The Lilienthal ''Normalsegelapparat'' (German: "Normal soaring apparatus") is a glider designed by

Otto Lilienthal Karl Wilhelm Otto Lilienthal (23 May 1848 – 10 August 1896) was a German pioneer of aviation who became known as the "flying man". He was the first person to make well-documented, repeated, successful flights with gliders, therefore making t ...

in Germany in the late 19th century. It is considered to be the first aeroplane to be serially produced, examples being made between 1893 and 1896. Nine examples are known to have been sold, the buyers including Nikolai Zhukovsky and

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper publisher and politician who developed the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His extravagant methods of yellow jou ...

. Three original "normal gliders" are preserved in museums in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

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, and

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, and a fragment of one is preserved in Munich. A similar glider, the ''Sturmflügelapparat'' ("storm wing apparatus") is preserved in the Technisches Museum in Vienna. Lilienthal's flights using this glider typically achieved a distance of starting from the top of the launching mound that he had constructed. A bow frame or "Prellbügel" was used to reduce the impact in case of a crash. Later the Normalsegelapparat was developed into a biplane. An authentic replica of the ''Normalsegelapparat'' made by the

Otto Lilienthal Museum The Otto Lilienthal Museum in Anklam (Germany) is a museum dedicated to the "glider king" Otto Lilienthal, the flight pioneer, as well as a pioneer in technical, social and cultural projects. Lilienthal made over 2,000 flights in gliders of his ...

has been investigated by the

German Aerospace Center The German Aerospace Center (, abbreviated DLR, literally ''German Center for Air- and Space-flight'') is the national center for aerospace, energy and transportation research of Germany, founded in 1969. It is headquartered in Cologne with 3 ...

wind tunnel A wind tunnel is "an apparatus for producing a controlled stream of air for conducting aerodynamic experiments". The experiment is conducted in the test section of the wind tunnel and a complete tunnel configuration includes air ducting to and f ...

and flight tests. The results proved that the glider was stable in pitch and roll and can be flown safely at moderate altitudes.
Video of the first flight of the replica of Otto Lilienthal’s biplane glider Retrieved: 15. Febr. 2020.

Specifications (typical)

References

Bibliography

* Nitsch, Stephan. ''Vom Sprung zum Flug (From the jump to the flight)''. Berlin, Brandenburgisches Verlagshaus, 1991. . Modified second edition: ''Die Flugzeuge von Otto Lilienthal. Technik – Dokumentation – Rekonstruktion. (The airplanes of Otto Lilienthal. Technique – Documentation – Reconstruction)''. Otto-Lilienthal-Museum Anklam, 2016. .

External links

Lilienthal Museum website

{{Lilienthal aircraft 19th-century German experimental aircraft Lilienthal aircraft Glider aircraft German inventions Otto Lilienthal 1893 in transport 1893 in Germany Vehicles introduced in 1893 Aircraft first flown in 1893 Monoplanes