The Airplane - Jay Spenser
Even Piece by Piece, an Airplane Is More Than the Sum of Its Parts
"It's a bird, it's a plane..." We all know what an airplane is and take the shape of these ubiquitous flying machines for granted (not to mention getting from place to place on one). That was not only the case. For centuries, man has dreamed of flying, but what a machine capable of enabling people to "escape the surly bonds of the Earth" should look like, no one could know. It should come to no surprise that many people thought that an airplane should flap its wings like a bird. Needless to say, history has not been kind to ornithopters, as such machines are known. Balloons offered man his first taste of soaring above the crowds; the invention of the Montgolfier brothers increased man's thirst for a heavier-than-air machine that could take him aloft. Fast-forward to the beginning: in 1809, an Englishman named George Cayley created the first powered model glider, a later development of which was sufficiently large to carry a young boy aloft for a short hop. The work Sir George inspired William Henson; he created a model of a flying machine he called Ariel, the Henson Aerial Steam Carriage. By 1983, wanting to go the next step of creating a full-size working aircraft, he started the world's first aviation firm. His machine was to be more than a research test vehicle with a payload of one - the pilot. With the British Empire expanding, he would settle for nothing less than creating the world's first airliner. Though the technology was not present to make the dream a reality, engravings of his machine became popular collector's items, inspiring the minds and hearts of people everywhere.
It is worth noting that the Henson Aerial Steam Carriage had most of the elements of what we recognize today as comprising an airplane: a wing, an engine, control surfaces at the rear, and a fuselage to hold it all together and carry the payload. Jay Spenser carefully analyzes each of these components, now they came to be, why they are there, and how they were developed over the years. These are among the "ideas that gave us wings." Even for a seasoned aircraft hobbyist such as myself, with an extensive collection of aviation books and periodicals, this book offered an entirely new perspective on the history and design of the airplanes I love so much. After covering the conception and birth of the airplane, Spenser discusses configuration - how airplanes acquired the shape we recognize today. Then, he examines, piece by piece, the fuselage, wings, empennage, flight controls, flight decks, landing gear, and passenger cabin. If the style of the book seems simplistic, it is important to remember that the author is writing for a general audience. That said, there is still plenty for seasoned hobbyist to savor. In addition, the book is exceedingly well written - an absolute joy to read. Furthermore, it is always a pleasure to find an aviation book that looks upon its subject from a new perspective. Jay Spenser's "The Airplane: How Ideas Gave Us Wings" is an affirmation why I am fascinated by flight and love airplanes.
The Airplane - Jay Spenser
Even Piece by Piece, an Airplane Is More Than the Sum of Its Parts
"It's a bird, it's a plane..." We all know what an airplane is and take the shape of these ubiquitous flying machines for granted (not to mention getting from place to place on one). That was not only the case. For centuries, man has dreamed of flying, but what a machine capable of enabling people to "escape the surly bonds of the Earth" should look like, no one could know. It should come to no surprise that many people thought that an airplane should flap its wings like a bird. Needless to say, history has not been kind to ornithopters, as such machines are known. Balloons offered man his first taste of soaring above the crowds; the invention of the Montgolfier brothers increased man's thirst for a heavier-than-air machine that could take him aloft. Fast-forward to the beginning: in 1809, an Englishman named George Cayley created the first powered model glider, a later development of which was sufficiently large to carry a young boy aloft for a short hop. The work Sir George inspired William Henson; he created a model of a flying machine he called Ariel, the Henson Aerial Steam Carriage. By 1983, wanting to go the next step of creating a full-size working aircraft, he started the world's first aviation firm. His machine was to be more than a research test vehicle with a payload of one - the pilot. With the British Empire expanding, he would settle for nothing less than creating the world's first airliner. Though the technology was not present to make the dream a reality, engravings of his machine became popular collector's items, inspiring the minds and hearts of people everywhere.
It is worth noting that the Henson Aerial Steam Carriage had most of the elements of what we recognize today as comprising an airplane: a wing, an engine, control surfaces at the rear, and a fuselage to hold it all together and carry the payload. Jay Spenser carefully analyzes each of these components, now they came to be, why they are there, and how they were developed over the years. These are among the "ideas that gave us wings." Even for a seasoned aircraft hobbyist such as myself, with an extensive collection of aviation books and periodicals, this book offered an entirely new perspective on the history and design of the airplanes I love so much. After covering the conception and birth of the airplane, Spenser discusses configuration - how airplanes acquired the shape we recognize today. Then, he examines, piece by piece, the fuselage, wings, empennage, flight controls, flight decks, landing gear, and passenger cabin. If the style of the book seems simplistic, it is important to remember that the author is writing for a general audience. That said, there is still plenty for seasoned hobbyist to savor. In addition, the book is exceedingly well written - an absolute joy to read. Furthermore, it is always a pleasure to find an aviation book that looks upon its subject from a new perspective. Jay Spenser's "The Airplane: How Ideas Gave Us Wings" is an affirmation why I am fascinated by flight and love airplanes.