EN Otto Lilienthal: "FIRST IN FLIGHT" - 7 Seconds for Eternity

7 seconds for eternity - how Otto Lilienthal succeeded in flying
The German Centre of Aviation- and Space Research DLR have an ambitous aim - to reconstuct the glider of Otto Lilienthal. The scientists want to prove that the first construction was reliable and a real plane. One of its specialists even wants more. He wants to fly the originally reconstructed glider. The documentary is covering the whole process from the very first steps to the real and risky flights.

[@richard_loosemore]

As a 15-year-old I tried to build a glider for myself, after falling in love with Lilienthal’s design. I built it using an old shop awning lashed to a crude wooden frame, then tested it by running down the hill behind our cottage in Peasmarsh (Paul and Linda McCartney lived at the top of that hill, in fact). The thing actually took off! I had a split second to decide whether to keep going up point the nose down and crash. I opted to crash. Broke my ankle and was off school for two weeks. But I probably saved my life.

[@m.i.c.h.o]

Wow! How big was the hill? I wouldn't think that would be life or death...

[@bernardorodrigues6410]

Wow. Congrats on your build man. Will you build a better version?

[@michaelboyko5024]

Respected, sir! Was after your flight McCartney wrote his song "Distractions like butterflys are puzzling over my head"?

[@riazhassan6570]

I was fifteen when I jumped off a high wall with a wing-like contraption made of bamboo poles and old sheets. I landed with a tangled thump on soft dirt. Luckily, nothing broke except the wing. Thereafter I ventured a powered gyroplane somewhat like the ones that submarines towed in WW2, with welded steel tubes and an old motorcycle engine. Luckily, it lurched to one side and shook itself to death on the very first attempt to move. Some kind of alarm must have entered my obtuse teenage brain, because I never tried anything bigger than models afterwards

[@captainjj7184]

Bought several aluminum pipes with months of saved school lunch money to build my own glider but then my dad used 'em all up to fix the house windows. Fast forward, waay forward, last month in fact, I decided to jump off a ledge in an attempt to float down with the biggest umbrella I've ever bought. The thing collapsed into an inverted dart tumbling me into the asphalt road - luckily no broken bones, just crying in pain. My daughter who was filming was cracking up unstoppably. Congrats man, you went ahead and actually did it. You might not want to try again, but as for me, I haven't used up my turn yet, so... wish me luck for my next, real big try!

[@rafaelvalcarcel]

He was the first to understand the flight. No one before was able to observ like him and use an engineer mind for such a final outcome. Years a go I went in touch the Otto museum and requested some of his original books. It was amazing from an engineer point of view to see what he did and how he studied the problem of flight . Clearly history has not given him his deserved place. I recommend every one to read his books to understand the mind of passionated person.

[@audiophile1024]

Wilbur Wright was always respectful and appreciative of the great accomplishments of Otto Lilienthal. The video is a great tribute to a great man.

[@michaelladigo2395]

Yes, but the Wrights ended up re-doing all of Lilienthal's tables and concepts of lift in order to achieve actual powered, controlled, and continuous flight. Lilienthal's "flights" were mere semi-controlled descents down a hill. Weight-shift is not truly a proper means of control and is what inevitably what killed him. Wrights were "First In Flight". Sorry.

[@BasementEngineer]

@@michaelladigo2395 Define FLIGHT.

[@jonnyolson4387]

@@michaelladigo2395 The Wrights achieved mechanical directional control first, but Lilienthal was the first to fly in a controlled manner: A weight shift hang glider is FLYING. Hundreds of powered weight shift airplanes fly everyday. The Wright Brothers conclusions on airfoil design were incorrect because their wind tunnel was using airfoils that were too short and the air was moving too slowly. The Reynolds number (chord, speed, density, viscosity ) was way off and the Wrights airfoil was far from the correct shape for the speed they were going and the chord length of the wing. Their incorrect airfoils were detrimentally used by the US up threw WW1. The correctly shaped 2 surface wings of Fokker and German wind tunnel data finally proved how wrong the Wrights were.

