Ader Éole
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The Ader Éole was an early steam-powered aircraft.
The Éole was named after the Greco-Roman wind god Aeolos. It was developed by Clément Ader in 1890. Unlike many early flying machines, the Éole did not attempt to fly by flapping its wings, but was to rely on the lift generated by its wings (mechanical copies of bat wings). Its steam engine was an unusually light weight design and drove a propeller at the front of the aircraft. The machine lacked means for the pilot to control the direction of flight.
On October 9, 1890, the machine achieved a short flight of around 50 m (164 ft) at the Chateau d'Armainvilliers in Brie. It reached a height of around 20 cm (8 in). The poor power-to-weight ratio of the steam engine and bad weather were felt to limit the flying height achieved. Ader later claimed to have flown the Éole again in September 1891, this time to a distance of 100 m (328 ft), but this claim is less substantiated.
The Éole is considered by some to be the first true aeroplane, given that it left the ground under its own power and carried a person through the air for a short distance; and therefore consider the event of October 9 to be the first flight. However, the lack of directional control and the dead-end that steam-powered aircraft were doomed to reach weigh against these claims. Ader's proponents have claimed that the Wright's early airplanes required a catapult to take off, however the Wrights did not use a catapult for their first flights in 1903, though they did for many flights in 1904 and later.
Modern attempts to recreate and evaluate the craft have met with mixed results. A full-size replica built in 1990 at the École Centrale Paris crashed on its first flight, injuring its pilot and leading to the termination of the experiment. Scale models, however, have been successfully flown.
[edit] Specifications (Éole)
General characteristics
- Crew: one, pilot
- Length: 6.50 m (21 ft 4 in)
- Wingspan: 14 m (45 ft 11 in)
- Height: ()
- Wing area: 28 m² (301 ft²)
- Empty weight: 226 kg (497 lb)
- Loaded weight: 330 kg (727 lb)
- Powerplant: 1× Ader alcohol-burning steam engine, 15 kW (20 hp)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 252 km/h (knots, 158 mph)
- Range: 50 m (164 ft)
- Service ceiling 20 cm (8 in)
- Wing loading: 8 kg/m² (2.4 lb/ft²)
- Power/mass: 0.05 kW/kg (0.0000006 hp/lb)
[edit] See also
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