Monthly Archives: April 2012

How Kites Fly

Posted on by
3

Recently the National Air and Space Museum hosted Kites of Asia Family Day.  It featured lots of kite activities, cultural crafts, indoor kite flyers, and Japanese kite masters.  All of the incredible kites and amazing activities made me wonder how many people actually understand how kites fly.

To understand how a kites flies, you need to define what a kite is.  A kite is a heavier-than-air object that flies… just like an airplane.  Most kites have three main components: the kite body (which comes in many different shapes and sizes), the bridle (or harness), and the control line (or tether).  The kite body is made up of a framework and outer covering.  The framework is usually made from a lightweight material like wood or plastic.  Paper, fabric, or plastic is then stretched over the framework, turning it into a sort of wing.  The bridle and the control line help the kite flyer control the kite.  In flight, the kite is connected to the kite flyer by the control line, which is connected to the kite by the bridle.  The kite pivots and dives about the point where the bridle connects to the control line.

kite diagram

Kite diagram

The four forces of flight (i.e. Lift, Weight, Drag, and Thrust) affect kites in the same way they affect airplanes, and anything else that flies.  Lift is the upward force that pushes a kite into the air.  Lift is generated by differences in air pressure, which are created by air in motion over the body of the kite.  Kites are shaped and angled so that the air moving over the top moves faster than the air moving over the bottom. Daniel Bernoulli, an 18th century Swiss mathematician, discovered that the pressure of a fluid (like air) decreases as the fluid speeds up.  Since the speed of the air above the kite is greater than the speed of air below, the pressure above is less than the pressure below and the kite is pushed into the air and — Tada — lift!  Weight is the downward force generated by the gravitational attraction of the Earth on the kite.  The force of weight pulls the kite toward the center of the Earth.  Thrust is the forward force that propels a kite in the direction of motion.  An airplane generates thrust with its engines, but a kite must rely on tension from the string and moving air created by the wind or the forward motion of the kite flyer to generate thrust.  Drag is the backward force that acts opposite to the direction of motion.  Drag is caused by the difference in air pressure between the front and back of the kite and the friction of the air moving over the surface of the kite.  To launch a kite into the air the force of lift must be greater than the force of weight.  To keep a kite flying steady the four forces must be in balance.  Lift must be equal to weight and thrust must be equal to drag.

Wind is obviously a big part of kite flying.  But what do you do if you don’t have any wind or you’re trying to fly your kite inside?  Check out the video of this national champion indoor kite flyer from the family day.  There obviously wasn’t any wind inside, so how was he able to fly kites in the middle of the Space Race gallery?  The kite flyers create lift, drag, and thrust with various walking patterns, arm movements, and spinning to make the indoor kite flying experience like a dance.  Whether inside or out it doesn’t matter whether the wind moves over the surface of the kite or the kite is pulled through the air — lift must overcome weight and thrust must overcome drag to keep the kite soaring.

To learn more about the four forces of flight visit the How Things Fly website.  And to learn more about the aerodynamics of kites and experiment with different kites, visit the NASA website.

Michael Hulslander is manager of onsite learning at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.

Pilot Error, Evidently

Posted on by
1

 

Ivanov

Ivanov's Landing - SI 90-5858

 

In the years before the invention of the flight data recorder, the “black box” that records essential flight data, an aircraft accident investigation could occasionally degenerate into a mere finger-pointing exercise, like this one from Russia during World War I — a group of aviation cadets at the Gatchina Military Flying School near Petrograd (now St. Petersburg) point fingers of scorn at a student pilot identified only as “Ivanov” after his less than perfect landing, fortunately injuring only his dignity. The photograph comes from the collection of Alexander Riaboff (1895-1984) — he’s the finger-pointer at the left — who served in the Russian Army Air Service and was trained at Gatchina. After the Revolution, Riaboff flew in the Red Air Fleet and also with the counterrevolutionary White forces before fleeing in 1920 to Harbin, China. Later, he emigrated with his wife and daughter to the United States and settled in the San Francisco area. Years later, Riaboff wrote up his adventures as a pilot during those tumultuous times, and as edited by National Air and Space Museum curator Von Hardesty, they were published in 1986 as Gatchina Days: Reminiscences of a Russian Pilot.

Allan Janus is a museum specialist in the Archives Division of the National Air and Space Museum.

Shuttle Service to DC

Posted on by
5

Much to the delight of large crowds below, Space shuttle Discovery, mounted atop a NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), made several passes over the Washington, DC area yesterday. Discovery, the first orbiter retired from NASA’s shuttle fleet, completed 39 missions, spent 365 days in space, orbited the Earth 5,830 times, and traveled 148,221,675 miles. NASA will transfer Discovery to the National Air and Space Museum to begin its new mission to commemorate past achievements in space and to educate and inspire future generations of explorers. The ceremony will take place tomorrow, Thursday, April 19th at the Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA.

Here is a selection of photographs from yesterday’s fly-over:

 

shuttle

The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft takes off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida carrying Space Shuttle Discovery.

Discovery

Space Shuttle Discovery makes a low pass over a crowd at the Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA.

Discovery

Space Shuttle Discovery, mounted atop a NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, flies near the U.S. Capitol.

Discovery

Space Shuttle Discovery, mounted on the 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, flies near the Smithsonian Castle.

Discovery

A young spectator holds a model of space shuttle Discovery, mounted atop a NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), as the actual shuttle flies overhead.


shuttle

Space shuttle Discovery, mounted atop a NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), making a low pass over spectators in Virginia.

Discovery

Space shuttle Discovery, mounted atop a NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) approaches the runway at Washington Dulles International Airport.

 

Spectators from across the Washington, DC area, NASA employees and Museum staff have contributed thousands of images to the Museum’s Space Shuttle Discovery Flickr group. If you took pictures of Discovery yesterday, please share them with us!

