FD: v2 (Second Timers)

THE WRIGHT BROTHERS: Birds and airplane wings, have what we like to call a wing bump for younger students. A wing bump is a foil.

THE WRIGHT BROTHERS:  The Wright Brothers invention of the biplane airplane “Flyer 1” and its 1903 flight at Kitty hawk N. Carolina was no easy task.  At one point, the Wright Brothers,  owners of a bicycle shop, conducted over 2000 experiments in a crude 60’ homemade wind tunnel!

THE WRIGHT BROTHERS:  The Wright Brothers were trying to discover how best to make the propeller, the cambered wings and how to turn the plane in flight. Cambered means “straight”.

THE WRIGHT BROTHERS: The Wright brothers used two 8’ propellers, a spruce wood and cotton muslim cloth frame with a 40’ wingspan and a “3 axis “ control. These highly successful controls “warped the wings” by cables just like you twist a piece of flat flexible plastic. It also had a moveable rear vertical rudder and had a forward elevator in the wings which kept the plane from nose diving.

THE WRIGHT BROTHERS: The Wright Brothers 30 year-long perseverance paid off with flights increasing from their original 852’ flight at Kitty Hawk to ones in France with Flyer 2 of over 2 miles long. The kings of England, Spain and Italy among the onlookers. Back in the US they hit record 1 hour, 40-mile flights and even flew around the Statue of Liberty!

FOILS: A foil is a term for the shape of a wing, blade, or sail.  Foils are designed by engineers to give the object they are moving speed, but have no effect on lift. Foils can be used in either in the water or through the air. There are many different types of foils.

FOILS: The design of an aircraft wing is called an airfoil. There are many different airfoil design variations used on planes, but there are two main designs. One is called subsonic flight airfoils. They are used by planes that fly under the speed of sound. They typically have a rounded leading edge with a sharp trailing edge to allow for high maneuverability.

FOILS: The design of a rounded, leading edge with a sharp trailing edge in wings was very common in fighter planes during World War 2 This included the acrobatic British RAF Spitfires which were responsible for shooting down the German Luftwaffe (Air Force) during the London attacks.

FOILS: Subsonic airfoils used for jets like the F-16 are much more angular. These have a very sharp leading edge and and trailing edge, giving them the name double-wedge airfoils.

FOILS: Foils called Hydrofoils are used in water travel as well. Hydrofoils are used to elevate the boat above the water, which greatly decreases drag resistance. Hydrofoil crafts are effective because the lack of drag resistance greatly increases their speed. The fastest hydrofoil vessel ever made is the Problem Child which reaches an amazing 262 miles per hour!