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50-603: Alenia Aermacchi was a company active in the aeronautics sector, with offices and plants in Venegono Superiore , Varese , Turin Airport in San Maurizio Canavese , Province of Turin and Pomigliano d'Arco , Province of Naples . From 1 January 2016, the activities of Alenia Aermacchi merged into Leonardo 's Aircraft and Aerostructures Division. Alenia Aermacchi was created on 1 January 2012 as

100-482: A controlled amount of the substance. Francesco Lana de Terzi measured the pressure of air at sea level and in 1670 proposed the first scientifically credible lifting medium in the form of hollow metal spheres from which all the air had been pumped out. These would be lighter than the displaced air and able to lift an airship . His proposed methods of controlling height are still in use today; by carrying ballast which may be dropped overboard to gain height, and by venting

150-472: A distance of nine kilometers. After 25 minutes, the balloon landed between the windmills, outside the city ramparts, on the Butte-aux-Cailles . Enough fuel remained on board at the end of the flight to have allowed the balloon to fly four to five times as far. However, burning embers from the fire were scorching the balloon fabric and had to be daubed out with sponges. As it appeared it could destroy

200-437: A family of paper manufacturers. Their parents were Pierre Montgolfier (1700–1793) and Anne Duret (1701–1760), who had 16 children. Pierre Montgolfier established his eldest son, Raymond (1730–1772), as his successor. Joseph-Michel was the 12th child. Described as a maverick and dreamer, he was impractical in terms of business and personal affairs. Étienne was the 15th child, had a much more even and businesslike temperament and

250-474: A four-person screw-type helicopter, have severe flaws. He did at least understand that "An object offers as much resistance to the air as the air does to the object." ( Newton would not publish the Third law of motion until 1687.) His analysis led to the realisation that manpower alone was not sufficient for sustained flight, and his later designs included a mechanical power source such as a spring. Da Vinci's work

300-604: A lifting gas, though practical demonstration awaited a gas-tight balloon material. On hearing of the Montgolfier Brothers' invitation, the French Academy member Jacques Charles offered a similar demonstration of a hydrogen balloon. Charles and two craftsmen, the Robert brothers, developed a gas-tight material of rubberised silk for the envelope. The hydrogen gas was to be generated by chemical reaction during

350-454: A special gas, which he called "Montgolfier Gas", with a special property he called levity, which is why he preferred smoldering fuel. Joseph then built a box-like chamber 0.9 by 0.9 by 1.2 metres (3 ft × 3 ft × 4 ft) out of very thin wood, and covered the sides and top with lightweight taffeta cloth. He crumpled and lit some paper under the bottom of the box. The contraption quickly lifted off its stand and collided with

400-442: A varnish of alum for fireproofing. The balloon was sky blue and decorated with golden flourishes, signs of the zodiac , and suns. The design showed the intervention of Réveillon. The next test was on 11 September from the grounds of la Folie Titon , close to Réveillon's house. There was some concern about the effects of flight into the upper atmosphere on living creatures. The king proposed to launch two convicted criminals, but it

450-418: Is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction . Rocket engines push rockets forwards simply by throwing their exhaust backwards extremely fast. Rockets for military and recreational uses date back to at least 13th-century China . Significant scientific, interplanetary and industrial use did not occur until the 20th century, when rocketry

500-492: Is most likely that the inventors decided to send a sheep, a duck, and a rooster aloft first. On 19 September 1783, the Aérostat Réveillon was flown with the first living beings in a basket attached to the balloon: a sheep called Montauciel ("Climb-to-the-sky"), a duck and a rooster. The sheep was believed to have a reasonable approximation of human physiology. The duck was expected to be unharmed by being lifted and

550-421: Is the art or practice of aeronautics. Historically aviation meant only heavier-than-air flight, but nowadays it includes flying in balloons and airships. Aeronautical engineering covers the design and construction of aircraft, including how they are powered, how they are used and how they are controlled for safe operation. A major part of aeronautical engineering is aerodynamics , the science of passing through

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600-462: Is widely acknowledged as the founder of modern aeronautics. He was first called the "father of the aeroplane" in 1846 and Henson called him the "father of aerial navigation." He was the first true scientific aerial investigator to publish his work, which included for the first time the underlying principles and forces of flight. In 1809 he began the publication of a landmark three-part treatise titled "On Aerial Navigation" (1809–1810). In it he wrote

650-461: The Rozière. The principle was to use the hydrogen section for constant lift and to navigate vertically by heating and allowing to cool the hot air section, in order to catch the most favourable wind at whatever altitude it was blowing. The balloon envelope was made of goldbeater's skin . The first flight ended in disaster and the approach has seldom been used since. Sir George Cayley (1773–1857)

