Octave Chanute, November 2001- June 2002

WOULD-BE-AVIATORS CONTACTED HIM

Now that Chanute knew "How it feels to fly," he made the engineering drawings of his biplane glider available to the public, and continued to write articles and give speeches.

During this time many would-be aviators contacted him, seeking advice. In the late 1890s, two brothers from Dayton expressed an interest in flying kites and began studying the works of other scientists. After contacting the Smithsonian Institution, the brothers received several pamphlets as well as Chanute's book. Wilbur then wrote directly to Chanute. Always willing to pass along information to other experimenters, Chanute obliged and replied.

Octave Chanute, Aeronaut and Inventor.
Chicago Record, 29 June 1896.

WRIGHT BROTHERS

A friendship developed in which Chanute was a true mentor. The Wright's documented, described and explained each step of their progress, always asking for Chanute's comments. In 1901, the Wright brothers invited Chanute to come and join them at Kitty Hawk. Chanute arrived, and even though he was impressed with their accomplishments, the Wrights themselves were very disappointed with the results. "Not within a thousand years would man ever fly!"

Chanute then suggested that Wilbur and Orville come to Chicago and speak to a Special Meeting (or "Ladies Night") of the Western Society of Engineers on 18 September 1901.

It is generally believed that in preparing for this meeting, the two brothers carefully reexamined each aspect of their experiments to that point. They decided to continue their work on flying machines, and eventually gained a place in aviation history.

Courtesy of Special Collections and Archives, Wright State University.
Repository number: 16-2-6; N203.

THE LAST MAJOR ARTICLE BY CHANUTE

The last major article written by Chanute was titled simply Recent Progress in Aviation. First published in the Journal of the Western Society of Engineers, it almost seemed like a closing chapter. Chanute witnessed, aviation grow from the fragile, "cranky" gliders to the Wrights' first controlled, sustained flight in 1903 and later successful flights in 1905. Chanute lived to see aviation spreading throughout the world. In 1909 Chanute happily learned that Bleriot had crossed the English Channel, and Glenn Curtiss was building aeroplanes which eclipsed those of the Wrights.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM AVIATION HISTORY

Curtiss Robin 1929
The sleek 1929 Curtiss Robin monoplane was designed by the Curtiss Robertson company as a three seat commercial monoplane. It had two passenger seats side by side behind the pilot and a 170-hp Curtiss Challenger engine that could reach maximum speed of 120 m.p.h., a cruising speed of 96 m.p.h., a service ceiling of 13,000 ft., and a cruising range of 514 miles.

Bugatti Racer
With its two Bugatti T50B auto racing engines, forward swept wings, self-adjusting split trailing-edge flaps, and ultra sleek fuselage, the Bugatti Racer was meant to compete and win the 1938 Deutsche de la Muerthe Cup by reaching speeds of 805-885 km/h. Designed by Ettore Bugatti and aeronautical engineer Louis D.de Monge, the Bugatti was built in 1937 in Paris' furniture factory. However, it never had a chance to fly. With the onset of World War II the airplane was hidden in the French countryside.

Chuck Yeager
Chuck Yeager was the first human to travel faster than the speed of sound when, on October 14, 1947, he reached the speed of Mach 1.06 (700 mph). Yeager was flying the Bell X-1 rocket research plane, considered to be probably the strongest airframe in the world in 1947.

Charles Lindbergh
Lindbergh was an American aviator and one of the best-known figures in aeronautical history. He is remembered for the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic, from New York to Paris, on May 20-21, 1927."Lindbergh, Charles A(ugustus)" Encyclopedia Britannica Online. [Accessed 30 October 2001].

Model of the Curtiss Robin.

Courtesy of the Edwards Air Force Base.

SPACE

Now, with spacecraft, we cross-continents and oceans in a few minutes. One can even buy a "ticket" as a tourist to go to the space station. Aviation and space is wide open for everyone....

X-43A. Courtesy of NASA, Dryden Flight Research Center.
ED99-45243-01, 1999. Artist Concept in Flight. Photo by: NASA

Hyper -X, the flight vehicle designated as X-43A, is a joint Dryden/NASA/Langley Research Center program.

The program will test "scramjet" engine technologies to be used in future space travel, to launch satellites, and to reduce the time of conventional travel between continents to a mere few hours.

Above: X-43A is an experimental, unmanned aircraft with "air breathing" engine technology. It is expected to fly between Mach 7-10 at approximately 100,000 feet altitude.

In this overhead view of Hyper X-43A interior NASA's staff, at the Dryden Flight Research Center, work on mating Hyper X-43A with its Pegasus booster rocket for a first, early 2001 summer test flight at Mach 7.

After being launched by a B-52 aircraft, a Pegasus booster rocket will be used to accelerate H-43A to hypersonic speed enabling H-43A to fly under its own power.

Courtesy of NASA, Dryden Flight Research Center. ED01-0209-5, July 14, 2001, Lahua, Hawaii.
Photo by: Nick Galante/PMRF

The Helios Prototype, a solar-powered flying wing, on its first successful solar-powered flight over Pacific Ocean. This flight set the world record for a non-rocket powered aircraft to reach and sustain the altitude of 96,500 feet.

This NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center (ERAST) and Aero Vironment, Inc., project was developed to use remotely piloted solar-powered, slow flying wing aircraft for scientific studies of Earth and upper atmosphere, and as communication relays.

Space Sails

"Sailing in space could be one way to go to the stars. Researchers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., are pursuing space sails as an advanced concept of intersteller travel.

Thin, reflective sails could be propelled through space by sunlight, microwave beams or laser beams - just as the wind pushes sailboats on Earth."

Advanced Space Transportation Technology Summary, Pub 8-1157, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.

Antimatter Propulsion

"Antimatter propulsion is a staple of science fiction, and technology development activities now underway in the Advanced Space Transportation Program at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., could loft an antimatter-powered starship into the realm of reality before the close of the 21st century."

Advanced Space Transportation Technology Summary, Pub 8-1278, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.