Otto Lilienthal

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Otto Lilienthal

In the history of flight, Otto Lilienthals name features prominently due to his

contribution to the aviation industry. He was a pioneer in many areas in the aviation industry and

his contributions helped propel the industry to greater heights and brought the reality of airplanes

closer to becoming a reality. He also inspired the future aviation industry experts for instance the

Wright brothers. This paper will discuss who Otto Lilienthal was, what he did and how he

contributed to the aviation industry.

Otto Lilienthals Background

Otto Lilienthal was born in 1848 in a place known as Aklam which was close to the

Baltic Sea. He had a profound interest in flying and was constantly reading aeronautical

materials during his early childhood. His brother Gustav was also interested in flying and when

both boys were in their early teenage years, they attempted to build their first pair of wings. This

attempt was not successful (Hirschel, Prem and Madelung 20).

Otto and his brother were fascinated by how the birds flew. They would spend a lot of

time observing hoe birds flew. They paid particular attention to the flight habits of the storks and

concluded that it was easy to lift up with the wind rather than against the wind. These


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observations were used in all their attempts to create their own wings (Hirschel, Prem and

Madelung 21).

Otto left high school and joined a vocational institute in 1864.This institute was in

Potsdam. He graduated from this institute after 2 years. During his time at the institute, he began

his experiments on flight techniques. In these experiments, Otto made measurements on the drag

of wings; he mounted the wings vertically and experimented on how to achieve the highest lift

from the wings. During these initial scientific experiments, he discovered that one could get the

highest lift and the least amount of drag if the wing had a surface that was slightly cambered.

This was similar to the structure of a birds wing (Hirschel, Prem and Madelung 21).

On leaving this institute, he moved to another vocational institute that was located in

Berlin, this was in 1867.In 1868, Otto and his brother attempted another flying experiment. They

created a flying apparatus that was able to lift 80kgs by using a counterweight of 40kgs.By using

this experiment; Otto observed the amount of effort that was required to lift objects over a long

time period was a lot. Due to these observations, he sought to calculate the exact amount of

energy that was required for flight. It is in this process that he discovered that forward movement

was as vital as wing strokes during flight (NASA 5).

On completing his education, Otto joined the war in 1870.During the war he observed the

ways in which the French attempted to deploy balloons during the war. These observations

helped reinforce Ottos belief in flight and how extraordinary bird flight was. He returned from

war and decided to come up with a rotational experimental apparatus, this was because the other

methods were expensive and he didnt have adequate funds (NASA 5).

Otto Lilienthals Career


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Otto trained as an engineer and majored on flight mechanics as well as aerodynamics. On

graduating from school, he started working in Berlin in 1871 as an engineer. He worked here till

1883, during this time period; he devoted his personal time in aviation research. He kept doing

his personal experiments and researching more on bird flight (MIT par 3).

Otto started making boilers and steam engines and in 1883 he opened his own factory in

Berlin. It was at this point that he invented a small ad safe engine whose design was based on the

tubular boiler system. This invention improved his financial means and helped him devote more

time in his aviation aspirations. (MIT par 4).

Otto and his brother alsojoined the German association for the promotion of airship

aviation during this period. Soon after joining this association, he gave his first lecture here

concerning the use of light engines in aviation. Soon afterwards he started giving lectures

concerning the theory of bird flight. In these lectures, he attempted to explain the effects that bird

flight would have on making free flight viable (Wittenberg and Torenbeek 17).

In addition to his lectures, Otto wrote a book about bird flight in 1889.This book delved

into the use of bird flight as a basis for flying. In this book, Otto detailed his investigations into

bird flight and the results from his numerous experiments. In this book, Otto describes the

different structures and types of bird wings and the dynamics that go into the movement of the

birds while on air. This book also detailed Ottos ideas on how he would incorporate his findings

about bird flight in making human flight a reality. This information was presented in his book in

a very clear manner and the findings that were presented in his book set the basis of further

research into human flight. This book was regarded as one of the first publications that detailed


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aeronautical engineering. The information in this book has been used all over the world in

relation to aeronautics (Wittenberg and Torenbeek 18).

While continuing with his lectures, Otto carried on with his experiments on artificial

wings and how they reacted to the forces of air and the wind. It was at this time that Otto also

begun his pursuits in innovations and patenting his various innovations. In the course of his

career, Otto earned 25 patents. They ranged from mining machines to building blocks for

children. Out of all the patents that Otto was awarded with, only four of them were related to the

aviation industry (MIT par 5).

Otto started his practical flight tests in 1890.He performed these tests numerous times and

never gave up in spite of experiencing some failure. In these tests, he used cambered wings and

created a flight hill near his home where his did the practical flight tests. He later transferred

these tests away from his house to allocation that had more favorable wind conditions. His new

location was Rhinow Mountains which were near Berlin (Wittenberg and Torenbeek 19).

He carried out numerous tests while at Rhinow Mountain. He was constantly testing new

limits and he succeeded on getting a lift of over 820ft.During these tests, he also developed

different gliders which possessed different characteristics. For instance he created gliders with

rudders, flapping machines as well as some that ran on engines that ran on carbonic acid (Jakab

600).

Ottos debut glider model was the DerwitzerGlider and this was built in 1891.This glider

was created using cotton fabrics as well as willow rods. Using this initial glider, he managed to

glide for 80 feet. The main problem with this model was that he was required to shift his body

weigh constantly so as to control the direction the glider was taking (MIT par 4).


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In 1982, Otto devised a model that was more sophisticated. It allowed him to glide to

heights of 270 feet. This was followed by a better model that allowed him to glide 1150 feet.

