thomas malloy wrote:
I have been told that of all the researchers who attempted to
develop flight, the Wrights alone built a wind tunnel.
They were among the first. Albert Zahm, at Catholic University in
Washington, DC built one at about the same time they did. Langley
built a whirling tower for models that was supposed to function the
way a wind tunnel does, but it was an expensive flop. Crouch says the
first wind tunnel for engineering was constructed by Wenham and
Browning in 1871, which Chanute knew about it. (p. 149) Apart from
aviation, this was an was important subject for him, because he
designed railroad bridges. I suppose he discussed it with the Wrights.
While more expensive, in the short run than jumping off a high
cliff, the results speak volumes.
The wind tunnel cost the Wrights practically nothing. It was made
from a wooden box on sawhorses. They put together a set 3-dimensional
balances made from bicycle spokes and an old hacksaw blade. It was
marvelously accurate, but it tended to fall apart like a house of
cards. Wilbur Wright described the wind tunnel here:
http://www.wrightflyer.org/WindTunnel/testing1.html
Quote:
". . . It is difficult to underestimate the value of that very
laborious work we did over that homemade wind tunnel. It was, in
fact, the first wind tunnel in which small models of wings were
tested and their lifting properties accurately noted. From all the
data that Orville and I accumulated into tables, an accurate and
reliable wing could finally be built. Even modern wind tunnel data
with the most sophisticated equipment varies comparatively little
from what we first discovered. In fact, the accurate wind tunnel data
we developed was so important, it is doubtful if anyone would have
ever developed a flyable wing without first developing this data.
Sometimes the non-glamorous lab work is absolutely crucial to the
success of a project.
In any case, as famous as we became for our 'Flyer' and its system of
control, it all would never have happened if we had not developed our
own wind tunnel and derived our own correct aerodynamic data."
This web site claims that the first wind tunnel is mentioned in the
literature circa 1686.
The Wrights were consummate engineers; they never invented anything
they did not need to invent, and their designs were always spare,
simple and elegant. Langley spent thousands on his whirling tower;
they spent about $10 on the wind tunnel. Langley spent tens of
thousands more building an elaborate launching device on top of the
houseboat on the Potomac; they spent $6 on a launching system. It was
a wooden monorail on the ground, with two bicycle wheel hubs mounted
on the airplane. Actually, it was several wooden rails, used to move
the 600 lb. aircraft from the hanger, as well as launch it. They
would pick up a rail from the back and move it to the front.
Their worst fault as engineers was a complete disregard for human
factors engineering. Their control systems were dreadful. They were
complex and counterintuitive; i.e., they sometimes called for pushing
a control stick left in order to turn right. The Wrights almost
killed themselves several times because of this, and several early
pilots and pilot trainees paid for this fault with their lives. The
Wrights were both superb sportsmen so they did not consider it a big
deal. They never used seat-belts in the airplanes. They were avid
bicycle racers and hockey players, and they tended to take chances.
They rode bicycles over sandy roads at high speed at twilight without
lights. Wilbur had his front teeth bashed out in a hockey accident,
and was nearly killed. He spent three years recovering and was never
able to attend college because of it. They both survived many serious
crashes, including one in 1908 that killed the passenger and left
Orville partially disabled and with chronic pain for the rest of his
life. Orville in his later years was fond of driving a souped-up car
with a lead foot. (Crouch, p. 513) They were not foolhardy, but they
lived dangerously.
The lesson from this is: Do not ask a genius to design a machine for
an ordinary person to use. Along the same lines, Martin Fleischmann
designed several ingenious experimental devices which, according to
McKubre and others who used them, were hazardous to use, or even to
stand close to. They featured unexpected high voltage discharges and
explosions.
- Jed
