Paul Haenlein (17 October 1835 in Cologne – 27 January 1905 in Mainz) was a German engineer and flight pioneer. He flew in a semi-rigid-frame

dirigible An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

. His family belonged to the ''Citoyens notables'', those notabilities who led the economy, administration and culture of Mainz. Haenlein received an education as a mechanical engineer and pattern maker. He studied at the Technische Hochschule in Karlsruhe. Subsequently he worked as graduated civil engineer for different factories. He was the first to create a dirigible airship which was powered by an internal combustion engine. This Lenoir-type motor obtained its fuel from the gas in the balloon. It had four horizontal cylinders, which delivered about with a consumption of approximately of gas per hour. With a mass of 233 kg and an engine displacement of 19.2 L it delivered a continuous power of 2.7 kW. The gas was sucked from the envelope of the balloon, which was kept fully inflated by pumping in compensating air to the air bags inside the main envelope. Due to the consumption of gas, the

lifting force A fluid flowing around an object exerts a force on it. Lift is the component of this force that is perpendicular to the oncoming flow direction. It contrasts with the drag force, which is the component of the force parallel to the flow directi ...

decreased, so the range of the airship had been limited. In 1872 Haenlein obtained a U.S. patent (No. 130 915) to use the otherwise wasted gas in the dirigible's engines. On 13 December, Paul Haenlein tested the first airship with a gas engine in Brünn, achieving 19 km/h. This airship was a direct forerunner of the Lebaudy type, in length, greatest diameter, and with a cubic capacity of . The airship achieved 19 km/h. The tests were stopped later, because of a shortage of money. A propeller of in diameter was driven by the Lenoir engine with 40 revolutions per minute. This was the first instance of the use of an internal combustion engine in connection with aeronautical experiments. The envelope of the dirigible was rendered airtight by means of an internal rubber coating, with a thinner film on the outside.

Syngas Syngas, or synthesis gas, is a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, in various ratios. The gas often contains some carbon dioxide and methane. It is principly used for producing ammonia or methanol. Syngas is combustible and can be used as ...

, used for inflation, formed a suitable fuel for the engine, but limited the height to which the dirigible could ascend. Such trials as were made were carried out with the dirigible held captive. A full experiment was prevented because funds ran low, but Haenlein's work constituted a distinct advance on all that had been done previously. This engine type had the disadvantage of requiring either a gas-producer or a large storage capacity for the gas, either of which makes the total weight of the power plant much greater than that of a petrol engine.

References

*''Brockhaus Konversations-Lexikon'' of 1895 *Wolfgang Metzger und Andrea Erne: ''Alles über Flugzeuge'' Ravensburger Buchverlag, 2002 * Vierteljahreshefte für Kultur, Politik, Wirtschaft, Geschichte (quarterly review) ''Mainz the cradle of the dirigible airship''; Editor.: Stadt Mainz; Verlag Bonnewitz Communication real madrid, 02/2005 *''airship'' (2006), from Encyclopædia Britannica {{DEFAULTSORT:Haenlein, Paul 1835 births 1905 deaths German mechanical engineers German airship aviators Airship designers German balloonists German aerospace engineers Engineers from Cologne People from the Rhine Province