Ivey Doyal is web content manager for the National Air and Space Museum.

A Hero of the Titanic in the Files

Posted on by
1
Taft & Butt

Photograph by Carl H. Claudy Sr.; Claudy Glass Plate Negative Collection - SI 95-8465

It’s July 26, 1909, and President William Howard Taft (left) has arrived in his superb White Motor Company Model M Steamer at Fort Myer, just across the Potomac from Washington, to watch the Wright brothers’ preparations for the trial flight of their Military Flyer. On the following day, Orville Wright would make a record flight of over an hour, covering approximately 40 miles.

Sitting next to the President is Senator Jonathan Bourne Jr. of Oregon. Taft’s military aide and good friend, Captain Archibald Willingham Butt, is standing in the car. Born in Augusta, Georgia in 1865, Archie (as everyone called him) Butt began his career as a reporter, then served as first secretary to the U.S. ambassador to Mexico. In 1900, Archie received a commission in the U.S. Army. He served in the Philippines for four years, and as Depot Quartermaster in Washington D.C. he met President Theodore Roosevelt in 1904. In 1908, Archie was appointed Roosevelt’s chief military aide, and when Taft succeeded Roosevelt as president in 1909, Archie remained at his post. One of his duties was to stand by when Taft became the first president to throw the ceremonial first pitch at a Washington Senators’ game in 1910. In 1911, Butt was promoted to the rank of major.

Loyal to both T.R. and Taft, Archie Butt was caught in the middle of the growing feud that would lead to Roosevelt’s run for the presidency against Taft in 1912. Worn out and in declining health, Archie requested a leave of absence. President Taft granted it, and in the early spring of 1912, Archie left for a six week European tour, accompanied by his longtime companion, Washington artist Francis Davis Millet.

For his return trip, Archie booked passage in first class aboard RMS Titanic for its first Atlantic crossing (ticket number 113050; fare, £26 11s; cabin number B38) and boarded the ship at Southampton on April 10. On the night of the 14th, he dined with Titanic’s captain, Edward J. Smith, and was playing cards when the ship struck an iceberg at 11:40. There are several stories of Archie Butt’s actions before Titanic sank at 2:20 in the morning of April 15 – he was said to have assisted women and children into the lifeboats; one survivor, Irene Harris, contributed a sensational account:

“He became as one in supreme command. You would have thought he was at a White House reception, so cool and calm was he. When the time came he was a man to be feared. In one of the earlier boats fifty women, it seemed, were about to be lowered when a man suddenly panic stricken ran to the stern of it. Maj. Butt shot one arm out caught him by the neck and jerked him backward like a pillow. His head cracked against a rail and he was stunned. ‘Sorry,’ said Maj. Butt, ‘women will be attended to first or I’ll break every damned bone in your body.’… Maj. Butt escorted me to a seat in the bow… he helped me find a space, arranged my clothing about me, stood erect, doffed his hat and smiled and said ‘Good-by.’ And then he stepped back to the deck, already awash. As we rowed away we looked back, and the last I saw of him he was smiling and waving his hand to me.

Major Archibald Butt and his friend Frank Millet both drowned when Titanic went down; Archie’s body was not recovered.

Archibald Butt

Captain Archibald W. Butt. Library of Congress photograph LC-USZC2-6249

 

President Taft was grief-stricken when he heard the news. At a memorial service for Archie back in Augusta, he said, “If Archie could have selected a time to die he would have chosen the one God gave him. His life was spent in self–sacrifice, serving others. His forgetfulness of self had become a part of his nature. Everybody who knew him called him Archie. I couldn’t prepare anything in advance to say here. I tried, but couldn’t. He was too near me. He was loyal to my predecessor, Mr. Roosevelt, who selected him to be military aide, and to me he had become as a son or a brother.”

In 1913, Archie’s friends dedicated a fountain to him and to Frank Millet - the Butt-Millet Fountain still stands on the Ellipse, not far from the White House.

Allan Janus is a museum specialist in the National Air and Space Museum’s Archives Division

Toilet Training

Posted on by
5

What is the first question most people ask about spaceflight?  “How do you go to the bathroom in space?” It’s a puzzlement.

The Education staff has decided to seize a teachable moment.  The new Moving Beyond Earth exhibition will feature a full-scale reproduction space shuttle mid-deck, the shuttle’s living quarters. Visitors will be able to open some of the lockers, look out the portal for a heavenly view, and yes, see a reproduction space toilet, or WCS (waste containment system).

 

space toilet

Staff from Guard Lee show staff from the Museum how astronauts use a space toilet.

This past week we unpacked the toilet and had training. Why training? Because we plan to roll it out, turn it on, and present short educational programs. We’re expecting  a lot of interest. We know you’re curious.

toilet

Guard Lee staff with the space toilet, or waste containment system.

When we move a lever, the vacuum turns on. In space, astronauts rely on air to do what water does on Earth. Waste is sucked away, compacted, and dried. Of course the whole process is much more complicated than here in Earth. The feet straps (or bar for a standing man) are very important, as are the thigh bars for those sitting. Some models even come with seat belts!  Astronauts do not want to float away while doing their business.

There are male and female funnels, hoses of different sizes, and a can for paper trash. Remember, no flushing takes place. Ensuring a proper seal is crucial and astronauts practice on a toilet with a camera in Houston to perfect their position.

The company that built our WCS cared a great deal about accuracy, down to the NASA logo clearly emblazoned on the side.

And, in case you were wondering, our space shuttle curator Valerie Neal made sure that Space Shuttle Discovery, coming in April to the Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, will be as authentic inside as possible. She asked that the real WCS be re-installed.

Tim Grove is Chief of Education for the Museum in Washington, DC.