Otto Lilienthal Essay

The reason for this research paper is to show support of how the work done by Otto Lilienthal with manned gliders, aeronautical theory, aerodynamics, and his untimely death during a manned glider flight, sparked the interest of the Wright Brothers enough to have them pursue their own path into the science of aviation. This eventually led them to complete their successful flight at Kitty Hawk. Granted, the Wright Brothers did read into aviation research that other aviation pioneers developed, but it was Otto Lilienthal that really pushed them to start pursuing a life in aviation. This demonstrates how if aviation pioneers of the past did not make the advancements that they had made in aircraft design, aerodynamics, and aeronautical theory that we enjoy today then the aviation pioneers that came after them would not have been able to make the improved advancements in their respective aviation fields. Otto Lilienthal was born in Pomerania, Germany in 1848 and at a young age, he already had an interest in the world of

What this means is that a bird will use more mechanical energy, flapping its wings, to take off from the ground and break the hold that gravity has on it. Once the bird is at an altitude that it wants to be at it will spend less mechanical energy to stay in flight since it is more or less gliding through the air. With knowing this, the same would hold true to an aircraft. Since Otto Lilienthal was using gliders he would have to run down a hill or jump off of a platform to achieve flight. So his body was exerting more mechanical energy for him and his glider to break the hold that gravity had on it to achieve lift. Once he and his glider were in the air however, it would just take him make small adjustments to the angle of attack of the wings to sustain the