Page:Open Source Philosophy and the Dawn of Aviation.pdf/1

doi:10.5028/jatm.2012.04030812

Bento Silva de Mattos Instituto Tecnolégico de Aeronautica - Sao José dos Campos/SP — Brazil

Abstract: ''In the early 20th century, Aviation pioneers in North America and Europe experienced quite different working ambiences. The Europeans, except for those living in England, embodied the spirit of the French Revolution; the Americans incorporated the ideas from the Industrial Revolution or, according to many historians, the English Revolution. Due to this fact, Aviation in Europe and in the United States evolved quite differently. In order to justify the establishment of those connections, the present work has described the way aviation pioneers designed and built their flying machines and the state of aviation in North America and in Europe in the early 20th century. A collaborative working atmosphere was present among the European pioneers thanks to the French Revolution ideas that found general acceptance in Europe. The European aviation pioneers frequently exchanged information regarding aeronautical experience or even whole designs. Contrary to this, in the United States aviation, its development suffered from lack of information from the people who were competing for the first flight. Indeed, a fierce competition among the individuals was established. The knowledge coming from Europe, noticeably from the Germans Lilienthal brothers and George Cayley, was being retransmitted by open-minded people like Octave Chanute. That is the reason why America fell behind Europe in regard to airplane technology before the broke out of World War I and a patent war started in the United States among their aviation pioneers. In France, the Aéro-Club de France was created in the last years of the 19th century. Among its objectives, one was to attest the first person to perform a flight with a heavier-than-air machine. After the Brazilian Santos-Dumont's flight with his 14bis biplane in 1906, in Paris, Wilbur Wright went to Europe in 1907 and established a workshop to continue improving the Flyer concept. Wright's supporter, Octave Chanute, had warned him that the aviation world was catching up fast, especially in France. However, Wilbur was only able to get the Flyer airborne in August 1908 in France, with disappointing results. However, impressive flights took place in late 1908 and the Wright brothers' European Flyer was the basic airplane they were able to sell to the US armed forces for the first time in 1909. After Santos-Dumont's success in flying his 14bis airplane in 1906, many of his comrades established airplane factories. Those Dumont's friends were eager to sell planes to the French government, and a competitive atmosphere settled down in the old continent. In addition, the collaborative ambience ceased because the World War I was only a matter of time.''

Keywords: Aviation, Aircraft design, Air transportation, French Revolution, Industrial Revolution, Open source.

Received: 05/02/12 Accepted: 24/05/12 author for correspondence: bmattos@ita.br Pç Eduardo Gomes, 50- Vila das Acécias CEP 12.228-901-São José dos Campos/SP-Brazil

INTRODUCTION The rise of cooperation

The present paper was concerned with the analysis of Aviation development in the early 20th century. The main focus of the analysis was the different working ambiences that were established in the United States and in Europe, noticeably in France. These ambiences had a crucial impact on the outcome of the airplane performance and Aviation milestones in both continents. The work of individuals and the industrial development in regard to Aviation were analyzed to fundament the hypothesis that the French and Industrial Revolutions played a major role in the development of Aviation.

Initially, we can consider the masterpiece of Alberto Santos-Dumont, a Brazilian aviation pioneer who spent most of his adult life in France. He designed and flew airships and airplanes in the early 20th century. Most Brazilians believe Santos-Dumont was a single good soul because he gave anyone his designs and inventions for free. On the other hand, most Brazilians are not aware that Santos-Dumont utilized in his aircraft ideas and even components from other people. In fact, not only Santos-Dumont took this approach, but the majority of Aviation pioneers in France at that time as well. They were enlightened by the ideas from the French J. Aerosp. Technol. Manag., São José dos Campos, Vol.4, No 3, pp. 355-379, Jul.-Sep., 2012355