“Skae Nao Hem Open”!
“FEELING for want for flae hem old olsem man tu,” hem nao savvyman Berthold Laufer talem long The Prehistory of Aviation. History record bilong olketa kastom story bilong Greece, Egypt, Assyria, and long Asia, garem planti story abaotem olketa king, god, and olketa nara bigman wea trae hard for garem paoa for flae. Long klosap evri story hia, olketa man followim flae bilong olketa bird wea garem wing.
Example, olketa Chinese storyim disfala wise and strong Emperor Shun, wea olketa talemsay hem stap winim 2,000 year bifor Jesus Kraest hem born. Disfala story say, Shun hem pas antap long wanfala stoahaos wea go ahed for burn, so hem wearim feather olsem kaleko, and hem flae go nao. Narafala story say hem jump from wanfala taoa and iusim tufala big gras hat for hem parachute sef go long graon.
Long Greece, olketa garem wanfala story wea 3,000-year old abaotem Daedalus, wanfala nambawan man for draw and workim olketa samting, wea hem mekem olketa wing from feather, rope, and wax mekem hem and son bilong hem Icarus savvy ranawe from Crete, wea olketa stap olsem prisoner. “Skae nao hem open, and hem nao hao iumi bae go,” Daedalus hem say. Firstaem, olketa wing hia barava gud. But Icarus, from hem laekem tumas way wea hem savvy flae thru long skae, hem flae ap hae go-go sun meltim wax wea holem tugeta olketa wing bilong hem. Boy hia hem fall daon for dae long sea.
Olketa story olsem muvim tingting bilong olketa man wea workim olketa samting and savvyman wea laek tumas for flae. Long bifor kam long mek-three century C.E., olketa Chinese buildim and traem olketa kite, wea showimaot hao olketa meanim samfala principle bilong way for flae longfala taem bifor eniwan long Europe traem diswan. Long mek-15 century, Giovanni da Fontana, wanfala doctor from Venice, traem olketa rocket wea hem workim from timber-and-pepa and hem iusim bursta bilong gunpowder for flaem diswan. Long samting olsem 1420, da Fontana raet: “Tru nao, mi no garem eni daot hao iumi savvy putim wing long man, wea bae mekem hem go ap long air and muv go long nara ples and klaemap olketa taoa and krosim wata.”
Long mek-16 century, Leonardo da Vinci, man for paint, workim karving, and kleva mechanical engineer, hem drawim raf plan for helicopter and parachute and tu for olketa glider wea garem wing wea muv. Pruf stap wea showimaot hao hem workim olketa small example bilong samfala long olketa machine wea hem laek flaem. But, no eniwan long olketa plan bilong da Vinci hem barava gud.
Insaed tufala century bihaen diswan olketa different story kamap abaotem olketa man wea no fraet for taemapem wing long body bilong olketa and trae for flae taem olketa jump from olketa saed hill and taoa. Olketa ‘test pilot’ hia no fraet and barava willing for testim niu samting—but hard work bilong olketa barava fail evribit.
Olketa Fire Balloon and “Air Wea Savvy Burn”
Long 1783 nius abaotem niu samting long way for flae hem kamap long Paris and olketa province bilong France. Tufala brata, Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier, faendemaot hao olketa savvy mekem olketa small pepa balloon for go ap easyeasy long skae taem olketa putim hot air insaed. Firstfala big fire balloon bilong tufala, olsem hao olketa kolem, tufala workim from pepa and kaleko and fulimap withim smok wea smel nogud wea kam from wanfala big fire. Disfala balloon seleva hem go ap kasem winim 1,800 meter long firstaem hem go ap. Long November 21, 1783, disfala balloon karim tufala passenger—wea pablik kolem olketa aeronaut—long wanfala 25-minute raed antap long Paris. Insaed datfala sem year, narafala man for workim samting, Jacques Charles, showimaot long pablik firstfala balloon wea iusim gas, wea hem fulimap withim hydrogen, or “air wea savvy burn,” olsem olketa kolem.
Taem balloon technology kamap moabeta, skae start for kwiktaem nomoa “open” long olketa aeronaut wea willing for traem niu samting. Long 1784, olketa balloon go ap kasem winim 3,400 meter. Wanfala year bihaen nomoa, Jean-Pierre-François Blanchard krosim English Channel insaed wanfala hydrogen balloon and karim olketa firstfala airmail leta bilong world. Kasem 1862, olketa aeronaut staka taem travel akrosim Europe and United States and olketa savvy flae hae winim eit kilometer!
But olketa aeronaut hia barava depend long wind nomoa; olketa no savvy kontrolem direction or speed bilong olketa balloon. Taem olketa workim olketa airship wea iusim fuel and electrik long mek-tu haf bilong mek-19 century, diswan mekem man fit for kontrol lelebet, but plane wea laet-winim-air and wea luk olsem sausage hem muv slow tumas—staka taem midolwan 10 and 30 kilometer long wan hour. Niufala idea need for kamap sapos man bae “go ap long air and muv go long nara ples,” olsem da Fontana talem firstaem.
[Piksa long page 4]
Kastom story Daedalus and Icarus
[Piksa long page 4]
Leonardo da Vinci
[Credit Line]
From buk Leonardo da Vinci, 1898
[Piksa long page 4]
Tufala Montgolfier brata wea designim firstfala hot-air balloon wea karim passenger