[@atlet1]

Thank you for this important reseach in aviation history. Otto was even the first hang glider pilot, flying 83 years before me. We were very aware of Otto as our historical reference at that time 1974. Bill Moyes and Bill Bennett was the new pioneers in hang gliding 1969. Flying with weight shifting as the only control have it's risks, because if you enter a strong downwind you lose your weight and subsequently ability to steer. I guess that was what ended Otto's life, as it almost did with my, more than once.

[@connormclernon26]

I thought it was a stall that killed him

[@atlet1]

@@connormclernon26 Why? He was an experienced pilot, engineer and inventor of aerodynamics. Stalling should have been known an practiced.

[@henrykdoruch8056]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Wn%C4%99k =more in English...

[@vracan]

@@atlet1 if headwind turned into downwind suddenly then the wing essentially stalled, and at low altitude very hard to recover.

[@atlet1]

@@vracan yes, that can happen too. I recognize, when I read my own comments, that I used the wrong word. Brobably fall wind would be a better word.

[@bertrandviolette9008]

Great project! Lilienthal was the first real scientist pioner of aviation. He deserves to be much known by people.

[@david1035669]

I have a few pionering ideas of human flight

[@danvision5086]

*You are dreaming. The first real scientist pioner of aviation has been the Romanian Traian Vuia :**en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traian_Vuia*

[@bertrandviolette9008]

@@danvision5086 You are dreaming. The man you’re talking about, was born 24 years later than Lilienthal. Lilienthal published his first book about aerodynamics in 1889. He began to fly in 1891. At Best, your man is the second one.

[@danvision5086]

@@bertrandviolette9008 *I know, but the story is a bit more complicated. Special documents from China, via Marco Polo, Venice, etc. ( Da Vinci has got all the documents from the Dodge, Venice, etc. etc.. I am tired about fakes...*

[@bertrandviolette9008]

@@danvision5086 We are talking about the first scientific approach of flight, here, and Lilienthal is the first in that. History of aviation is ok to recognize that. When i was studying aerodynamics, in France, the graphics about lift and drag (polaire de portance et traînée) were also called Lilienthal’s polaires), and not chinese, da Vinci, or Traian Vuia, or what else. Bleriot, Santos Dumont, Voisin, for example, first flew before Traian Vuia, but they can’t be describe as pioner of the scientific approach of aviation, and even less about aerodynamics. Even if Bleriot had a scientific approach of his designs.

[@johnbrant2454]

What a great project and kudos to all involved in building, testing, and flying this glider!! I started hang gliding in 1974 and that is when I learned about Otto Lilienthal. So great to see you build and fly the original glider and do all the testing. He was so far ahead of his time!!

[@tedmoss]

That is a dangerous machine.

[@henrykdoruch8056]

@@tedmoss =big mistace=NOT autostabil ("S"-shaped) airfoils !!!

[@tsfullerton]

Bought a hang glider in '73 and we flew it off the dunes above Lake Michigan at Elberta. Four of us relayed in the sweaty haul back up the hill.

[@robedmunds7163]

Fantastic film giving credit to a great scientist & aviator and also the professor that showed so much courage in flying the reconstruction.

[@bradruffalo]

Thank you to all involved for sharing this achievement. To witness the dedication and to see this piece of history recreated in such detail is fascinating and amazing.

[@jakerazmataz852]

I remember reading about Lilienthal in elementary school. he may be one of the reasons I got my pilots license. Great vid.

[@Lord_Ronin_The_Compassionate]

That was impressive and well worth watching. Thank you for sharing this incredible story.

[@gordonmutten1750]

You would have thought they would have used an experienced hang glider pilot to test fly it, after all it is obviously a weight shift controlled glider. Personally I would have stiffened up the tail somehow to make it safer for outdoor flying. Going from the drawings alone we can't really know how stiff Lilienthal's original structure was.

