Che anniversario è oggi? [Archivio] - Hardware Upgrade Forum

GioFX

17-12-2003, 17:31

Da un post di urbanflyer sul forum Skyscraperpage.com:

December 17, 2003 marks 100 years to the day the Wright Brothers mastered the challenge of heavier than air flight on a cold sandblasted day on the beaches of North Carolina. What they helped set in motion we often take for granted today - but the world is a vastly different place because of it.

Aviation altered the course of world history faster than almost all technological development before it (communications, railroads and printing notwithstanding), and only nuclear technology, the auto, and the computer have come close to its impact since.

Not even gunpowder or electricity had the immediate effects of aviation, as both were too expensive and had limited means of expansion for years before they could be implemented across the globe. It took less than 15 years for the achievement of flight to begin to have substantial impact on the world. Less than 50 years after 12/17/03, flying's impact on the world was felt every day. Human conflicts were being determined by the airplane as war machine, the Comet was carrying passengers in 500 mph comfort, transcontinental overnight mail was a regularity, and world leaders no longer had to spend weeks on ships to attend meetings. The world began to shrink at an awesome pace. Not to mention, we gave ourselves a whole new view of things.

As of late, the business end of the aviation world has inevitably taken some hits and progress has been impeded. Design is limited to refinements and making small incremental advancements in light of the tremendous cost and risk of visionary and bold work. I hope those days aren't long gone, but either way, the glory and magic of flight continues onward and upward.

Over the years, numerous individuals have sacrificed their lives, limbs, and financial security to advance our understanding of and ability to fly. I will devote another thread to them. Here's a look at some of the more important aircraft representing technological achievements of the last 100 years

December 17, 2003 - it starts

http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/500/67kittyhawk.jpg

The Curtiss Jenny - the most successful of early wing-fuselage-tail configurations now common today. Glenn Curtiss' engine designs were markedly more powerful than the 12 horsepower offered by the Wright Flyer.

http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/500/67jenny.jpg

The Sopwith Camel - a little over 10 years after the US Army told the Wright Brothers the airplane would never work as a military tool - the first warplanes are born in WWI

http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/500/67camel.jpg

The Soviet Union, not to be outdone, started building planes early. The 1920s vintage Antonov An-2, their first of many successful original designs.

http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/500/67an-2.jpg

The Ryan NYP, home to Charles Lindbergh for his arduous two day nonstop journey across the Atlantic in 1927 - the first.

http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/500/67spirit.jpg

The Douglas DC-2 - the first pure airliner. The Santa Monica and Long Beach planemaker would go on to build over 25,000 of its more famous version, the DC-3. Now people could travel en masse instead of bags of mail.

http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/500/67dc2.jpg

Boeing's B377 'Stratoliner' - the world's first pressurized aircraft. Now turbulent weather could be mostly avoided thanks to finally being able to cruise above 15,000 feet.

http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/500/67b377.jpg

The Boeing B-17 'Flying Fortress' - versatile and hardy bomber that flew the bulk of US raids in Europe during WWII. She was slow but could take a lot of punishment.

http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/500/67b17.jpg

The North American P-51 Mustang - more advanced than Britain's Spitfire, the Mustang was a thorn in the side of both German and Japanese fighters. Her pilots were more than able to protect bombers with her 45,000 foot ceiling and 400+ mph speed.

http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/500/67mustang.jpg

The Messerschmitt Me-262 - the world's first aircraft safely and reliably powered by turbine jet engines. Had Hitler utilized the aircraft to its potential, most historians agree the air war in Europe would have turned out quite badly for the Allies.

http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/500/67me262.jpg

The DeHavilland Comet - the world's first jet civilian transport. This revolutionary entry from Britain introduced high altitude, high speed passenger travel. A series of horrific accidents taught designers much about the then relatively unknown phenomenon of metal fatigue, but ultimately lost the UK's edge in the design race.

http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/500/67comet.jpg

Boeing's B-52 'Stratofortress' - the most successful of Boeing's experiment with big, swept-wing jet bombers in the early 1950s. Gave the Strategic Air Command the ability to send nuclear weapons anywhere in the world, a significant development in the early days of the Cold War.

http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/500/67b-52.jpg

The Boeing 367-80 - Experiments with swept wing bombers like the B-52 gave Boeing invaluable experience in jet design in the 1950s. Boeing banked the whole future of the company on the incredibly expensive and risky project - the protoype of the commercial 707 and military KC-135 tanker first flew in 1954, with the 707 entering commercial service in 1958. The 367-80 was just recently flown for the last time to its final resting place at the Smithsonian's new National Air & Space Museum annex at Washington Dulles airport in Virginia.

http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/500/67707.jpg

The Boeing 727-100 - in the early 1960s, airline travel was still accessible only to the wealthy and business travelers. The 727 and 737 changed that forever with versatility, the ability to use small airports, and lower seat mile costs than ever before. The first production 727 is pictured in San Diego in 1975, 10 years after it first flew. It now resides at the Seattle Museum of Flight at Boeing Field.

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The Boeing 747 - Designed and first flown in less than three years, Boeing's mega-airliner first flew in 1969. Although the 707 had been a smashing success, the growth in air travel had airlines demanding much greater capacity and performance. Boeing once again gambled on the entire company's future, and won. The most recent version of the 747, the -400, shown here, first flew in 1989, and can carry 550 passengers 8,000 miles nonstop at an economical 600 mph. The Airbus A380, an even bigger jetliner, looms on the horizon.

http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/500/67747.jpg

Aerospatiale/BAe Concorde - A joint venture between the French and British governments, Concorde was Europe's answer to US dominance of the commercial jetliner industry in the 1960s. First flown in 1972, Concorde slashed 747 travel times by 2/3 with its Mach 2.3 cruise. Unfortunately, high operating costs and limited service capability due to environmental opposition banished it to a lifetime of novelty travel for the wealthy.

http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/500/67concorde.jpg

The Antonov An-225 'Mriya' - Breaking the size barrier. With an incredible maximum takeoff weight of 1,250,000 lbs, this monster became the largest aircraft to ever take to the skies in 1987. Although only a handful were built, it is still in service as a dedicated freighter of unmatched volume today and turns heads everywhere it goes.

http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/500/67an225.jpg

The Airbus A320 - the highly successful European commercial aircraft design consortium debuted this airliner, a direct 737 competitor, in 1988. The aircraft marked a significant technological breakthrough as the first non military aircraft with a fly by wire control system. Instead of hydraulics and cables, computers interpret pilots' control inputs and instantaneously signal the aicraft's control surfaces, providing a smoother ride and a safety-minded flight control envelope.

http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/500/67a320.jpg

The Boeing 777-200 - America's first fly by wire jetliner features the most advanced commercial engine technology yet seen. The 777 is the first commercial aircraft with the ability to fly 7,000+ miles nonstop on *two* engines. The massive engines developed for the aircraft are at the forefront of the technology curve. No more fuel thirsty than earlier designs, the 777's design requirements call for engines capable of producing upwards of 100,000 lbs of thrust each (100,000 horsepower at sea level).

http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/500/67777.jpg

The giant upcoming Airbus A380...

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