Humanity has always aspired to heaven, and the legend of Icarus is only one of the evidence of this. Only the lack of suitable materials and technologies kept us from free flight. Already in the 18th century, outstanding scientists proved the impossibility of using aircraft powered by the muscular power of man. The advent of working models of steam engines gave enthusiasts hope for the realization of a long-held dream of a person in life.
The question of why steam engine aircraft are not made is not formulated correctly. Rather, one should ask about why such devices did not fly. Attempts to equip airplanes with the only working unit at that time were. So, our compatriot Mozhaisky A.F. He received a patent for the aircraft he invented back in 1881 and built it. The power plant were two steam engines of English production.
He managed to build a plane, but the tests ended in a crash due to the lack of roll compensators. The glider just fell on the wing and fell to the ground. The brothers George and William Besler were more successful in the field of building aircraft with steam engines. In 1933, they were able to raise their biplane with a double expansion power unit into the air. So still, why don't steam-powered airplanes do?
Modern developments in the aircraft industry
The refusal to use this type of power units in aircraft construction is due, first of all, to low efficiency. Attempts to increase it lead to such technical and technological problems, the resolution of which reduces all the positive aspects of the steam drive to zero. And he has advantages. For example, the possibility of reverse significantly reduces the path length of the device after landing.
The noise level from such an engine is so low that in flight it is possible to talk in an open cockpit without special means. It is possible to use any combustible substances as fuel: alcohol, gas, crude oil, coal and much more. Moreover, it is possible to increase the efficiency by using ammonia as the working fluid of the engine.
Back in the late seventies of the last century, a group of Soviet engineers led by Makarov Yu.V. The project was developed and the ammonia-steam engine was embodied in metal. On tests, he showed decent performance, and in the manufacture was much simpler than an internal combustion engine. A legitimate question arises as to why steam-powered aircraft do not.
The answer lies in many areas, starting with the banal reluctance of seemingly interested departments to implement the invention and ending with a worldwide conspiracy of oil companies that are trying to slow down the development of alternative engine manufacturing. Perhaps the depletion of resources on our planet will nevertheless make mankind come to its senses, and then the question of why steam-powered airplanes do not cease to be on the agenda.
The development of air transport and the construction of fundamentally new airliners are still quite foggy. For a simple person living with the dream of flying, only a radio-controlled aircraft is available. This toy will make you feel like a real pilot and conqueror of heaven.