2 ms·
I think that what you say is probably true, but things like thermal-riding or slope-soaring gliders would have been very useful (for the military, if nothing el
by zabzonk 4y ago
I think that what you say is probably true, but things like thermal-riding or slope-soaring gliders would have been very useful (for the military, if nothing else) before the invention of the IC engine.
- Ekaros 4y agoBig questions is getting those to air, what you actually do with them and then how to solve communicating from them. Just think of how very early WW1 planes were actually used.
- zabzonk 4y agoAt the speed armies moved back in the (say) 15th century, this would probably not been such a problem, but I take your point.
- dane-pgp 4y agoAs discussed further down, kites were indeed seen as useful for the military in the late 19th century. Wikipedia says[0] > In the early 1890s, Captain B.F.S Baden-Powell ... developed his "Levitor" kite, a hexagonal-shaped kite intended to be used by the army in order to lift a man for aerial observation or for lifting large loads such as a wireless antenna. A glider may not have been suitable for carrying an antenna, but aerial observation via glider is an idea that must have occurred to people in the army, even before the invention of the IC engine. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man-lifting_kite https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man-lifting_kite