The Brothers Didn't Invent Flight: Otto Lilienfeld's Revolutionary Contributions

The development of flight was a gradual process that involved the contributions of several individuals, including the Wright brothers. However, there were men before them who made revolutionary contributions to the development of flight. One such individual was Otto Lilienfeld, also known as Otto Lilian Thal. His book "Bird Flight as the Basis of Aviation" was beautifully illustrated with over 23 years of experiments and observations of bird flight. This book set the stage for his own flying machines and inspired the Wright brothers to create their own.

Lilienfeld's work on bird flight was groundbreaking, and he made significant contributions to the development of lift. He figured out how to achieve lift, but he had no stable way of controlling his gliders. If a wind struck the glider, he would shift his center of gravity by throwing his legs in the direction the wind came from, which would correct the flight provided he hadn't tipped too far already. This method was not reliable and resulted in crashes. One such crash occurred in 1896 when a powerful wind hit his glider, and he was unable to recover, resulting in his untimely death.

The Wright brothers were deeply affected by Lilienfeld's tragic accident and continued his life work with renewed dedication. They improved on Lilienfeld's experimental lift data, allowing their planes to achieve more lift. They also created a custom lightweight engine to power their plane, which was an innovative solution at the time. However, their biggest contribution was creating a stable plane with full control. To have full control of an aircraft, we need to be able to control rotation around three principal axes: X, Y, and Z.

Rotation around the X-axis is called roll, and the Wright brothers invented an ingenious wing warping mechanism to control it using a system of pulley and wires. The pilot could bend the wings so that one side would angle downwards while the opposite side angled upwards, causing an increase in lift on the upward-facing side and a decrease in lift on the downward-facing side, thus creating a turning moment around the X-axis. Rotation around the Z-axis is called pitch, and it controls the elevation. The pilot could control the elevator with a lever to increase or decrease the angle of attack, which would increase or decrease the lift and again cause a turning moment around the Z-axis.

The final rotation is called yaw, and it is controlled by the rudder, which works similarly to the elevator and controls the rotation around the Y-axis. With these innovations, the Wright brothers created a plane that wasn't just a novelty toy but had practical applications. In fact, their inventions would soon be exploited and developed quickly with the outbreak of World War I just around the corner.

The primary principles of control developed by the Wright brothers remain the same today, despite the vast improvements in aircraft design over the years. Planes come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but the fundamental concepts of roll, pitch, and yaw are still essential to understanding how they work. The Wright brothers didn't invent flight; they perfected it, and their contributions continue to inspire innovators in the field of aviation.

If you'd like to learn more about the Wright brothers and the history of flight, visit my website for my next video. I will be discussing the development of Supersonic flight and why wings are sometimes angled backwards.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthe R Brothers didn't invent flight there were men before them like Otto Lilian Thal that made their own revolutionary contributions to the development of flight his book bird flight as the basis of Aviation was beautifully Illustrated with over 23 years of experiments and observations of bird flight this book set the stage for his own flying machines and inspired the R Brothers to create their own Otto had figured out how to achieve lift but he had no stable way of controlling his gliders if a wind struck the glider he would shift his center of gravity by throwing his legs in the direction the wind came from this would correct the flight provided he hadn't tipped too far already in 1896 a powerful wind hit his glider and he was unable to recover the crash resulted in his untimely death this affected the R Brothers deeply and inspired them to continue ot's life work they improved on 's experimental lift data allowing their planes to achieve more lift and they created a custom lightweight engine to power their plane but their biggest contribution was creating a stable plane with full control to have full control of an aircraft we need to have control of rotation around the three principal X Y and Z axes rotation around the x- axis is called roll and the right Brothers invented an ingenious Wing warping mechanism to control it using a system of pulley and wires the pilot could bend the wings so one side would angle downwards while the opposite side angled upwards causing an increase in lift on the upward facing side and a decrease in lift on the downward facing side thus causing a turning moment around the x-axis rotation around the Zed axis is called pitch and it controls the elevation the pilot could control the elevator with a lever to increase or decrease the angle of attack this would increase or decrease the lift and again cause a turning moment around the Zed AIS the final rotation is called yaw and it is controlled by the rudder which works similarly to the elevator and controls the rotation around the y- AIS with these Innovations the R Brothers created a plane that wasn't just a novelty toy it had practical applications and with the outbreak of World War I just around the corner these applications would soon be exploited and developed quickly today planes come in a variety of shapes and sizes but the primary principles of control developed by the R Brothers remain the same the R Brothers didn't invent flight they perfected it if you'd like to learn more about the W brothers and the right flyer you can visit my website here for my next video I will be discussing the development of SuperSonic flight and why wings are sometimes angled backwardsthe R Brothers didn't invent flight there were men before them like Otto Lilian Thal that made their own revolutionary contributions to the development of flight his book bird flight as the basis of Aviation was beautifully Illustrated with over 23 years of experiments and observations of bird flight this book set the stage for his own flying machines and inspired the R Brothers to create their own Otto had figured out how to achieve lift but he had no stable way of controlling his gliders if a wind struck the glider he would shift his center of gravity by throwing his legs in the direction the wind came from this would correct the flight provided he hadn't tipped too far already in 1896 a powerful wind hit his glider and he was unable to recover the crash resulted in his untimely death this affected the R Brothers deeply and inspired them to continue ot's life work they improved on 's experimental lift data allowing their planes to achieve more lift and they created a custom lightweight engine to power their plane but their biggest contribution was creating a stable plane with full control to have full control of an aircraft we need to have control of rotation around the three principal X Y and Z axes rotation around the x- axis is called roll and the right Brothers invented an ingenious Wing warping mechanism to control it using a system of pulley and wires the pilot could bend the wings so one side would angle downwards while the opposite side angled upwards causing an increase in lift on the upward facing side and a decrease in lift on the downward facing side thus causing a turning moment around the x-axis rotation around the Zed axis is called pitch and it controls the elevation the pilot could control the elevator with a lever to increase or decrease the angle of attack this would increase or decrease the lift and again cause a turning moment around the Zed AIS the final rotation is called yaw and it is controlled by the rudder which works similarly to the elevator and controls the rotation around the y- AIS with these Innovations the R Brothers created a plane that wasn't just a novelty toy it had practical applications and with the outbreak of World War I just around the corner these applications would soon be exploited and developed quickly today planes come in a variety of shapes and sizes but the primary principles of control developed by the R Brothers remain the same the R Brothers didn't invent flight they perfected it if you'd like to learn more about the W brothers and the right flyer you can visit my website here for my next video I will be discussing the development of SuperSonic flight and why wings are sometimes angled backwards\n"