Sir George Cayley: The Father Of Aerodynamics

Sir George Cayley has been dubbed the 'Father of Aerodynamics'. He was an English aeronautical engineer. Sir Cayley grew up in Brompton-by-Sawdon in Yorkshire, England. Sir Cayley was actually the pioneer in the aeronautical engineering field. This was long before powered flight was even thought of.

He was also a member of the Whig Party in Parliament. Sir Cayley was one of the original founders of the University of Westminster. Back in his day when it was founded, it was called the Royal Polytechnic Institution and he was appointed to the position of Chairman for a long period of time. One of the other groups he was a part of was the British Association for the Advancement of Science.

After his father passed, Sir Cayley took over the estate of Brompton Hall. He continued with his studies and projects in the engineering field. Some of the things he created were tension-spoke wheels, lifeboats, caterpillar tractors, seat belts and other items. In addition to those projects, he was instrumental in giving his assistance with air engines, ballistics, electricity and prosthetics.

Even with these projects, he was more notable for the glider that he created himself. It was noted in 1792 that Sir Cayley had been working on ideas for a flying instrument that could operated just be lifting itself up in the air.

In addition to that, he also created a rotating instrument that would constantly spin around. He added wing parts at Brompton Hall in the stairwell areas. He then discovered four important characteristics of the glider: thrust, lift, drag and gravity. These four things would set the stage to what would become more than just a glider.

Around 1799, Sir Cayley started getting into kites. What did Sir George Cayley have to do with kites? He was looking to create a flying instrument that would hold more weight than just air. He wanted this flying instrument to have a person flying with it. He was able to figure out the solutions that would have to be in place prior to anyone being able to accompany a flying instrument.

After the kites phase pass, he went back to the gliders. This time he worked with those that had wings that were shaped like a kite. So in essence, he really didn't get away from the kites altogether.
In 1853, a glider was tested to include a human (a servant of his).

The initial flight didn't last very long. In fact, it lasted less than a minute. After the initial testing, Sir George Cayley had determined all of the four characteristics through the experiment. Eventually, he determined that the characteristics added up to aerial navigation.

A copy cat glider that Sir George Cayley created was flown in Brompton Dale in 1974. Then in the 1980s, the copy cat was flown again. A third trip was done in 2003. On this third trip, two men, Allan McWhirter and Richard Branson flew in the instrument. They flew the instrument on separate occasions.

At Loughborough University in England, Sir George Cayley is honored with other scientists and engineers in a residence hall. To a lot of people, Sir George Cayley will always be known as the 'aeronautical engineers'.