Researched
Aerodynamics & Gliders
Cayley (1799) and Lilienthal (1891-96) show how fixed wings create lift; the Wrights build on their glider data.
Open in the interactive tree →George Cayley separated lift, drag and thrust in 1799 and flew the first full-size manned glider in 1853. Francis Wenham ran the first wind tunnel in 1871, and Otto Lilienthal's more than 2,000 glider flights in 1891-96 produced tables of lift for curved wings. The Wright brothers started from this data, corrected it in their own wind tunnel, and added the control Lilienthal lacked.
Prerequisites
Unlocks
- Airplane1903The Wrights started from Cayley's and Lilienthal's lift data
- Helicopter1936-1942
Sources
More in Transport & Mobility · Industrial Age
- Sextant1731
- Marine Chronometer1761
- Balloon Flight1783
- Steamship1807
- Railway1825
- Screw Propeller & Iron Hull1843
- Underground Railway1863
- Suez & Panama Canals1869-1914