rvelous device, he managed to take off into the air above Crete, along with his son Ikar. Ikar had gone too close to the sun, the wings had melted and Dedal’s son had died, unfortunately.Ever since, many inventors have tried to build an aircraft that would enable man to fly. In addition to that, stand the famous drawings of the flying machine by Leonardo da Vinchi.
At first, balloons filled with heated air flew in the sky with the help of wind. Afterwards, aircrafts filled with gas ligh- ter than air flew and did not depend on the wind currents. People called them "airships"...
The French had projected and made the first successful "airship" – in French dirigeable, in English dirigible, and in Serbian dirizabl.
In 1784, a French general Meusnier had projected an elliptic-like balloon made from two layered "bags" with 79 meters in length. It carried a cabin shaped in a certain way so that it could float on water should it need to land on it. The balloon was equipped with three propellers that needed to be hand-turned by power and strength of eighty men. The general’s death in 1793 had stopped the "take off" of his balloon.
http://www.dirizabl.co.yu/images/history/leonardot.jpg
In 1830, British "father of aviation" Sir George Cayley had recognized the importance of the existe
nce of motor power in order for flying and controlling of the aircraft to be possible. He experi- mented with a machine run by hot air that used gunpowder. He had hoped that the light steam engine would possibly advance and in a visionary way, he had foreseen the development of the internal combustion engine. The development of technology at that time did not enable Cayley to solve the problem of the force that would start and run the "airship".Another Frenchman by the name of Pierr Jullien of Villejuif deserves the acknow- ledgments for further development of the dirigible. In 1850, he made and demon- strated a model of the "airship" that had a helm for flying and had looked more like models of the 20th century rather than like those that were made in the 19th century, after it was built.
It was Jullien’s "airship" that had inspired Henry Giffard, a French engineer and inventor, to build a dirigible of 44 meters in length, with a steam engine of 2.2 kilo- watts which was used to turn its propellers. The "case" for the passengers had hung from a wire net in which the aircraft was "wrapped".
Giffard’s first flight happened on September 24, 1852. He had traveled for almost 27 kilometers from Paris to Trappes with the speed of 10 kilometers per hour. His dirigible could fly only during calm weather because, by then, a strong enough motor, the dirigible’s starting device that would overcome everything stronger than a light breeze, had not been invented yet. Giffard, a wealthy enthusiast as he was, had projected one huge dirigible (600 meters long, the steam
engine for start off had weighed 30 tons) that was supposed to travel at the speed of 72 kilometers per hour. That sort of machine had been too expensive and had never been made.
In 1884, Charles Renard and Arthur C. Krebs had made an extended dirigible that they named "France" and this model was a real improvement in comparison to earlier models."France" was the first "airship" that was able to, in light wind, come back to its starting point from where it took off. It flew up in the air on August 9, 1884 for the first time and an electric engine run on batteries had controlled it. This flight, that lasted 23 minutes, was the first flight controlled from takeoff until landing. After that flight, "France" had flown seven more times.
During the next years, little had happened in the development of the dirigible, that is, until the appe- arance of a Brazilian man by the name of Albert Santos Dumont. He had perfected the technology of flying. He used a gasoline motor for the engine. He had 14 small "airships" that he had made and flew himself. In 1901, he had circled the Eiffel tower with his airship no.6, and with his dirigible
no.9, he regularly went to work from one place to the other.
A German general, Ferdinand von Zeppelin, was also succ- essful in the construction of "airships". In cooperation with Ludwig Deer and Hugo Eckener, von Zeppelin had his first successful flight on July 3, 1900.That kind of airship had been named zeppelin, after Ferdinand himself, and later on zeppelins were perfected and used in civilian and military air traffic and transport until 1940.
The Americans as well had participated in the whole "dirigible story". An American inventor Thomas S. Baldwin had made a 16 meter long ship, the "California Arrow, that had a Curtiss motor of 15 kilowatts in power. In 1908, he had sold it to the American military forces. This machine was the first American military airship.