700-613: The commune Annonay in Ardèche , France. They invented the Montgolfière -style hot air balloon , globe aérostatique, which launched the first confirmed piloted ascent by humans in 1783, carrying Jacques-Étienne. Joseph-Michel also invented the self-acting hydraulic ram (1796) and Jacques-Étienne founded the first paper-making vocational school. Together, the brothers invented a process to manufacture transparent paper . Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier were born into

750-407: The "flying man". He was the first person to make well-documented, repeated, successful flights with gliders , therefore making the idea of " heavier than air " a reality. Newspapers and magazines published photographs of Lilienthal gliding, favourably influencing public and scientific opinion about the possibility of flying machines becoming practical. His work lead to him developing the concept of

800-631: The Bastille, gave a rough landing to its passengers. In June 1784, the Gustave (a hot air balloon christened La Gustave in honour of King Gustav III of Sweden's visit to Lyon) saw the first female aeronaut, Élisabeth Thible . Both brothers invented a process to manufacture transparent paper similar to vellum , imitating the technique of the English, followed by the papermakers Johannot and Réveillon . In 1796, Joseph Michel Montgolfier invented

850-518: The Italian explorer Marco Polo described the Chinese techniques then current. The Chinese also constructed small hot air balloons, or lanterns, and rotary-wing toys. An early European to provide any scientific discussion of flight was Roger Bacon , who described principles of operation for the lighter-than-air balloon and the flapping-wing ornithopter , which he envisaged would be constructed in

900-725: The Portuguese-speaking community, in particular the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale . On 1 December 1783, a few months after the Montgolfiers' first flight, Jacques Alexandre César Charles rose to an altitude of about 3 km (1.9 mi) near Paris in a hydrogen-filled balloon he had developed. In early 1784, the Flesselles balloon, named after the unfortunate Jacques de Flesselles , later to be an early casualty at

950-405: The air becomes compressed, typically at speeds above Mach 1. Transonic flow occurs in the intermediate speed range around Mach 1, where the airflow over an object may be locally subsonic at one point and locally supersonic at another. A rocket or rocket vehicle is a missile , spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine . In all rockets, the exhaust

1000-544: The air. With the increasing activity in space flight, nowadays aeronautics and astronautics are often combined as aerospace engineering . The science of aerodynamics deals with the motion of air and the way that it interacts with objects in motion, such as an aircraft. The study of aerodynamics falls broadly into three areas: Incompressible flow occurs where the air simply moves to avoid objects, typically at subsonic speeds below that of sound (Mach 1). Compressible flow occurs where shock waves appear at points where

1050-409: The animals survived, the king allowed flights with humans. Again in collaboration with Réveillon, Étienne built a 60,000-cubic-foot (1,700 m ) balloon for the purpose of making flights with humans. It was about 23 m (75 ft) tall and about 15 m (49 ft) in diameter. Réveillon supplied rich decorative touches of gold figures on a deep blue background, including fleur-de-lis, signs of

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1100-432: The balloon, Pilâtre took off his coat to stop the fire. The early flights made a sensation. During those first few years, numerous items, such as fans, furniture, handkerchiefs, pencil boxes, umbrella tops, etc., could be found with ballooning images engraved on them. Some items would be celebrating specific ballooning events, while others would be celebrating ballooning itself. In December 1783, father Pierre Montgolfier

1150-428: The capital to make further demonstrations and to solidify the brothers' claim to the invention of flight. Joseph, given his unkempt appearance and shyness, remained with the family. Étienne was the epitome of sober virtues ... modest in clothes and manner... In collaboration with the wallpaper manufacturer Jean-Baptiste Réveillon , Étienne constructed a 37,500-cubic-foot (1,060 m ) envelope of taffeta coated with

1200-408: The ceiling. Joseph recruited his brother to balloon building by writing, "Get in a supply of taffeta and of cordage, quickly, and you will see one of the most astonishing sights in the world." The two brothers built a similar device, three times larger having a volume 27 times greater. On 14 December 1782 they conducted their very first test flight, using ignited wool and hay as fuel. The lifting force

1250-612: The earliest times, typically by constructing wings and jumping from a tower with crippling or lethal results. Wiser investigators sought to gain some rational understanding through the study of bird flight. Medieval Islamic Golden Age scientists such as Abbas ibn Firnas also made such studies. The founders of modern aeronautics, Leonardo da Vinci in the Renaissance and Cayley in 1799, both began their investigations with studies of bird flight. Man-carrying kites are believed to have been used extensively in ancient China. In 1282

1300-475: The filling process. The Montgolfier designs had several shortcomings, not least the need for dry weather and a tendency for sparks from the fire to set light to the paper balloon. The manned design had a gallery around the base of the balloon rather than the hanging basket of the first, unmanned design, which brought the paper closer to the fire. On their free flight, De Rozier and d'Arlandes took buckets of water and sponges to douse these fires as they arose. On

