World Helicopter Day – On Aerial Navigation
August 20th, 2017
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I have just noticed that 20 August is World Helicopter Day, and on a recent visit to the helicopter museum in Weston-Super-Mare (the World's Largest Dedicated Helicopter Museum) with my father, a former helicopter engineer, I spotted a reference to the three papers by Sir George Cayley in Nicholson’s Journal.
‘On Aerial Navigation’ was published in three parts:
Nicholson’s Journal, November 1809
Nicholson’s Journal, February and March 1810
I have since seen this described online, by Mississippi State University, as:
"Arguably the most important paper in the invention of the airplane is a triple paper On Aerial Navigation by Sir George Cayley. The article appeared in three issues of Nicholson's Journal. In this paper, Cayley argues against the ornithopter model and outlines a fixed-wing aircraft that incorporates a separate system for propulsion and a tail to assist in the control of the airplane. Both ideas were crucial breakthroughs necessary to break out of the ornithopter tradition."
This sketch from the November 1809 paper.
![Cayley helicopter design nicholson journal - november 1809](http://www.nicholsonsjournal.co.uk/assets/Cayley-Helicopter-design-Nicholson-Journal---November-1809.PNG.png)
If any historians of aeronautic developments would like tocontribute a guest blog on the significance of Cayley’s papers, please email us at
info@nicholsonsjournal.com.
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Tags | 18thC Publishing