Classic Lecture: The invention of the aeroplane near Scarborough at the time of Trafalgar

Royal Aeronautical Society Podcast · Dec 27, 2023 · 1h 7m

“Oh come on, surely it was the Wright Brothers who did this!” In his lecture Dr John Ackroyd FRAeS tries to persuade us that Sir George Cayley, not the Wright Brothers, defined the concepts behind the aeroplane and flew it in 1804. After exploring Sir George’s early life and some of his non-aeronautical designs of early tractors, engines and artificial hands, Dr Ackroyd explores Cayley’s key breakthrough, his discovery in 1799 that flapping wings would not lead to flight and what was needed was a complete separation of the lifting from the propulsion system. Dr Ackroyd then analyses Cayley’s…