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Wilhelm Kress (29 July 1836 in
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Wilhelm Kress (29 July 1836 in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
– 24 February 1913 in Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
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, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
) Born of German (Bavarian) parents in St. Petersburg in 1836. Moved to Vienna in 1873, where his self-propelled flying models attracted much attention. He became a naturalized Austrian.
Life
Kress came to Vienna in 1873, where he developed the first modern delta-flyinghang glider
Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised foot-launched heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame covered ...
in 1877. This hang-glider was a major achievement for the time, when many engineers still struggled with the development of "heavier-than-air" non-powered aircraft. He also displayed rubber band powered flying models called the 'Aeroveloce' in 1877 and 1880.
During the turn of the century he was one of the world-wide contestants for the creation of a break-through powered airplane. In 1900 he developed the control stick for aircraft, but did not apply for a patent (instead, a patent was awarded to the French aviator, Robert Esnault-Pelterie Robert Albert Charles Esnault-Pelterie (8 November 1881 – 6 December 1957) was a French aircraft designer and spaceflight theorist. He is referred to as being one of the founders of modern rocketry and astronautics, along with the Russian Kons ...
who applied for it in 1907). Kress' aircraft, the Drachenflieger, was constructed for water takeoff and achieved some brief hops in 1901 at the Wienerwaldsee
The Wienerwaldsee (English:''Vienna Forest Lake'') is a shallow reservoir, located 20 kilometres west of Vienna, Austria.
It is located just north of Austria's main motorway, the West Autobahn, between Tullnerbach and Neu-Purkersdorf. It was cre ...
near Vienna.
A longer controlled flight was not possible because the engine (made by Daimler) was twice as heavy as Kress had specified in his order, and could be operated only at half of its nominal power output. During one of his attempts at flight taking off from water, his plane was destroyed when it became entangled on debris floating in the lake.'' Connections'', Episode 6 Part 5 of 5 (1976).Also:
See also
* Wright brothers *Aviation
Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes airplane, fixed-wing and helicopter, rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as aerostat, lighter- ...
* List of Austrian scientists
* List of Austrians
This is a list of notable Austrians.
Actors/actresses
*Helmut Berger (born 1944), actor
* Senta Berger (born 1941), actress
* Klaus Maria Brandauer (born 1943), actor
* Marie Geistinger (1836–1903), actress and opera singer
* Käthe Gold ...
References
Aviation - The Pioneer Years