This design earned him a patent. He constructed a better craft in 1893.This model incorporated

flapping wings and imitated the movement of birds while on flight. This model was however not

successful (MIT par 6).

Otto created his most successful glider in 1894.It was known as the Normal-Segelapparat.

He recreated this craft for people in different countries which included Russia, Ireland Argentina

as well as the U.S. Otto went for more than 2000 flights on his gliders before he met his death.

During his career he created 18 glider models and made a huge impact on the aeronautical

industry (MIT par 7).

Otto had a serious crash during one of his practice tests. This had been caused by gusts of

wind and the fact that he had attempted a steep dive. As a result, he developed body harnesses

that would help prevent stalling and at the same time control the stabilizers. However, this did

not help avert the disaster that happened in August 1896.Otto crashed during one of his practice

runs in the mountain. He fell 50 ft to the ground and broke his back. He didnt survive this fall;

he died the next day in hospital. In his death bed, he said that sacrifices had to be made. This

marked the end of a brilliant life of a man who could have revolutionized the aeronautical

industry (Jakab 600).

Contributions to the aviation Industry

Otto was the first person to create gliders that were practical. These gliders brought the

dream of airplanes closer to life. By creating the gliders and being successful in glider flights, he

proved that it was possible for flight to be achieved. This was an important stepping stone in the


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aeronautical industry. Otto also clearly defined the various theoretical problems that were

associated with flight. This information helped future innovators like the Wright brothers while

performing their experiments (Anderson 60).

Otto also explored the principles that governed winged flight. The data he got about these

principles and their effects on winged flight were captured in tables and in his book. This

information proved useful to the future innovators in the field. He also used the information he

had gathered to come up with gliders that countered the principles of flight. By doing this, he

created some crafts that he sold to individual customers in various countries for instance the US

and Russia (Britannica 149).

Otto inspired the future innovators of the aeronautical industry. The Wright brothers were

among the people who had watched Otto Lilienthals progress in Bird flight. The information

that was in the book that he published helped the Wright brothers come up with their own

version of the airplane. The results ofOttos experiments and observations helped these

innovators during their research. Otto provided proof that a person could launch himself to the

air and remain airborne for some time. This information was important as it open doors for other

researchers to come up with better ways of improving the glider flights. These innovations

helped grow the aeronautical industry to its current state (Jakab 601).

Otto provided proof that cambered airfoils were more superior to the flat plates. This

proof was provided through his book which provided data that showed that cambered air foils

had more lift and less drag as compared to the flat plated. This information was to be used later

by the future players in the aeronautical industry. The cambered air foils were to be used in the

next century in the creation of flying machines (Anderson 59).


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Otto was the first person to provide substantial data about flight. His data was the first

known information regarding aerodynamics. This information acted as a basis for the future

research. This data and the theories that Otto advanced acted as a launching pad for the future

innovators in the industry. During his practice tests, Otto came up with mono plane gliders,

biplane gliders as well as engines. These innovations were important in the aeronautical industry

as they acted as a starting point to the invention of the airplanes (Jakab 602).

Otto introduced the use of aerodynamic coefficients in the reporting of aerodynamic force

data that was measured in his experiments. Instead of reporting raw data, Otto divided the data

into different ratios that were based on the angle by which the wing was attacked by force. These

ratios were values that were then referred to as force coefficients. When the aerodynamic force is

presented in form of coefficients, it is easy for calculations of smeatons coefficient as well as

the velocity to be done. The use of the drag coefficients can be traced to the modern day where

modern aerodynamics measure the lift and drag in terms of the drag and lift coefficients

(Wittenberg and Torenbeek 22).

Ottos methods of glidercontrol are still applied to date in parachute landings and in the

hand gliders as well as in space planes. His methods included the shift of the center of gravity

which in turn changed the direction in which the glider was flying. He shifted the centre of

gravity by moving his feet from one side to the other. The modern day space planes use wing

like devices for landing and they also use cables to alter the center of gravity (Wittenberg and

Torenbeek 25).

The mistakes that Otto made in his designs were used by the Wright brothers as lessons.

The Wright brothers initially tried using gliders for flight. They were careful to make sure that


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they avoided the mistakes that brought Ottos glider down due to wing stalling. They studied

Ottos flight details to ensure that they avoided such mishaps in their flights. This helped the

Wright brothers make big strides in the Aeronautical industry (Wittenberg and Torenbeek 28).

Conclusion

The contributions that Otto made to the aeronautical industry cannot be faulted. He

provided a reference point for the future innovators in this field. Future innovators like the

Wright brothers constantly looked at the work that Otto had done while creating the airplane. His

concepts are still used as reference points for the modern day engineers who still hail him as the

flying man.


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References

Anderson, John. The Airplane, a History of Its Technology. California: AIAA, 2002. Print.

Wittenberg, H and Torenbeek, Egbert.Flight Physics: Essentials of Aeronautical Disciplines and

Technology, with Historical.Netherlands: Springer. 2009. Print.

Britannica Educational Publishing. The 100 Most Influential Inventors of All Time. New York:

The Rosen Publishing, 2009. Print.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Flying Machine. Inventor of the week, Sept. 2007. Web.

18th

Sept 2013.

NASA. Celebrating a century of Flight. Washington: NASA Publication, 2002.Print.

Jakab, Peter. Otto Lilienthal, The greatest of the Precursors.IAAA Journal.35.4 (1997). 600-

607.Web.18th Sept 2013.

Hirschel, Heinrich., Prem, Horst and Madelung, Gero.Aeronautical Research in Germany: From

Lilienthal until Today. Netherlands: Springer, 2004.Print.

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Otto Lilienthal