Horatio Frederick Phillips: Difference between revisions

'''Horatio Frederick Phillips''' (born 1845 in [[Streatham]], [[Surrey]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Dictionary/Phillips/DI113.htm |title=Horatio Phillips |publisher=U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060923164855/http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Dictionary/Phillips/DI113.htm |archivedate=23 September 2006 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> &ndash; 1924) was an English aviation pioneer, born in [[Streatham]], [[Surrey]]. He was famous for building [[Multiplane (aeronautics)|multiplane]] flying machines with many more sets of lifting surfaces than are normal on modern aircraft. However he made a more lasting contribution to [[aeronautics]] in his work on [[aerofoil]] design.<ref name=wragg>Wragg, D.W.; ''Flight before flying'', Osprey, 1974</ref>

* His 1893 Flying Machine had 50 lifting surfaces and used his patented "double-surface airfoils" in such a way as to produce an [[Aspect ratio (wing)|aspect ratio]] of 1:152, providing great lift at the sacrifice of stability. As a test vehicle, it was not designed to be manned, but was used to test lifting capability. Its maximum load was found to be {{cvt|400&nbsp;|lb|kg}}.<ref>''A History of Aeronautics'', by E. Charles Vivian</ref>

* His 1904 Multiplane was a development of the 1893 test vehicle in a configuration that could be flown by a person. It had 21 wings and had a [[tail]] for stability, but was unable to achieve sustained flight. Its best performance was {{cvt|50&nbsp;|ft|m}}.<ref name="Aerospaceweb"/> A specially made replica of the 1904 machine appears in the opening sequences of the 1965 film ''[[Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines]]''.

* His 1907 Multiplane, which had 200 individual airfoils and was powered by a {{cvt|22&nbsp;|hp|kW}} engine driving a {{cvt|7&nbsp;|ft|m}} propeller achieved a {{cvt|500&nbsp;|ft|m}} flight on 6 April 1907. This was the first flight of its kind in England, although it was preceded by the [[Wright brothers]] by several years.<ref name="Aerospaceweb">{{cite web |url=http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/history/q0232.shtml |title=Horatio Phillips & Multiplanes |publisher=Aerospaceweb.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1959/1959%20-%200938.html |title=Hops and flights: a roll call of early powered take-offs |first=Charles H |last=Gibbs-Smith |publisher=[[Flight International|Flight]] |date=3 April 1959 |page=469}}</ref>

[[Category:AviationBritish aviation pioneers]]