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Destination Tomorrow - DT4 - Flexible Wing

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Subido el 28 de mayo de 2007 por EducaMadrid

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NASA Destination Tomorrow Segment explaining the history of the flexible wing and the existence of the hang glider.

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For centuries, man has dreamed of flying. 00:00:00
Early artists and inventors, including Leonardo da Vinci and Otto Lilienthal, drew sketches 00:00:09
and even built primitive hang gliders in the effort to soar with the birds. 00:00:14
In the 1940s, a pioneering young NASA researcher named Francis Regalo developed a new design 00:00:18
called the Flexible Wing. 00:00:24
This design was not only considered for use in the Gemini and Apollo space programs, but 00:00:26
also spawned the birth of hang gliding as a recreational sport. 00:00:31
In the early 1960s, astronauts in the space program returned to Earth from space using 00:00:35
parachutes deployed from a capsule. 00:00:40
These parachutes enabled the capsule to splash down into the ocean safely. 00:00:42
Although this proven technology was successful, NASA planners began looking for an alternative 00:00:46
to the re-entry parachute. 00:00:51
Many at NASA felt that astronauts should have more control over a capsule, rather than 00:00:54
just landing in the ocean. 00:00:58
In answer to this request, an inventive NASA researcher named Francis Regalo suggested 00:01:00
using his Flexible Wing, or paraglider, to complete the task. 00:01:05
Aerodynamically, a flexible wing works like a rigid wing. 00:01:09
But structurally, it works like a parachute. 00:01:14
So it's that combination of a parachute-like structure with a rigid wing aerodynamic characteristics. 00:01:18
The paraglider idea was intriguing. 00:01:28
Its diamond profile and flexible covering would deploy from the top of the spacecraft 00:01:31
and would fill with air to create drag, thus reducing the speed of the spacecraft. 00:01:35
After the wing was deployed, it was designed to keep its shape with a series of tension 00:01:40
lines. 00:01:44
In theory, the astronauts would then be able to steer the spacecraft and touch down on 00:01:45
land rather than splashing down in the ocean. 00:01:50
Unbeknownst to the NASA planners, Regalo had already been working on the Flexible Wing 00:01:53
design for over 20 years. 00:01:57
Originally, Regalo had designed the Flexible Wing to be a low-cost vehicle that anyone 00:02:00
could use to fly. 00:02:04
One of our goals was to make it possible for anybody to fly, because I know in my case 00:02:05
I wanted to fly. 00:02:12
I tried to get in the Army Air Corps and the Navy Air Corps, and none of them wanted me. 00:02:14
And I thought, well, gee, and I didn't have the money to do it on my own. 00:02:21
It was so expensive. 00:02:28
And so I had to find some way that anybody could do it with almost no money cost, and 00:02:30
I did. 00:02:40
Ironically, most of the work on this wing had not been done at NASA, but by Regalo and 00:02:41
his wife at their home. 00:02:46
In fact, the early models of the Flexible Wing were actually made from the Regalo's 00:02:48
living room curtains. 00:02:52
Regalo's paraglider concept was tested in wind tunnels and flight tested at NASA for 00:02:55
over two years, but ultimately, the NASA planners decided to use the proven parachute reentry 00:02:59
system over the paraglider. 00:03:04
Although NASA didn't use this idea for the space program, word began to spread about 00:03:07
this new lightweight wing. 00:03:12
By the early 1970s, Regalo's Flexible Wing had given birth to the new sport of hang gliding. 00:03:14
Humans have wanted to fly for hundreds of years, but they just weren't able to do it. 00:03:20
And now, anybody who wants to can do it. 00:03:29
It's simple and easy and cheap because of our invention of Flexible Wings. 00:03:34
Today, millions of people have flown hang gliders worldwide. 00:03:42
Regalo's Flexible Wing has also inspired the design of paragliders, kites, and revolutionary 00:03:47
parachutes. 00:03:52
Regalo's Flexible Wing has not only proven to be reliable, inexpensive, and safe, but 00:03:53
has allowed people to be introduced to the adventures and challenges of aviation. 00:03:58
Mr. Regalo still hang glides on occasion off the dunes at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. 00:04:06
Coming up, we find out how NASA tests aircraft tires at over 250 miles per hour. 00:04:11
But first, did you know that engineer Otto Lilienthal developed 18 different gliders 00:04:16
between 1892 and 1896? 00:04:20
Described by many as the world's first true aviator, Lilienthal's designs were used by 00:04:23
many aviation pioneers, including the Wright Brothers. 00:04:27
Tragically, Lilienthal was killed in 1896 while flying one of his own gliders. 00:04:31
His last words? 00:04:35
Sacrifices must be made. 00:04:36
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Idioma/s:
en
Niveles educativos:
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Autor/es:
NASA LaRC Office of Education
Subido por:
EducaMadrid
Licencia:
Reconocimiento - No comercial - Sin obra derivada
Visualizaciones:
526
Fecha:
28 de mayo de 2007 - 17:04
Visibilidad:
Público
Enlace Relacionado:
NASAs center for distance learning
Duración:
04′ 40″
Relación de aspecto:
4:3 Hasta 2009 fue el estándar utilizado en la televisión PAL; muchas pantallas de ordenador y televisores usan este estándar, erróneamente llamado cuadrado, cuando en la realidad es rectangular o wide.
Resolución:
480x360 píxeles
Tamaño:
27.21 MBytes

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