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A year earlier, an American journalist, Walter Wellman, tried to reach the North Pole with his dirigible but did not make it. In 1910, he, again, did not manage to fly over the Atlantic Ocean in his airship.Nevertheless, the dirigibles had flown for more than a million kilometers in the next thirty years. They had even flown over oceans and were used in passenger transpor- tation and lives had not been lost.
Sixty years ago, count Hindenburg had, whilst running away, flown in the dirigible from Europe to the USA... his airship crashed in Lakehurst, NJ in 1937. Radio reporters and photojournalists sought through the tragedy live.
Thirty-six out of ninety-seven passengers had lost their lives... one person who had survived the fall, in despite of the accident, stated, "Dirigibles' time is yet to come. It is boring to fly by an airplane, dirigibles are exciting!"
In addition, really, time of the dirigible is only yet to come... Today, in the whole world, there are devotees and admirers of the dirigible. For instance, there is a group of scientists in Russia, which follow the thesis that the dirigible is the safest engine running airship ever built. The admirers of these airships give names to their compa- nies, sports clubs, associations, cafes, and publications after the dirigible. There are even museums that carry this name and painters who present different models of this ‘airship’ on their drawing panels.
Unusually nice post stamps with images of different types of the airship can be bought in Russia. We ourselves have named our magazine by this name. Nevertheless, will perhaps a new Meusnier, a new Giffard or Zeppelin appear and construct the airship of the future – an innovated dirigible?
"Airship of the Future" is precisely the name of a cargo airship that will be construc- ted by a German company called Cargo Lifter.The airship will be able to transport cargo weighing 160 tons at the speed of 100 kilometers per hour and at the height of 2000 meters. Filled up with 500,000 cubic meters of inflammable helium, the airship is going to be 260 meters in length. This dirigible will not be in need of a runway for take off and landing and will be more durable than conventional aircrafts. The only problem the constructors have is finding a way for transferring heavy and huge parts from the production section to the actual place where the parts are put together. "The cargo dirigible of the future" will be a balance between former bulky "airships" and light airships of today that are mostly used for commercial means.
The big dirigibles, made at the beginning of the 20th century, could carry lots of cargo, but they alone were heavy as well. The dirigibles of today are very light balloons filled up with pressured gas and therefore cannot be used for cargo transfers. The dirigible of the future will have, along with a motor, a modified solid construction for transferring cargo and a separate cabin for the crew.
The production of this airship is underway and several more years will probably pass by the time a prototype in its original size is made. In the "Cargo Lifter" company, they say that the project is of interest to the United Nations as well since the dirigible might also be used for food deliveries to endangered regions. Many people have gotten interested in the dirigible story, that is for sure. Perhaps because of nostalgia or the guiding idea of the everlasting of dirigible, the airship of the future is awaiting its promotion.
The Zeppelin Corporation constructed in 1997 an airship that took off in 2001 with a thought to use it in tourism means. The reservation of the flight ticket can be made on the internet as well.
Engineers at the Pentagon plan to "put up back in the sky" an airship similar to the one with which Hinden- burg flew to the United Stated by 2010.
Their dirigibles will be able to fly at heights above 20,000 meters and control US boundaries at sea since they will be equipped with radars that can cover around 2000 square kilo- meters.
On every June 3, in the German town of Fridrihshafen (on June 3, 1900, on the lake Konstanc near the mentioned town, count Zeppelin had taken off in his "airship") admirers of old aircrafts gather along. They are telling the world that fly- ing by planes is boring, that the view from a dirigible is much more interesting and that is why its time is only yet to come. We want to believe those people.
More than some seventy years ago in an old archived edition of the daily newspa- per ‘Politika’ it had been stated: "A German dirigible ‘Count Zeppelin’ traveling through France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Hungary – will fly over Yugoslavia as well."
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It seems logical that, as Wright explains, “Those who ascend to the celestial realm may also arrive there by ascending a celestial ladder fashioned by the gods.”
