A little bit of engineering (Несколько текстов для зачёта), страница 14

Notable flights following World War I included a nonstop flight of 1170 km (727 mi) from Chicago to New York City in 1919 by Captain E. F. White of the U.S. Army. In 1920 Major Quintin Brand and Captain Pierre Van Ryneveld, of England, flew from Cairo to Cape Town, South Africa. In the same year, five U.S. Army Air Service planes, each carrying a pilot and a copilot-mechanic, with Captain St. Clair Streett in command, flew from New York City to Nome, Alaska, and returned. In other army exploits, Lieutenant James Harold Doolittle, in 1922, made a one-stop flight from Jacksonville, Florida, to San Diego, California.; Lieutenant Oakley Kelly and Lieutenant John A. Macready made the first nonstop transcontinental flight, May 2-3, 1923, from Roosevelt Field, Long Island, to Rockwell Field, San Diego, California, and the first flight completely around the world was made from April 6 to September 28, 1924. Four Liberty-engined Douglas Cruisers, each with two men, left Seattle, Washington, and two returned. One plane had been lost in Alaska, the other in the North Sea; there were no fatalities.

Transoceanic flying began with the flight of the NC-4, the initials denoting Navy-Curtiss. This huge flying boat flew from Rockaway Beach, Long Island, to Plymouth, England, with intermediate stops including Newfoundland, the Azores, and Lisbon, Portugal; the elapsed time was from May 8 to May 31, 1919. The first nonstop transatlantic flight was made by the British aviators John William Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown. They flew from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Clifden, Ireland, June 14-15, 1919, in a little over 16 hours. The fliers won the London Daily Mail prize of $50,000.

The first nonstop solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean was the flight of the American aviator Charles A. Lindbergh from New York City to Paris, a distance of 5810 km (3610 mi) covered in 33.5 hr on May 20-21, 1927. On June 28-29 of the same year Lieutenant Lester J. Maitland and Lieutenant Albert F. Hegenberger (1895-1983) of the U.S. Army made a nonstop flight from California to Hawaii, a distance of 3860 km (2400 mi) in 26 hr. Between August 27 and September 14 two other Americans, William S. Brock and Edward F. Schlee, flew from Newfoundland to Japan, a trip of 19,800 km (12,300 mi).

The first nonstop westward flight by an airplane over the Atlantic was on April 12-13, 1928, by Captain Herman Köhl and Baron Guenther von Hünefeld, Germans, and Captain James Fitzmaurice, an Irishman. They flew from Dublin, Ireland, to Greenly Island, Labrador, a distance of 3564 km (2215 mi). Between May 31 and June 9, 1928, Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles T. P. Ulm, Australian fliers, with Harry W. Lyon and James Warner, Americans, flew the Southern Cross from Oakland, California, to Sydney, Australia, 11,910 km (7400 mi) with stops at Hawaii, the Fiji Islands, and Brisbane, Australia. Three American fliers, Amelia Earhart with pilots Wilmer Stultz and Louis Gordon, crossed the Atlantic from Trepassey Bay, Newfoundland, to Burry Port, Wales, on June 17-18; and from July 3 to 5 Captain Arturo Ferrarin and Major Carlo P. Del Prete, Italian army pilots, made a nonstop flight of 7186 km (4466 mi) across the Atlantic from Rome to Point Genipabu, Brazil.

In 1920 airlines were established for mail and passenger service between Key West, Florida, and Havana, Cuba, and between Seattle, Washington, and Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1921 scheduled transcontinental airmail service between New York City and San Francisco was inaugurated by the U.S. Post Office Department. Congress passed the Kelly Air Mail Act in 1925, authorizing the Post Office Department to contract with air-transport operators for the transportation of U.S. mail. Fourteen domestic airmail lines were established in 1926. Lines were also established and extended between the U.S. and Central and South America and between the United States and Canada.

Between 1930 and 1940, commercial air transportation was greatly expanded, and frequent long-distance and transoceanic flights were undertaken. The transcontinental nonstop flight record was reduced by American aviators flying small planes and, subsequently, transport planes. In 1930 Roscoe Turner flew from New York City to Los Angeles in 18 hr 43 min; Frank Hawks flew from Los Angeles to New York City in 12 hr 25 min. In 1937 Howard Hughes flew from Burbank, California, to Newark, New Jersey, in 7 hr 28 min. In 1939 Ben Kelsey flew from Marsh Field, California, to Mitchell Field, New York, in 7 hr 45 min.

Most of the major countries of the world developed commercial air transportation in varying degrees, with the U.S. gradually gaining ascendancy. On the foundations of the U.S. air-transport industry were built the military-transport commands that played a decisive role in winning World War II.

