[alfa] Wright Figures

["Rich Wagner" <drsavage@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Biba wrote:

>How many engine dynos do you think existed in 1903? I'd guess, zip to
>none. So every magazine, newspaper, etc. could pretty much quote any
>figure they wanted and who could say, beyond a shadow of a doubt,
>otherwise?

You'd be wrong to guess "none".  The Wrights had a dyno, and the 12 HP
figure comes from their test data.  As an Aerospace Engineer, I would argue
that the Brothers were some of the best engineers of the twentieth century.
 Their ability to apply the theories of physics and mechanics (for example,
in developing a way to dyno-test their engine), along with their unabashed
application of raw math--including calculus--to their analyses sets them
apart from people who are graduating from technical programs even today. 
They were...damn good!  The jazz community has a term to describe people
with their level of prowess.  Some of you may know it.

And while they were that damn good, the Brothers certainly didn't invent
"flight".  "Flight" became.  "Flight" happened.  The Brothers are in fact
members of a long-standing brotherhood with names like Leibniz, Newton,
Bernoulli (Jean), Euler, Bernoulli (Daniel), Bernoulli (Jean II), d'
Alembert, Laplace, Lagrange, Prandtl, Blassius, von Karman, and others. 
Indeed, much of modern calculus was developed because of these people and
their efforts to build an understanding of continuum
dynamics--aerodynamics.  While considered by the uninitiated to be
"space-age", these sciences are old, and have been hammered upon and forged
by these great men for a few centuries.  By the time the Wrights flew, far
more was known about lift, drag and flight than The Discovery Channel is
likely to divulge.  An example?  Prandtl built and operated the first
SUPERSONIC wind tunnel in 1904--only ONE YEAR after the Wrights' first
powered flights.

The Wrights' achievement is duly an ACHIEVEMENT, and not to be taken
lightly.  But, to develop a proper respect for it, it must be taken in
proper context, not made legend, as it has been over the years.

If you'd like to really delve into the history, I'd suggest:

-  The Wright Brothers, A Biography
  Fred C. Kelly
  1989, Dover Publications, Inc.
  ISBN:  0-486-26056-9

-  The Airplane:  A History of its Technology
  Dr. John D. Anderson, Jr.
  2003 (don't have the publisher name)
  ISBN:  1563475251


Rich Wagner
Montrose, CO
'82 GTV6 Balocco
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