Warringah
Radio Control
Society Incorporated (Incorporated under the Association Incorporation Act 1984) LATERAL CONTROL
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| Warringah
Radio Control
Society Incorporated (Incorporated under the Association Incorporation Act 1984) LATERAL CONTROL
|
| A fair amount of flying experimentation had already been accomplished
in the U.S. and in Europe by the late 1800's. Otto Lilienthal's published
wing-lift tables were the design basis for Octave Chanute's semi-successful
multi-wing gliders and for Langley's first model "Aerodromes". Hiram Maxim,
famous for inventing the machine gun, built a four-ton behemoth powered
by a 360 horsepower steam engine which lifted a few feet off the ground
in restrained flight. In an earlier article we had a look at the possible
role of Gustave Whitehead in aviation history, but what is clear is that
he did not solve the lateral control problem that confronted all flying
enthusiasts from the outset.
The Wrights were inspired by the accomplishments of Otto Lilienthal and their efforts encouraged by the enthusiastic support of Octave Chanute. Chanute had written a comprehensive book on flying achievements up to that time and using Lilenthal's wing data, he designed and built gliders that today are considered classics. The Wrights built a machine from scratch, with their own hands, selecting materials for strength and light weight at a time when few such materials were available; designing and assembling every inch, piece by piece of wood, wire and fabric. They flew their finished glider, manned and unmanned, first as a kite, then in free-flight. This first aircraft was based on Lilienthal's wing design data and flew fairly well. It also incorporated elements of the box-kite designs of Lawrence Hargraves who held an 'exalted' position in world aviation during his lifetime which is now disregarded as merely a maker and flier of kites. The basic biplane structure with parallel wing leading and trailing edges of the successful "Wright Flyer" should owe some debt to Hargrave and his box-kite. Lilienthal proved that aviation was possible but fatal, Hargrave proved that it was possible and safe and thus Hargrave's stable box-kite structure was used as a basis for flying machines by both the Wrights and by Alberto Santos Dumont's "14bis" (recognised as the first to achieve powered, controlled flight in Europe) rather than the 'cranky' Lilienthal glider.
The Wrights patented wing-warping before their first powered flight including as well the broad concept of lateral control as necessary to successful flight. A further addition to their patent, which would prove to be a problem to them in their later litigations, was that vertical rudder corrections were necessary during wing-warping. This was a characteristic peculiar to their "Flyers" which tended to steer when the wings were twisted. They did not recognize that future refinements in lateral control would preclude this. The Wrights' patent was based on the application they had submitted in 1903 that had included a detailed description and drawings of their control system as applied to a glider. Their application described wing warping, as well as the entire system that allowed the aircraft to be controlled in forward flight. The Wrights had also stated in their application that a feature like ailerons could provide lateral control. Despite having a patent by the Wrights, the concept of lateral control was so basic to any aircraft design that without it no aircraft could have flown successfully. In Europe little attention was paid to the patents; European aircraft designers blatantly copied the Wrights' lateral control concepts for several years to come. On September 30, 1907, the Aerial Experiment Association (AEA), was established as a brainchild of the inventor Alexander Graham Bell. The group consisted of a group of aviation enthusiasts Bell had drawn together to build a practical airplane using his wife's funds, Glenn Curtiss was one of the members. When an AEA member, Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge, wrote to the Wrights in January 1908 for information about aircraft construction, the Wrights answered and referred him to their patent and other publications for more details. The AEA's first aircraft was the Selfridge designed "Red Wing" (named after the color of its cloth wing covering), which was tested on March 12, 1908, in Hammondsport, New York. It looked much like a Wright biplane, but did not incorporate wing warping. It was immediately realised that lateral control was required. Dr. Bell and his boys were familiar with the Wrights' patent but had no intention of infringing on that design, particularly since everything they did was in the public eye. Bell conceived a new approach; a small independent hinged surface at each of the four wingtips controlled by cords and a harness in the same manner as wing-warping. This surface subsequently became known as the aileron, "little wing" in French; its effect was markedly superior to wing-warping. "White Wing" was the first airplane in history to incorporate ailerons, followed every airplane subsequently built by the AEA. The Wrights had corresponded with the AEA from time to time, reminding them that they held lateral control patents for which they expected royalties if the Association's aircraft were sold commercially or reaped a profit from exhibition fees. Bell nevertheless applied for a patent on the Hammondsport airplanes entitled, "A New and Useful Improvement in Flying Machines", citing 28 innovations. These included Bell's ailerons, although they were not referred to as such in the patent, but their operation was described in detail. The patent was granted in December, 1911 to the chagrin of the Wrights. Bell did not believe the Wrights had a case on the aileron issue; the AEA's airplanes were designed for strength and rigidity; wing-warping was impossible and undesirable. The aileron was a device far advanced from the crude methods of the Wrights
Lawyers attempted to bring Curtiss and the Wrights together for an amicable settlement, but had no success. Wilbur died of typhoid fever in 1912, the Wright family blamed Curtiss, claiming that Wilbur had lost his health over concern for the patent litigation. The final verdict came in 1913. Orville Wright, now without Wilbur, was the unmistakable winner. All delays and appeals had been exhausted. The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ordered Curtiss to cease making airplanes "with two ailerons that operated simultaneously in opposite directions". Curtiss visited Henry Ford who had earlier won a patent action relating to the automobile, Ford advised Curtiss to use Ford's lawyer. The lawyer encouraged Curtiss to bait Orville to reopen the litigation by devising a new configuration for lateral control using a single aileron situated between the two wings but only on one side, Curtis did this although the plane did not fly as efficiently. Ford's lawyer was able to persuade the court to temporarily stay the old verdict, and the legal battles started again. As a further attempt to influence the litigation, in 1914 Curtiss agreed to try to fly the Langley "Aerodrome" that hung in the Smithsonian. The idea was to persuade the court that Curtiss' plane was based on Langley's design, not on the Wrights'. The attempt was unsuccessful, Curtiss' attempt at getting the "Aerodrome" to fly required so many specifications as to spoil any claims that it was flightworthy. The suit finally ended with the advent of World War I when the aircraft manufacturers established the Manufacturers' Aircraft Association to coordinate wartime aircraft manufacturing in the U.S. and formed a patent pool with the approval of the U.S. government. All patent litigation ceased automatically, royalties were reduced to 1% and free exchange of inventions and ideas took place among all the airframe builders. This arrangement was to have lasted only for the duration of the war, but in 1918, the litigation was never renewed. By this time, Orville had sold his interest in the Wright Company to a group of New York financiers and had retired from the business. As a final twist, the Curtiss and the Wright Companies merged in 1928 to form the Curtiss-Wright Corporation. |
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