Largest of all international airlines in operation when World War II began was Pan American Airways, which, with its subsidiaries and affiliated companies, served 47 countries and colonies on 82,000 route miles, linking all continents and spanning most oceans.

The demands of World War II greatly accelerated the further development of aircraft. Important advances were achieved in the development of planes for bombing and combat and for the transportation of parachute troops and of tanks and other heavy equipment. Aircraft became a decisive factor in warfare.

Small aircraft production expanded rapidly. Under the Civilian Pilot Training program of the Civil Aeronautics Administration, private operators expanded their facilities and gave training to thousands of students, who subsequently became the backbone of the army, navy, and marine-air arms. Types of aircraft designed for personal use found extensive military use throughout the world. Large contracts for light planes were awarded by the U.S. Army and Navy in 1941.

During 1941 American military aircraft were in action on all fronts. The number of persons employed in the aviation industry totaled 450,000, compared to about 193,000 employed before World War II. About 3,375,000 passengers, about 1 million more than in 1940, were carried by 18 U.S. airlines. Mail and express loads increased by about 30 percent.

Toward the end of the war, airplane production attained an all-time high, air warfare increased in intensity and extent, and domestic airlines established new passenger- and cargo-carrying records. In the U.S., the number of planes produced in 1944 totaled 97,694, with an average weight of approximately 4770 kg (about 10,500 lb). An outstanding development in the same year was the appearance in air combat of German jet-engined and rocket-propelled fighter planes.

In 1945, U.S. military-aircraft production was sharply curtailed, but civilian-aircraft orders increased considerably. By the end of the year, U.S. manufacturers held orders for 40,000 planes, in contrast to the former production record for civilian use of 6844 planes in 1941. Again the domestic and international airlines of the U.S. broke all records, with all categories of traffic showing substantial gains over 1944. Both passenger fares and basic freight rates were reduced. International commercial services were resumed in 1945.

The experience gained in the production of military aircraft during the war was utilized in civil-aircraft production following the close of hostilities. Larger, faster aircraft, with such improvements as pressurized cabins, were made available to the airlines. Improved airports, more efficient weather forecasting, additional aids to navigation (see Air Traffic Control), and public demand for air transportation all aided in the postwar boom in airline passenger travel and freight transportation.

Experimentation with new aerodynamic designs, new metals, new power plants, and electronic inventions resulted in the development of high-speed turbojet planes designed for transoceanic flights, supersonic aircraft, experimental rocket planes, STOL craft, and the space shuttle (see Airplane; Jet Propulsion; Space Exploration).

In December 1986 the ultralight experimental aircraft Voyager successfully completed the first nonstop around-the-world flight without refueling. Voyager was designed by Burt Rutan in an unorthodox H shape with outrigger booms and rudders. The aircraft had two engines: one engine in front for takeoffs, landings, and maneuvering; the other in back for in-flight power. Composed mostly of lightweight plastic composite materials, the plane weighed only 4420 kg (9750 lb) at takeoff—with 4500 liters (1200 gallons) of fuel in its 17 fuel tanks—and 840 kg (1858 lb) on landing. Pilots Dick Rutan, Burt's brother, and Jeana Yeager flew 40,254 km (25,012 mi) in 9 days, 3 min, 44 sec at an average speed of 186.3 km/h (115.8 mph), establishing a distance and endurance record. The previous distance record of 20,169 km (12,532 mi) was set in 1962.

In 1967 the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) replaced the Federal Aviation Agency, which had been created in 1958. The FAA classified the air transportation industry in the U.S. as commercial air carriers, regionals and commuters, helicopters, and all-cargo carriers. Nonscheduled air carriers are in a separate classification. The scheduled airlines maintain a trade association known as the Air Transport Association of America. See Air Transport Industry; Transportation, Department of.

After World War II a marked increase in the use of company-owned airplanes for the transportation of executives took place. In fact, by the early 1980s such craft composed well more than 90 percent of all aircraft active in the U.S. General trends in the U.S. air transport industry, in the 1980s, included airline deregulation (begun in 1978), mergers of airlines, and fluctuating air fares and “price wars.” Three major U.S. airlines ceased operations in 1991: Pan American and Eastern, both which had been flying since 1928, and a relative newcomer, Midway, which was founded in 1979.

Conferences relative to the problems of international flight were held as early as 1889, but it was not until 1947 that an organization was established to handle the problems of large-scale international air travel: the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), an affiliate of the United Nations, with headquarters in Montréal. Working in close cooperation with ICAO is the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which also has its headquarters in Montréal and is comprised of about 100 airlines that seek jointly to solve mutual problems. Another such organization is the Fédération Aéronautique International (FAI).

