Otto Liliental German engineer, one of the pioneers of aviation Date of Birth: 23.05.1848 Country: Germany

Biography of Otto Lilienthal

Otto Lilienthal, a German engineer and one of the pioneers of aviation, was born on May 23, 1848, in the small town of Anklam, located in Pomerania. From a young age, Lilienthal was fascinated by the sky. He also had a passion for sculpting clay figurines, but at his parents' insistence, he attended a trade school in Potsdam.

At the age of fourteen, Lilienthal conducted his first experiment. He built small wings and jumped off the roof of one of the farm buildings. Fortunately, his attempt to fly resulted in only a few bruises.

In 1866, Lilienthal began an internship at the Schwarzkopf factory, and later he was invited to join the company's design department. He had a brother who shared his interest in aircraft design, and together they constructed gliders that showed promising results. In 1870, Lilienthal graduated from the Royal Trade Academy and served in the army, participating in the Franco-Prussian War. After his military service, Lilienthal continued his research in the field of aviation.

In the autumn of 1881, Lilienthal founded his own company in the capital of Germany, where he initially produced boilers. The success of his new venture led him to establish a separate division focused on creating flying devices. His research can be divided into three periods.

The first period, which began in 1871 and lasted for about three years, involved Lilienthal experimenting with various constructions, eventually leading to the creation of wings with slightly uneven surfaces.

The second phase of his research began in 1888 when Lilienthal started conducting test flights to analyze and improve his theories. In 1889, he published his groundbreaking book "Birdflight as the Basis of Aviation," which impressed aviation pioneers around the world. Mechanics such as the Wright brothers from the United States, French researcher Ferber, and Russian scientist Zhukovsky carefully studied Lilienthal's book. However, Lilienthal continued his experiments and began applying the knowledge described in his book practically.

In 1889, Lilienthal built a monoplane glider, followed by another similar device the following year. These gliders served as his first aircraft on which he performed several jumps and short flights. In 1891, Lilienthal constructed a third glider with tail stabilizers and a total wing area of 10 square meters. Near Berlin, Lilienthal finally managed to achieve a flight distance of 25 meters, marking the beginning of a new era in aviation.

Later on, Lilienthal and his brother discovered a suitable elevation for takeoffs and landings near Lichtenfelde, with a height of approximately 15 meters. They built a new apparatus in 1892, which had twice the wingspan compared to previous models. However, due to its large size and weight, it was impossible to take off in strong winds. Eventually, Lilienthal decided to focus on gliders with wings not exceeding 7 meters.

In 1892, the Lilienthal brothers built a special launching tower for their aircraft. It was from this tower that Lilienthal made his first flight on a glider with a wing area of 14 square meters, weighing 20 kilograms. Interestingly, this glider was foldable. Lilienthal managed to cover a distance of about 200 meters with this apparatus.

During this time, Lilienthal also began giving lectures, for which he received decent payment. The brothers also earned a stable income from selling photographs and advertisements. Their boiler manufacturing business continued to thrive and generate profits.

Throughout his career, Otto Lilienthal constructed 18 flying devices and made approximately 2000 flights. He had students in many countries around the world. In 1896, an American physicist named Wood not only photographed Lilienthal during his flight but also tried photographing from the air during his own gliding experiments. Wood later acquired Lilienthal's apparatus.

Many American colleagues, such as Langley, Herring, and Pilcher, who were developing aviation in their own country, visited Lilienthal. Langley, in particular, was the first scientist to design an airplane. When Lilienthal learned about Langley's achievement, he decided to attach an engine to his glider to increase the flight distance. He used an engine powered by natural gas, rotating a propeller with six blades. However, the engine lacked the power to lift such an apparatus into the air. The same happened with a two-cylinder engine that used carbon dioxide as fuel, similar to the principle of a steam engine.

In his ninth glider, Lilienthal added a parachute in the form of straight elastic strips integrated into the nose of the structure. This parachute provided the pilot with a means of ensuring a safe landing when the glider reached its peak.

For his eleventh glider, Lilienthal invented a special control system using cables to steer the aircraft.

In 1895, Lilienthal switched to producing biplanes due to their ability to reduce wingspan while maintaining their lifting properties. During this time, he also developed special rods for adjusting the curvature of the wings during flight. This marked the introduction of the term "warping" in aviation.

On August 3, 1896, Lilienthal was testing his latest apparatus, a biplane with a height control system. He strapped the apparatus to his shoulders, ran, and took off. His assistant, Bailey, was present to record the flight time. However, tragedy struck when the biplane rapidly gained altitude, abruptly slowed down, momentarily hovered in the air, and then plummeted from a height of approximately 30 meters.

Otto Lilienthal crashed to the ground, fracturing his third cervical vertebra. Despite the efforts of doctors, they were unable to save the great German inventor. Lilienthal sacrificed himself in pursuit of humanity's dream and forever secured his well-deserved place in the history of aviation.