Alexander Mozhaysky

Alexander Fyodorovich Moschaiski (Russian Александр Фёдорович Можайский, scientific transliteration Aleksandr Fedorovic Možajskij; * Märzjul 9 / 21 March 1825greg in Kotka, .. .. † 20 Märzjul / 1 April 1890greg in Saint Petersburg ) was a Russian naval officer and aviation pioneer. In 1883 he built the first car equipped with a steam engine powered aircraft in the history of his country.

Life

He drove many years of his life at sea and was probably confronted by observations of albatrosses with the problem of flying. Through the construction of kites that were used at that time for the transmission of signals and making cable connections on many ships, he learned the principle Heavier than air know.

Around 1860, he decided to devote himself to the construction of flying machines. The first natural flight tests he conducted in 1875 by in southern Russia. He let himself be tied to a kite and drag by horses on a rope into the air to test the strength of wings.

By the way he operated lift and drag measurements, he found out that the best angle of attack plane surfaces 5-15 °. In 1876 he led in St. Petersburg before a flight model. It was equipped with a clock and able to independently raise into the air. On November 3, 1881, he settled a patent on an aircraft issue with a steam engine and set off on the search for donors to realize this project. With great difficulty - the state commissions refused for a long time to approve funding for the project - the construction was completed in 1883. The costs had devoured nearly 20,000 rubles and Moschaiski financially ruined. With this model to 1882-1886 flight tests have been carried out, two unproven flights in 1884 at Krasnoje Selo near Saint Petersburg with a width of 65 or 100 feet. That these attempts were not successful overall, suggests the fact that Moschaiski in the following years, no improvements to the aircraft undertook, but tried to create more steam engines to offset their large mass with more power. In the course of these efforts Moschaiski died.

His flying machine had an air mass of 934 kg and a wing area of ​​300 square meters and was equipped with three steam engines together with 50 hp ( 2 x 20 hp and 1 x 10 HP ) equipped.

The last flight apparatus of Moschaiski was equipped with two steam engines ( total output of 60 hp and weight of 21 poods (1 pood = 16 kg) ) equipped. The performance would be, according to the conclusion of the TsAGI (performed in 1982 ) is sufficient for departure.

The public took little notice of his flight tests. At this time, the possibilities for airplanes with steam engines were very limited. The steam engines were too heavy.