Flying into the Future

I have recently found some interesting fact about the development and growth of aviation over the years.  I was perusing over an interesting site on some of the most profound technological advancements of the last century when I stumbled upon a nice time line of the development of the modern airplane.


The timeline covered many of the commonly well known events such as the Wright Brothers, the Battle of Brittan, the developments of Boeing, and the Concord.  However, there were a handful of events that have played a crucial role on the development of the modern airplane of which I was previously unaware.  Here is a sample of a few of those great less know discoveries.



1904 - Concept of a fixed "boundary layer" described in paper by Ludwig Prandtl

German professor Ludwig Prandtl presents one of the most important papers in the history of aerodynamics, an eight-page document describing the concept of a fixed "boundary layer," the molecular layer of air on the surface of an aircraft wing. Over the next 20 years Prandtl and his graduate students pioneer theoretical aerodynamics. A review of his studies can be found in a free online PDF here. http://www.math.lsa.umich.edu/~krasny/math654_prandtl.pdf It is so crazy to think that this genius was able to combine the core idea of aerodynamic lift into a short simple but profound essay.  (When asked why he only wrote 8 pages he explained he was preparing for a 10 minute presentation and thats all he could explain in the time constraint.) 1917 - The Junkers J4, an all-metal airplane, introduced  Hugo Junkers, a German professor of mechanics introduces the Junkers J4, an all-metal airplane built largely of a relatively lightweight aluminum alloy called duralumin. In light of WWI a new stronger and more durable airplane was necessary.  Junkers, a German company, took up the challenge and designed a new durable plane that was built for the rigors of war.  Although two late to make a significant impact for WWI, the developments would lead to a greater impact of a strong air force in WWII, namely the German Luftwaffe. To see more information of th modern developments of Junkers, look here .http://www.junkers.de/visionen/ 1939 - First practical singlerotor helicopters Russian emigre Igor Sikorsky develops the VS-300 helicopter for the U.S. Army, one of the first practical singlerotor helicopters. Here is a short clip describing Igor Sikorsky and his incredible aviation accomplishments. 1947 - Sound barrior broken U.S. Air Force pilot Captain Charles "Chuck" Yeager becomes the fastest man alive when he pilots the Bell X-1 faster than sound for the first time on October 14 over the town of Victorville, California. For more information see here... http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/history/q0113.shtml