Sir George Cayley
Father of Aeronautics; Sir George Cayley
Sir George Cayley (1773-1857) was an English engineer, inventor, and aviator. Sir George Cayley is one of the most important people in the history of aeronautics.
Sir George Cayley (1773-1857)
Sir George Cayley is considered by many to be the first scientific aerial investigator and the first person to understand the underlying principles and forces of flight. An engineer, inventor and aviator, he built a functional aerial device, a model helicopter with contra-rotating propellers, in as early as 1796.
Sir George Cayley was a prolific English engineer and is one of the most important people in the history of aeronautics. In 1799 he set forth the concept of the modern aeroplane as a fixed-wing flying machine with separate systems for lift, propulsion, and control. He was a pioneer of aeronautical engineering and is sometimes referred to as “the father of aviation.” Designer of the first glider to carry a human being aloft, he discovered and identified the four aerodynamic forces of flight, which act on any flying vehicle: weight, lift, drag and thrust. Modern aeroplane design is based on those discoveries, and also on the importance of cambered wings, also identified by Cayley.
Over the years, he went on to make many more contributions to the progress of aeronautical science, including the concept of the fixed-wing flying machine and the four forces that act on a heavier-thanair flying machine (weight, life, drag and thrust). Today’s advances in aeronautics are built on the strong foundation of his work.
