Derwitz apparatus
| Derwitz apparatus | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Experimental - glider |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: |
Machine factory Otto Lilienthal |
| First flight: |
1891 |
| Commissioning: |
1891 |
| Production time: |
1891 |
| Number of pieces: |
1 |
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The Derwitzer Apparat or Derwitzer Glider was a glider that was developed by Otto Lilienthal and flown from spring to autumn in 1891. The name refers to the place Derwitz in Brandenburg , near which Lilienthal performed his gliding flights.
The Derwitz glider was the world's first man-carrying “heavier than air” aircraft, with which Otto Lilienthal, Hugo Eulitz and others used reproducible gliding flights of up to 25 meters.
development
In theoretical preparatory work and scientific experiments, Lilienthal developed ideas on how a wing for a man-carrying gliding flight should be dimensioned in terms of wingspan , wing depth and curvature . Before 1891 Lilienthal built several flying machines (wings) of different sizes, with which he carried out attempts to stand in the wind and jump off a ramp.
construction
The wings of the Derwitz apparatus had two spars made of strong willow branches with 14 curved ribs arranged perpendicular to each side of the wing. The covering was made of lacquered Schirting . The wing halves were placed on a cross spar made of square timber. At the same time, this cross served the pilot to carry the device with his forearms. A vertical tail surface was provided from the beginning to stabilize the flight position; it was supplemented by a horizontal surface in the course of the flight tests.
Calls
From the spring of 1891 to the autumn of the same year, numerous gliding flights were carried out with the glider from a height of 5 to 6 meters, with flight distances between 20 and 25 meters.
meaning
For Lilienthal, the gliding flights, in addition to confirming his theoretical preparatory work, brought a lot of flight experience, which he implemented when building improved gliders. In 1892 he wrote: "Enriched by the experiences of the previous year, this year I tried gliding with wings of up to 16 m²."
The French aviation pioneer Ferdinand Ferber wrote in 1905 about Lilienthal's flights with the Derwitz glider:
"Since the German Lilienthal covered the first fifteen meters in the air in 1891, the aviators have had a method with which they can work."
Technical specifications
Derwitz glider
- Span: 7.6 m (later 5.5 m)
- Wing depth: 1.7 m
- Sash area: approx. 10 m² (later 8 m²)
- Wing curvature: 1/10 of the wing chord
- Length: 3.90 m
- Weight: 18 kg
- maximum flight distance (reached from Lilienthal): 25 m
Control through weight shift ; rigid elevator and vertical tail.
Whereabouts
Of the various aircraft designs by Lilienthal, eight other aircraft are documented in addition to the Derwitz apparatus . In fact, only several copies of the normal sailing apparatus and the so-called storm wing have survived . Replicas of the Derwitz apparatus are on display in the German Gliding Museum , the Otto Lilienthal Museum and the Technology Museum in Berlin .
swell
- Hans-Georg Dachner: Otto Lilienthal's first flight attempts in Derwitz / Krielow . In: Local history sheets. Issue 41, July / August. Publication of the urban history working group in the Brandenburgischer Kulturbund e. V., Brandenburg an der Havel 2015, p. 10–20 ( lilienthal-museum.museumnet.eu [PDF; accessed on 23 August 2015]).
- Ferdinand Ferber : Les Progrès de l'aviation depuis 1891 par le vol plané . Berger-Levrault & Cie, Paris Nancy 1905 ( j2mcl-planeurs.net [PDF]).
- Otto Lilienthal : The flight of birds as the basis of the art of flying . A contribution to the systematics of flight technology. R. Gaertners Verlagbuchhandlung, Berlin 1889, ISBN 3-9809023-8-2 ( digitized and full text in the German Text Archive , digitized [accessed on August 30, 2017] reprint of the original edition, Friedland 2003).
- Stephan Nitsch : From jump to flight . Brandenburgisches Verlagshaus, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-327-01090-0 .
- Derwitz Apparat 1891. In: Lilienthal's aircraft designs. Otto Lilienthal Museum, accessed on August 23, 2015 .
- Werner Schwipps: Man flies . Lilienthal's flight attempts in historical recordings. Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Koblenz 1988, ISBN 3-7637-5838-0 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ The flight of birds as the basis of the art of flying .
- ↑ a b Man flies . P. 46 ff.
- ^ Otto Lilienthal's first flight attempts in Derwitz / Krielow . P. 10 ff.
- ↑ Les Progrès de l'aviation depuis 1891 par le vol plané . P. 4.
- ↑ a b Overview of Lilienthal's aircraft designs in the Otto Lilienthal Museum Derwitzer Apparat 1891