Steam aircraft
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Steam aircraft are aircraft that are propelled by steam engines. They were unusual devices because of the difficulty in producing a powerplant with a high enough power to weight ratio to be practical. They are distinct from airships that use steam as their lifting gas which are known as thermal airships.
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[edit] History
- 1842: The Aerial Steam Carriage of William Samuel Henson and John Stringfellow was patented, but was never successful, although a steam-powered model was flown in 1848.
- 1852: Henri Giffard flies a 3 horsepower (2 kW) steam-powered dirigible over Paris; it was the first powered aircraft.
- 1894: Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim (inventor of the Maxim Gun) built and tested a large steam powered aircraft. The machine generated sufficient lift and thrust to break free of the test track and fly but was never operated as a piloted aircraft.
- 1902: Louis Gagnon flew a steam helicopter in Rossland, British Columbia, called the "Flying Steam Shovel". Control problems caused a crash.
- 1930s: George D. Besler and William J. Besler's prototype steam biplane, based on a Travel Air 2000, flew several times at Oakland airport. It was powered by a two-cylinder, 150 hp reciprocating engine designed by the Doble Steam Motors Company and Besler weighing about 500 lbs[1] and was capable of STOL operation due to the ease of reversing the thrust.[2]
- 1944: A steam-powered version of the Messerschmitt Me 264a was mooted but never constructed. This was to have been powered by a steam turbine developing over 6,000 horsepower and driving a 5.3 meter (17' 6") diameter propeller. The fuel would have been a mixture of powdered coal and petroleum. The main advantages to this powerplant were considered to be constant power at all altitudes and simple maintenance.[3]
- 1960s: Some work was done by Don Johnson of Thermodynamic Systems Inc. Newport Beach, CA on creating a steam-powered helicopter using a steam engine of 150 horsepower installed in a Hughes 300 helicopter. The steam engine was a compact cylindrical double-acting uniflow [similar in layout to the Dyna-Cam Aero engine] built by Controlled Steam Dynamics, Inc.
[edit] External links
- Site dedicated to steam-powered dirigibles
- Report on the Besler aircraft
- The Besler Steam Plane
- Flying By Steam, by David Sarlin
- article published in Light Steam Power
- Besler Corporation Promo Film: Steam-Driven Vehicles
[edit] Notes
- ^ “Flight by Steam”, TIME, April 24 1933, <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,769820,00.html>
- ^ The Besler Steam-Driven Aeroplane. flyingkettle.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-06.
- ^ Messerschmitt Me 264. luft46.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-06.
[edit] References
- The Lore of Flight, 1986, The First Powered Hops, Historical Section, pg 38. Taylor, John William Ransom [Ed.], Crescent Books, New York ISBN 0-517-18348-X
- Air Progress magazine, July 1969; Aeronews, p. 20 Steamed Up Over Chopper Power
- Daily Pilot, Thursday October 9, 1969 pg. 3 Speedy Steam Engine by Arthur R. Vinsel
