It had a four-cylinder engine with a power of 20 hp, developed a velocity of 56 km/h, was able to climb to an altitude of 30 m and over a distance of respective twelve kilometers – so presented Flyer III, the world's first military aircraft. In 1905, Wright brothers, American aviation pioneers, constructed it. 4 years later, machines of this kind bought the American Army.
On December 17, 1903, the weather at Kitty Hawk was truly mean. There was a pervasive cold, inactive exacerbated by the wind from above the Atlantic. Orville and Wilbur Wright, however, did not quit easily. They had already had respective twelve successful flights on their own gliders, and now they decided to effort with the plane. They've been working on the device for the past fewer months, with the aid of Charlie Taylor's mechanic, they built an engine. Finally, in a gloomy winter morning came the time of trial. Flyer I was placed on a peculiar take-off rail, Orville lay in a peculiar cradle, Wilbur stood next to the wing to catch the wing and align its position if necessary. A fewer minutes before 10:30, the pilot started the engine, and erstwhile it warmed up, it released the safety cord and the device moved forward. He then recalled: “The apparatus was raised with highly uneven picks [...]. The abrupt blow at a distance of just over 120 feet from the point at which it broke off from the ground ended the flight lasting only 12 seconds. However, it was the first accident in the past of the planet to have a man-lifting device choice up on its own to full flight, fly into the air without losing velocity and yet land at a point not lower than the 1 from which it started."
That day, the brothers hit on Flyer and 3 more times. The last flight, during which Wilbur sat behind the rudders, lasted almost a minute and ended only after the 260 m. In the evening, the joyful were sent to their father, Protestant Bishop Milton Wright: “Success. Notify the press. Return to Christmas".
So the planet entered aviation era.
Airmen or liars
Orville and Wilbur followed the punch. How crazy they were working on improving their design. shortly the Flyer II was ready, and right after that Flyer III. The planes were rising higher and further distanced. The 3rd of the constructed machines could make a velocity of 56 km/h, scope a ceiling of 30 m and stay in the air for about half an hour. Flyer III made the first flight on 23 June 1905. But the Wrights realized they were slow reaching the wall. Continuing work on the plane required solid money. And these could only be provided by the government or the planet of large business. So the brothers began to search contact with politicians. They reached a associate of legislature from their side. "They told him they invented a device that could be utilized to conduct reconnaissance and supply information during wartime," writes Anna Sproule, author of Wright's biography. The brothers hoped for an army interest, but... they must have swallowed a bitter pill. The military, as Sproule notes, treated aircraft precisely as the journalists of the time utilized to do. In 1906, erstwhile Flyer III was already on a regular run through American sky, the reporter “Herald Tribune” posted an article devoted to Wrights under the prominent title “Airplanes or Liars?”.
Meanwhile, the brothers decided to present Flyer in Europe. Wilbur, who traveled overseas, visited France, Germany, Italy. Local decision-makers were keenly curious in the possibilities of aviation. The Americans could not walk past it indifferently. In December 1917, the Wright brothers' device yet became curious in the Department of War there. Even before the end of the year, the office invited inventors to submit bids in a plane competition that would be able to make a velocity of 40 miles/h and cross a distance of 201 miles. The procedure was theoretically open, but in practice it was known that only Flyer III's originators could meet specified requirements. Especially since the device was constantly being improved.
The Wrights did not even thwart the September 1908 nightmare accident erstwhile 1 of the Flyers crashed during an emergency landing. Orville, who was sitting behind the rudders at the time, had broken ribs, leg and broken hip. His passenger – a young US Army officer – died from injuries in the hospital. But erstwhile the device was set in motion, nothing could halt it. "The brothers received an order for the transportation of aircraft to the Ministry of War, and in 1909 the national budget was allocated to Military aviation $30,000," says Michael Hart, author of the book on characters that had the top impact on human history.
Space Arrows
So the American military proved to be pioneers. But they were rapidly driven by others. In Europe, the air force was truly hot. The generals looked closely at the achievements of civilian pilots, and these could truly impress. In the summertime of 1909 Louis Blériot flew over the English Channel on a monoplane of his own design, and a period later another daredevil erstwhile and for all they played velocity and flight dimension records By the way, gathering in Reims. Not everyone believed in the usefulness of fresh machines on the battlefield. Marshal Ferdinand Foch, outstanding strategist and the actual symbol of the French army, observing the air competition, threw: “It’s an excellent sport, but in the army the plane is useless.” The vast majority of the military, however, repeated, "This is the future."
In December 1909, the French War Ministry purchased 7 aircraft, and a fewer months later in Chalons and Satory started 2 schools to educate future airmen. "The event became a successful debut of the aircraft as a means of reconnaissance and communication during the French Army maneuvers conducted in September 1910 in Picardia," wrote Edward Malak, who dealt with aviation history. The French shortly followed. Their own squadrons began to be created by Germany, the British, Austrians, Italians, Russians, and even the Japanese.
“The first contact of the aircraft with the battlefield [...] occurred comparatively early, due to the fact that during the Italian-Turkish War of 1911,” says Malak. Then the first always reconnaissance flight was made. It was conducted by Captain Carlo Piazza, who from the deck illustrated the Turkish positions close Azizia. The mission lasted 61 minutes. shortly the airmen besides began to harass opposing troops in various ways. "Since the beginning of November, Italian pilots sent for reconnaissance took hand grenades, respective kilos of bombs and metallic darts, which they threw at the detected subdivisions and camps of the Turkish army," Malak notes. shortly device guns began to be mounted. erstwhile planet War I began little than 3 years later, the participating states directed precisely 757 aircraft to the front. Aviation was already an integral part of the armed forces. But from the minute the device constructed by the Wright brothers on a windy December morning by its own strength over 40 m, it was little than 11 years...
I used: Edward Malak, “A plane, a man’s work. improvement stages", Wrocław 1993; Anna Sproule, "Brothers Wright. They changed the world”, Warsaw 1992; Michael Hart, “100 characters that had the top influence on the past of humanity”, Warsaw 1994.