1350-413: The first scientific statement of the problem, "The whole problem is confined within these limits, viz. to make a surface support a given weight by the application of power to the resistance of air." He identified the four vector forces that influence an aircraft: thrust , lift , drag and weight and distinguished stability and control in his designs. He developed the modern conventional form of

1400-671: The first self-acting hydraulic ram , a water pump to raise water for his paper mill at Voiron . In 1772, the British clockmaker John Whitehurst had invented its precursor, the "pulsation engine". In 1797, Montgolfier's friend Matthew Boulton took out a British patent on his behalf. In 1816, Joseph Michel's sons obtained a British patent for an improved version of the pump. Both brothers were freemasons in Les Neuf Soeurs lodge in Paris. In 1799, Etienne de Montgolfier died on

1450-476: The fixed-wing aeroplane having a stabilising tail with both horizontal and vertical surfaces, flying gliders both unmanned and manned. He introduced the use of the whirling arm test rig to investigate the aerodynamics of flight, using it to discover the benefits of the curved or cambered aerofoil over the flat wing he had used for his first glider. He also identified and described the importance of dihedral , diagonal bracing and drag reduction, and contributed to

1500-434: The future. The lifting medium for his balloon would be an "aether" whose composition he did not know. In the late fifteenth century, Leonardo da Vinci followed up his study of birds with designs for some of the earliest flying machines, including the flapping-wing ornithopter and the rotating-wing helicopter . Although his designs were rational, they were not based on particularly good science. Many of his designs, such as

1550-400: The gas contained in a second, inner ballonet. On 19 September 1784, it completed the first flight of over 100 km, between Paris and Beuvry , despite the man-powered propulsive devices proving useless. In an attempt the next year to provide both endurance and controllability, de Rozier developed a balloon having both hot air and hydrogen gas bags, a design which was soon named after him as

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1600-522: The lifting containers to lose height. In practice de Terzi's spheres would have collapsed under air pressure, and further developments had to wait for more practicable lifting gases. From the mid-18th century the Montgolfier brothers in France began experimenting with balloons. Their balloons were made of paper, and early experiments using steam as the lifting gas were short-lived due to its effect on

1650-609: The merger of Alenia Aeronautica and its subsidiaries (Alenia) Aermacchi and Alenia SIA. The former Alenia Aeronautica was created in 1990 by concentrating the Finmeccanica aerospace and defense industries Aeritalia and Selenia . Aeronautics A significant part of aeronautical science is a branch of dynamics called aerodynamics , which deals with the motion of air and the way that it interacts with objects in motion, such as an aircraft. Attempts to fly without any real aeronautical understanding have been made from

1700-760: The modern wing. His flight attempts in Berlin in the year 1891 are seen as the beginning of human flight and the " Lilienthal Normalsegelapparat " is considered to be the first air plane in series production, making the Maschinenfabrik Otto Lilienthal in Berlin the first air plane production company in the world. Otto Lilienthal is often referred to as either the "father of aviation" or "father of flight". Other important investigators included Horatio Phillips . Aeronautics may be divided into three main branches, Aviation , Aeronautical science and Aeronautical engineering . Aviation

1750-630: The most common type of rocket and they typically create their exhaust by the combustion of rocket propellant . Chemical rockets store a large amount of energy in an easily released form, and can be very dangerous. However, careful design, testing, construction and use minimizes risks. Montgolfier brothers The Montgolfier brothers – Joseph-Michel Montgolfier ( French: [ʒozɛf miʃɛl mɔ̃ɡɔlfje] ; 26 August 1740 – 26 June 1810) and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier ( [ʒak etjɛn mɔ̃ɡɔlfje] ; 6 January 1745 – 2 August 1799) – were aviation pioneers, balloonists and paper manufacturers from

1800-536: The other hand, the manned design of Charles was essentially modern. As a result of these exploits, the hot air balloon became known as the Montgolfière type and the gas balloon the Charlière . Charles and the Robert brothers' next balloon, La Caroline , was a Charlière that followed Jean Baptiste Meusnier 's proposals for an elongated dirigible balloon, and was notable for having an outer envelope with

1850-500: The paper as it condensed. Mistaking smoke for a kind of steam, they began filling their balloons with hot smoky air which they called "electric smoke" and, despite not fully understanding the principles at work, made some successful launches and in 1783 were invited to give a demonstration to the French Académie des Sciences . Meanwhile, the discovery of hydrogen led Joseph Black in c.  1780 to propose its use as

1900-555: The second to ascend into the air, to an altitude of 80 feet (24 m), which was the length of the tether. On 21 November 1783, the first free flight by humans was made by Pilâtre de Rozier , together with an army officer, the marquis d'Arlandes . The flight began from the grounds of the Château de la Muette close to the Bois de Boulogne park in the western outskirts of Paris. They flew about 3,000 feet (910 m) above Paris for