Heaven, according to ancient Judaism and Christianity, is merely the sky. At the highest portion of the sky possible, God sits upon the solid firmament, which keeps the higher and lower waters apart and the firmament (sky) also houses the stars, sun and moon. Since the Bible also states unequivocally that birds fly in heaven, a tornado can take a person to heaven, clouds are in heaven, God lets waters collect under heaven, and dozens of other examples, it's reasonable to conclude that heaven is the sky. Almost anywhere in the Bible if you replace “heaven” with “sky,” it fits perfectly.
Flying Gods exist in Every Culture:
Sumerian
In Ancient Sumer, clay tablets describe visits of the gods. The gods fly in vehicles called Shems, or Mu, which are described as being tall rocket-like "rocks" from which fire flies. The visiting gods stay at temples, built by humans under the instructions of the gods, and are waited on. Certainly, the detailed descriptions of everything from who shakes hands with the gods first, to what food is served, and how the gods are carried back to their Shems imply that the Sumerians weren't just expecting spiritual visitors, but physical beings from the sky.
In mythology it was not impossible to travel to the sky home of the gods and visit them. A Sumerian hero, Adapa, was so perfect that the god Ea decided to keep him alive forever by taking him up to the Heavenly Abode of Anu (a higher deity) where Adapa could eat the Bread and Water of Life.
In yet another Sumerian myth, the hero Gilgamesh travels to the landing place of the gods and is permitted to travel up to Anu's Abode.
Sumerian tale of Nergal and Ereshkigal “Anu opened his mouth to say to Kaka: I will send thee, Kaka, to the Land of no Return, To Ereshkigal…thou shalt say: ‘Thou art not able to come up, In thy year thou canst not ascend to our presence, And we cannot go down, In our month we cannot descend to thy presence…’”
Egypt
The Egyptian Book of the Dead "Behold, oh ye shining ones, ye men and gods..."
"I speak with the followers of the gods. I speak with the disk. I speak with the shining ones."
The Egyptian name is "Benu" which means "the Ascending One".
Egyptian King Pepi ascends: “As an imperishable star; Flies who flies! He flies away from you, O men! He is no longer upon earth; he is in the sky! He rushes at the sky like a heron. He has kissed the sky like a falcon. He has leapt skyward like a grasshopper.”
Ancient Egyptian legends tell of "Tep Zepi" or the First Time. This is described as an age when "sky gods" came down to Earth and raised the land from mud and water. They supposedly flew through the air in flying "boats" and brought laws and wisdom to man through a royal line of pharaohs.
Seminole
Near the beginning of time, five Seminole Indian men wanted to visit the sky to see the Great Spirit. They travelled to the East, walking for about a month. Finally, they arrived at land's end. They tossed their baggage over the end and they, too, disappeared beyond earth's edge. Down, down, down the Indians dropped for a while before starting upward again toward the sky. For a long time they traveled westward. At last, they came to a lodge where lived an old, old woman. "Tell me, for whom are you looking?" she asked feebly. "We are on our way to see the Great Spirit Above," they replied.
Blackfoot
A Native American myth, one of the Blackfoot Indians, tells of how a maiden fell in love with the Morning Sun and was taken by him up to the Sky-Country.
American Southwest
The Indians of the American Southwest have legends of tall, fair-haired Beings. They also have legends about the 'Little People'. Both are said to have 'Sky Craft' or 'Saucers'.
Iroquois
Long before the world was created there was an island floating in the sky upon which the Sky People lived. They lived quietly and happily. No one ever died or was born or experienced sadness
Mayan
Mayan mythology tells of four gods discussing, from their thrones in the sky, how they want to create creatures to enjoy the earth and worship them. They proceed to attempt to create creatures of dust, wood, and gold, all of which fail. Then the fourth god creates creatures out of his fingers. These fourth creations were humans and worshipped the gods as they were created, too.
The Mayans believed their predecessors came from the Pleiades. The Mayan Indians of Central America knew the earth was round centuries before the Europeans made this discovery. The Popol Vuh states that several gods, including Hunahpu, Xbalanque, and the great god-king Quetzalcoatl, returned to the stars after their earth life ended.
