selfridge of the Army Signal Corps got on the plane that things went sour. Shortly into the flight, the plane crashed and Lt. Selfridge was killed, making him the very first person to die in an airplane crash. After a few modifications, the first real military flyer was finished in June of 1909.
2.) The Ecker Flying Boat
Sometime between 1911 and 1913, Herman Ecker built his version of the Curtiss Flying Boat. However, do to the fact that there were no detailed manuals or how-to kits, Mr. Ecker built his flying machine out of whatever he could get his hands on. He covered the wings of his flying boat with muslin and used carpet tacks and sealed them with wallpaper sizing glue. Though on clear days he had no problems, but on rainy days, the glue would dissolve and the paper would become porous. The motor he used for this plane was a converted 6-cylinder marine engine, with an automobile radiator for cooling. Due to the fact that there was no instrument panel, all adjustments were made simply from the sounds the engine made.
3.) Gyrocopters and gyroplanes
In the 1950’s, Dr. Igor Bensen introduced a whole new machine to the world of avionics, calling it the Gyroglider. Gyrocopters or gyroplanes are a helicopter/airplane hybrid and have come to be called one of the safest flying machines to have been made so far. The difference between the gyrocopter and a regular helicopter is that the rotor blades on the gyro are unpowered, and if the craft is fitted with a pre-rotator, can eliminate the need for a runway. One of the safety features of the gyroglider is that if the engine fails while in the air, the craft can be glided to the ground for a safe landing. The B-8M gyroglider is considered an experimental aircraft and because it falls under the category of unpowered aircraft, requires no license to fly. However, proper training is a must.
4.) The Airscooter
In 2000, a new company was formed in Nevada called the AirScooter Corporation, and is in the process of building, testing, and eventually distributing a new style of flying machine called the AirScooter. The idea behind the AirScooter is based on a coaxial design packaged in a light weight craft that offers intuitive control and maximum maneuverability. The company co-founders Woody Norris and Jim Barnes, are working with some of the lightest and most space-aged materials to create the perfect VTOL craft. Interested parties in the new AirScooter include agencies such as the military and the postal service, as well as flight recreational enthusiasts. However, the AirScooter is still in pre-production and there is no determined date at to when they’ll be available for sale.
There are literally hundreds of oddities in the world of aviation. Everything from the first real hang-glider, made in the late 1800’s, to the Personal Wings designed by Yves Rossy, a.k.a. FusionMan. Man will always have the desire to fly through the air, and will always come up with bigger and better ways of achieving this feat.
The vacation deals offer the cheapest airline tickets to its frequent customers. The airline tickets of aloha airlines are relatively cheap and easily available round the year. Whereas the flights to rome italy are expensive during Easter and Christmas. The cheap travel deals include the facility to have travel trailers stay near the mountains and the lakes especially in the wonderful surroundings of Lake districts where Wordsworth wrote his romantic poems.
