Otto Lilienthal

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Otto Lilienthal (23 May 1848 – 10 August 1896), the German "Glider King", was a pioneer of human aviation. He was the first person to make repeated successful short flights in a fixed-wing heavier-than-air glider, following an experimental approach to gliding first established earlier in the century by Sir George Cayley. Photographs of him in the air were published internationally and influenced public and scientific opinion about the possibility of flying machines becoming practical reality after ages of idle fantasy and unscientific tinkering.

He made his glides from an artificial hill he built near Berlin and also from natural hills, especially in the Rhinow region.

While Lilienthal's lifelong pursuit was flight, he was also an inventor and devised a small engine that worked on a system of tubular boilers. His engine was much safer than the other small engines of the time. This invention gave him the financial freedom to quit his job and focus on aviation. His brother Gustav was living in Australia at the time, and Otto did not partake in any aviation experiments until his brother's return in 1886.

Lilienthal's greatest contribution was to the development of heavier-than-air flight. Working in conjunction with his brother Gustav, he made over 2000 flights in gliders of his design starting in 1891 with his first glider version, the Derwitzer, until his death in a gliding crash in 1896. Lilienthal did basic research in precisely describing the flight of birds, especially of storks, and used polar diagrams for describing the aerodynamics of their wings. Lilienthal helped to prove that heavier-than-air flight was practical without flapping wings, laying the groundwork for the Wright brothers a few years later to build the first successful powered aircraft. His unpowered glider required body shifting for control, much like modern hang gliders.

Lilienthal suffered a number of crashes in his experiments, but his glider could only reach low speeds and altitudes. On 9 August 1896, however, a gust of wind fractured his wing and he fell from a height of 17 m (56 ft), breaking his spine. He died the next day, saying, "Opfer müssen gebracht werden!" ("Sacrifices must be made!")

Lilienthal's work was well known to the Wright Brothers, and they credited him as a major inspiration for their decision to pursue manned flight. However, they abandoned his aeronautical data after two seasons of gliding and began using their own wind tunnel data.

[edit] In fiction

A fictional characterization of Lilienthal was resurrected as an evil clone in the Japanese Read or Die (2001) novels, anime, and manga.

[edit] Quote

To design a flying machine is nothing. To build one is something. But to fly is everything. (Airplanes didn't exist in Lilienthal's lifetime; the vernacular of the time was 'flying machine'.)

[edit] External links

Lilienthal Museum
Lilienthal's appendix From Chanute's book Progress in Flying Machines 1893. Well worth reading, from the man himself.
Movies and simulations

Image:Lilienthalgleiter modelle.jpg

Persondata
NAME	Lilienthal, Otto
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	German aviation pioneer
DATE OF BIRTH	May 23 1848
PLACE OF BIRTH	Anklam, Germany
DATE OF DEATH	August 10 1896
PLACE OF DEATH	Berlin, Germany