Mexico
Quetzalcoatl appeared to the ancient Mexicans as a feathered serpent.
Ecuador
Naymlap, the leading god of the Indians of Ecuador, was “taken heavenward by the god of the speaking stone”
China
Early Chinese texts tell of long-lived rulers from the heavens that flew in "fire-breathing dragons".
Tibet
In Tibet there is a book called the Kantyua, which means "the translated word of Buddha". It tells of flying "pearls in the sky" and of transparent spheres carrying gods to visit man. Here, too, the belief is of being reborn time and time again and not just to earth. The Royal Pedigrees of Tibetan Kings dates back to the seventh century. It states that the first seven Tibetan kings came from the stars and goes on to say that they eventually returned to the stars.
Korea
Haemosu came to Korea, a true Son of Heaven came down through the air in a five-dragon chariot.
Pak Hyok-kose the Founder of Silla: In Korea Chinhan had six villages, each belonging to a separate clan whose ancestor was said to have descended from heaven.
The Wei Shu tells that two thousand years ago, at the time of emperor Yao, Tangun Wanggôm chose Asadal as his capital. Hwanung wished to descend from heaven and live in the world of human beings. Knowing his son's desire, Hwanin surveyed the three highest mountains and found Mount T'aebaek the most suitable place for his son to settle and help human beings. Therefore, he gave Hwanung three heavenly seals and dispatched him to rule over the people. Hwanung descended with three thousand followers to a spot under a tree by the Holy Altar atop Mount T'aebaek and he called this place the City of God.
Dead Sea Scrolls
The description of the Divine Throne-Chariot depicts the appearance and movement of the Merkabah, the divine Chariot supported and drawn by the cherubim, which is at the same time a throne and a vehicle.
India
In India it was, and still is, believed that man descended from gods who flew fiery crafts.
The Mahabharata: “The gods, in cloud-borne chariots…bright celestial cars in concourse sailed upon the cloudless sky.”
http://www.dirizabl.co.yu/eng/dirigible.html
Icarus and Daedalus by Frederic Leighton
Icarus (Greek: Ἴκαρος, Latin: Íkaros, Etruscan: Vicare) is a character in Greek Mythology. Icarus' father, Daedalus attempted to escape from his exile in Crete, where he and his son were imprisoned at the hands of King Minos, the king for whom he had built the Labyrinth (Labyrinth is derived from the Minoans word for a ceremonial axe). Daedalus, the master craftsman, was exiled because it was he who built the faux cow for the queen to climb into such that she could copulate with the bull. The result of this coupling was the Minotaur, who grew to become violent and dangerous, so had to be imprisoned in the Labyrinth. Daedalus fashioned a pair of wings for himself and his son, made of feathers and wax. Before they took off from the island, Daedalus warned his son not to fly too close to the sun, as the wax would melt, nor too close to the sea, as the feathers would become sodden. Overcome by the sublime feeling that flying gave him, Icarus soared through the sky joyfully, but in the process he came too close to the sun, which melted his wings. Icarus kept flapping his wings but soon realized that he had no feathers left and that he was only flapping his bare arms. And so, Icarus fell into the sea in the area which bears his name, the Icarian Sea near Icaria, an island southwest of Samos.[1]
His flight was routinely alluded to by Greek poets in passing, but was told in a nutshell in Pseudo-Apollodorus, (Epitome of the Biblioteca) (i.11 and ii.6.3). Latin poets read the myth more philosophically, often linking Icarus analogically to artists.[2][3] In the fifteenth century Ovid became the source for the myth as it was rediscovered and transformed as a vehicle for heroic audacity and the poet's own aspirations, by Renaissance poets like Jacopo Sannazaro and Ariosto, as well as in Spain.[4]
Hellenistic writers who provided philosophical underpinnings to the myth also preferred more realistic variants, in which the escape from Crete was actually by boat, provided by Pasiphaë, for which Daedalus invented the first sails, to outstrip Minos' pursuing galleys, and that Icarus fell overboard en route to Sicily and drowned. Heracles erected a tomb for him.[5][6]
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