Aerospace Industry

Aerospace Industry, complex of manufacturing firms that produce vehicles for flight—from balloons, gliders, and airplanes to jumbo jets, guided missiles, and the space shuttle. The industry also encompasses producers of everything from seat belts to jet engines and missile guidance systems. The term aerospace is a contraction of the words aeronautics (the science of flight within Earth’s atmosphere) and space flight. It came into use during the 1950s when many companies that had previously specialized in aeronautical products began to manufacture equipment for space flight.

The aerospace industry traces its origins to the Wright brothers’ historic first flights in a heavier-than-air-machine at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903. Until World War I (1914-1918), airplane construction largely remained in the hands of industry pioneers, who built each wood-framed plane by hand. Wartime military needs drove improvement in aircraft design. By the 1930s all-metal planes featuring retractable landing gear and high-performance engines were commonly used to deliver airmail and carry civilian passengers in Europe and the United States. During World War II (1939-1945) the industry made further strides with the introduction of massive production facilities that turned out tens of thousands of airplanes. World War II research and development resulted in radar, electronic controls, jet aircraft with gas-powered turbine engines, and combat rockets.

Postwar tension between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the United States drove aerospace technologies to new highs as the two countries raced to establish a presence in space. By the start of the Apollo Program in 1961, development and construction of space flight vehicles and supporting systems occupied a major portion of the American and Soviet aerospace industries. At the close of the 20th century, aerospace firms around the world produced rockets and artificial satellites. Originally developed for national space exploration and military purposes, these spacecraft found peacetime uses in telecommunications, navigation, and meteorology.

More than 40 countries have industries engaged in some form of aerospace production. The largest, the American aerospace industry, employs approximately 900,000 people. American manufacturer The Boeing Company leads the world in production of commercial airplanes and military aircraft. Other major U.S. aerospace manufacturers include the Lockheed Martin Corporation, the world’s largest producer of military aircraft and equipment, and the Raytheon Company, a global leader in air traffic control systems and a major supplier of aircraft, weapons systems, and electronic equipment to the U.S. government.

The European aerospace industry employs about 420,000 people, with workers from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany accounting for more than two-thirds of these employees. Airbus, headquartered in Toulouse, France, is the world’s second largest manufacturer of commercial aircraft. European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS) owns 80 percent of Airbus, and Britain’s BAE Systems PLC (formerly British Aerospace) owns the other 20 percent.

Canada ranks among the top six aerospace producers in the world. The Canadian industry employs 59,000 people and is a global leader in production of commercial helicopters and business aircraft. Canadian aerospace manufacturer Bombardier ranks third in the production of nonmilitary aircraft and leads the world in the production of business jets and regional jet airliners.

Products of the aerospace industry fall into four general categories. The largest product category, aircraft, encompasses aircraft produced for military purposes, passenger and cargo transport, and general aviation (business jets, recreational airplanes, traffic helicopters, and all other aircraft). This category also includes aircraft engines. The wide variety of missiles produced for military use makes up another product category. Space vehicles, such as the space shuttle and artificial satellites, and rockets to launch them into space, comprise their own category. The final category is made up of the thousands of different pieces of equipment and equipment systems—both those on board flight vehicles and those on the ground—that make flying a relatively safe and comfortable endeavor.

Sales of aircraft, including their engines and parts, total more than the sales of all other aerospace products combined. The production of military aircraft and accessories has traditionally dominated the field of aircraft production. In the late 20th century, however, the demand for commercial jets increased around the world while global defense spending declined.

Aerospace firms produce a broad variety of military aircraft, including fighter jets, bombers, attack aircraft, troop transports, and helicopters. Each type of craft is designed for a specific purpose. Fighter jets engage enemy aircraft, attack targets on or below the Earth’s surface, and perform reconnaissance missions. Bombers specialize in striking at distant surface targets. Attack aircraft carry lighter bombs than bombers and hit surface targets at closer range. Helicopters are used in rescue work, to transport troops and supplies, and less frequently, on attack missions. The Boeing Company, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and Northrop Grumman Corporation are among the largest builders of military aircraft in the world.

Aerospace products in the commercial aircraft category include jet airplanes used by commercial airlines. Jet airliners generally fall under one of two classifications, depending on the number of aisles in the main passenger cabin. In narrow-body jets, a single aisle divides the cabin into two banks of seats. In wide-body jets, twin aisles separate the cabin into three banks of seats. The first of the wide-body jets, the Boeing 747, entered service in 1970. This massive jetliner is capable of transporting more than 400 passengers. Today, a variety of wide-body jets are produced by Boeing and Airbus. Airbus has launched production of a "superjumbo" jet, the A380, with seating for 555 passengers on two decks. It is scheduled to begin service in 2006.