1950-521: The two brothers, it was Joseph who was first interested in aeronautics; as early as 1775 he built parachutes , and once jumped from the family house. He first contemplated building machines when he observed laundry drying over a fire incidentally form pockets that billowed upwards. Joseph made his first definitive experiments in November 1782 while living in Avignon . He reported some years later that he

2000-410: The understanding and design of ornithopters and parachutes . Another significant invention was the tension-spoked wheel, which he devised in order to create a light, strong wheel for aircraft undercarriage. During the 19th century Cayley's ideas were refined, proved and expanded on, culminating in the works of Otto Lilienthal . Lilienthal was a German engineer and businessman who became known as

2050-666: The way from Lyon to Annonay. His son-in-law, Barthélémy Barou de la Lombardière de Canson (1774–1859), succeeded him as the head of the company, thanks to his marriage with Alexandrine de Montgolfier. The company became Montgolfier et Canson in 1801, then Canson-Montgolfier in 1807. In 1810, Joseph-Michel died in Balaruc-les-Bains. The Montgolfier Company in Annonay still exists under the name Canson. It produces fine art papers, school drawing papers and digital fine art and photography papers sold in 150 countries. In 1983,

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2100-657: The zodiac, and suns with Louis XVI's face in the center interlaced with the royal monogram in the central section. Red and blue drapery and golden eagles were at the base of the balloon. Étienne Montgolfier was the first human to lift off the Earth in a balloon, making a tethered test flight from the yard of the Réveillon workshop in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine , most likely on 15 October 1783. A little while later on that same day, physicist Pilâtre de Rozier became

2150-489: Was constructed of four pieces (the dome and three lateral bands) and held together by 1,800 buttons. A reinforcing fish net of cord covered the outside of the envelope. On 4 June 1783, they flew the balloon at Annonay in front of a group of dignitaries from the états particuliers . The flight covered 2 km (1.2 mi), lasted 10 minutes, and had an estimated altitude of 1,600–2,000 m (5,200–6,600 ft). Word of their success quickly reached Paris. Étienne went to

2200-629: Was elevated to the nobility and the hereditary appellation of de Montgolfier by King Louis XVI of France . Some claim that the hot air balloon was invented about 74 years earlier by the Brazilian/Portuguese priest Bartolomeu de Gusmão . A description of his invention was published in 1709(?) in Vienna, and another one was found in the Vatican in about 1917. However, this claim is not generally recognized by aviation historians outside

2250-575: Was included as a control for effects created by the aircraft rather than the altitude. The rooster was included as a further control as it was a bird that did not fly at high altitudes. The demonstration was performed at the royal palace in Versailles , before King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette and a crowd. The flight lasted approximately eight minutes, covered two miles (3.2 km), and obtained an altitude of about 1,500 feet (460 m). The craft landed safely after flying. Since

2300-443: Was lost after his death and did not reappear until it had been overtaken by the work of George Cayley . The modern era of lighter-than-air flight began early in the 17th century with Galileo 's experiments in which he showed that air has weight. Around 1650 Cyrano de Bergerac wrote some fantasy novels in which he described the principle of ascent using a substance (dew) he supposed to be lighter than air, and descending by releasing

2350-419: Was sent to Paris to train as an architect. After the sudden and unexpected death of Raymond in 1772, he was recalled to Annonay to run the family business. In the subsequent 10 years, Étienne applied his talent for technical innovation to the family business of paper making, which then as now was a high-tech industry. He succeeded in incorporating the latest Dutch innovations of the day into the family mills. Of

2400-469: Was so great that they lost control of their craft. The device floated nearly two kilometers (1.2 mi) but was destroyed after landing by the "indiscretion" of a bypasser. To make a public demonstration and to claim its invention the brothers constructed a globe-shaped balloon of sackcloth tightened with three thin layers of paper inside. The envelope could contain nearly 790 m (28,000 cu ft) of air and weighed 225 kg (496 lb). It

2450-586: Was the enabling technology of the Space Age , including setting foot on the Moon . Rockets are used for fireworks , weaponry, ejection seats , launch vehicles for artificial satellites , human spaceflight and exploration of other planets. While comparatively inefficient for low speed use, they are very lightweight and powerful, capable of generating large accelerations and of attaining extremely high speeds with reasonable efficiency. Chemical rockets are

2500-404: Was watching a fire one evening while contemplating one of the great military issues of the day—an assault on the fortress of Gibraltar , which had proved impregnable from both sea and land . Joseph mused on the possibility of an air assault using troops lifted by the same force that was lifting the embers from the fire. He believed that the smoke itself was the buoyant part and contained within it

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