Steam Powered Flight

Yes, don't be so surprised, while not mainstream stationary steam, it deserves a mention here as briefly, very briefly, the histories of mechanically powered flight and steam power overlapped. The technical advances to give a sufficient power to weight ratio with the equipment then available should not be underestimated.

The generally accepted 'father' of sustained, powered heavier than air flight flight was John Stringfellow, a bobbin maker, machinist and intrument maker from Chard, Somerset, who worked for a number of years until he succeeded in flying this unmanned steam powered monoplane of 10 foot wingspan in 1848, at Chard.

Later, in 1868, he flew this steam powered monoplane at an exhibition at the Crystal Palace in London. Its 13lb engine developing 1 hp made it the most powerefull engine ever built for it's weight and was awarded a prize of £150.

Next came Sir Hiram Maxim, who, in 1893 and 1894 on a specially constructed test track in Baldwins Park, Kent made a well logged, witnessed and reported series of runs in his huge steam powered biplane.

Maxim was wise enough to understand that getting a machine airborne and controlling it once flying were two different things, so his machine was guided by rails, 1800 feet long, which while allowing a degree of 'free' flight, restrained any serious deviation from the straight and narrow and prevented a crash and re build from start as had faced so many other experimenters.

The dimensions were impressive, the wingspan of the largest wing was 104 feet (about 32 metres) and while the framework was 'lightweight' the total weight was 3.5 Tons - mainly representing the weight of the naptha fired boiler and engines, two of which were fitted, developing 180 hp each and driving propellors 18 feet diameter.

31st July 1894 saw the record breaking runs when the engines and boilers were coaxed to deliver greater and greater pressure until, when exceeding 42 mph, the whole structure took to the air.

Maxim developed this as a public attraction (presumably to raise further funding) and reports from passengers of 'taking a flight' were published.

Next came the American Samuel Pierpoint Langley, who's 'Aerodrome number 5' took to the air the following year in free flight and made it half a mile up the Potomac River.

Preserved in the Smithsonian, this epic pre dated the Wright Brothers flights by five years and led to considerable infighting as to who was first with man powered flight.

Regardless of who was first in whatever category, the real sucess in steam powered flight was in producing sufficient propulsive power from small and light enough steam plants to give enough speed to acheive and maintain lift.

Back to the Old Engine House Homepage