Why am I passionate about this?
I am working and lecturing on experimental aerodynamics since decades and started flying hang gliders and powered aircraft long ago. And the older I got, the more I became fascinated by daring adventures with historical content, especially related to the history of flight and the early aeronautical pioneers. But the most I was fascinated by Otto Lilienthal, the man who worked systematically towards flight before and finally succeeded flying with nothing else than willow wood, fabric, and steel wires, materials that existed already long before. Inspired by his attitude and courage I started investigating and flying museum made authentic replicas in California to prove their flying qualities a second time.
Markus' book list on daring adventures with historical content
Why did Markus love this book?
This book focuses on Octave Chanute's work in aeronautics.
He is best known for his scientific and collaborative support of the Wright Brothers. But as the author clearly demonstrates, this engineer's contributions to the field of aviation have often been underestimated, even though almost every famous and not-so-famous aviation enthusiast contacted him and used the readily available drawings of his glider to build and then learn to fly their own design.
Chanute's biplane glider design, developed and first flown in 1896 in the Indiana Dunes along Lake Michigan, proved to be a key step in the evolution of the flying machine.
By freely sharing not only drawings of the general design of this aircraft, but also the lessons learned, the biplane became the starting point or prototype for many experimenters and can be considered the foundation of the modern airplane.
1 author picked Flight Not Improbable as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
This book is a must-read for all those interested in the evolution of airplanes.
Its protagonist, Octave Chanute, is best known for his scientific and collaborative approach to the engineering problems related to the development of flight and for the support he gave to the many aeronautical pioneers, including the Wright Brothers. But, as the author clearly demonstrates, this engineer's contributions in the aeronautical field have frequently been underestimated, even though almost every famous and not so famous aeronautical enthusiast contacted him and used the readily available drawings of his glider to build and then learn to fly in their…