[@tron.44]

He died in 1896. There was no glider expert, aviation was not invented yet.

[@malibu188]

Great build and bold flight experiments. Amazing that such a flying craft was designed so long ago.

[@kat13man]

Thank you for allowing us to watch what the first flights were like.

[@ipodman1910]

What a great fun these guys had recreating achievements of Otto!!!

[@mikepowell2776]

Magical! Congratulations to both Lilienthal and Raffel. Brave? Yes. Foolhardy? Probably. Brilliant? Without a doubt.

[@Aengus42]

Beautiful! Thank you for posting this.

[@Pintuuuxo]

7 seconds of pure joy! What a video!!!

[@ricardomunozcastro838]

Gracias a todos los que produjeron este maravilloso documento y la recreación de una obra maestra de vuelo de Otto. Siempre me llamó la atención su diseño. Creo que no tiene su justo reconocimiento en la historia de la aviación, así que este video lo acerca a su correcto lugar en la historia, lo veré más de una vez.

[@brianperry]

Over fifty years ago I made a glider from old charts....I was on a ship in the south Atlantic...It wasn't particular scientific although I did understand the principal of having a curved wing, for lift. The main spar was tightly rolled and glued paper with the wing shape formed over it, it was about 1.5 metre wing span, The fuselage was formed in a similar fashion to the wing spar. The tail was formed in a similar fashion. I had to guess, educated guess, at the centre of gravity....When all was finished I sneaked it to the bridge whilst on watch with the Mate. It was a relatively calm, but a heavy rolling swell running. We stood on the wing of the bridge..... and launched my creation into a fifteen knot head wind created by the ship. The glider soared upwards then rolled towards the waves then to our surprise it skimmed the water like an Albatros. Its total flight time was between 10-15 seconds before it alight on the water ...and was gone...Watching this video of a pioneer of flight returned me to that day so long ago...

[@suminagum6605]

That was awesome to watch, thanks for bringing it back and proving it can fly. 👍👍👍💯

[@waynegilchrist1596]

Congratulations on this amazing success. It took a lot of dedication and perseverance that I'm sure mimicked Lilienthal all the way down to the last bead of sweat heartbeat from an adrenaline filled flight. Proof positive his place in history is well deserved and eternally secure. Anything could have caused his crash, a gust of wind, fatigue or even a moment of broken concentration.

[@Pedro40932]

¡Felicitaciones a todo el equipo! Por recrear éstos: 7 segundos para la eternidad. Con el espíritu sobre la genialidad de Don Otto Lilienthal Reciban mis saludos.

[@pablolopez8724]

no crees que con alas mas grande podría volar correctamente?

[@Basque_Planet]

Wowww! This documentary is pure gold, these guys are real heros, I'm speachless.

[@martinhann1672]

This is a great film! I started hang gliding in ‘78 and, of course, read about Otto. Watching the first flight in the wind tunnel and then on the winch, brought back so much. The short flight off the sand dunes reminds me of my first hops off a hill above Merthyr. Not much to beat this form of flying.

[@peterblake5977]

Hi Martin , a great film indeed , it brought back those exiting memories just before take off and impending flight on many of the site that the SE. Wales club flew . Cheers !!

[@claudiogarcia8860]

Just wonderful. Bravo. BRAVISSIMO

[@voice_of_change]

As a retired pilot I loved this historic legend aviation scientist's recreation to prove RHO for lift

[@danvision5086]

*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traian_Vuia*

[@saucerguy3]

I brought the plans for this glider to Home Depot. I went to the pvc/plumbing, plastic sheeting section, and the rope department and asked for help, their staff looked at the plans in each area, then me, and walked away. I was blocked from access to the duct tape isle and they confiscated my Home Depot charge card, mumbling something about liability and insurance risks and someone even mentioned needing mental evaluations... Thank you Otto, won't be making that mistake any more, next time will shop at Walmart, you should have warned us!

[@casychapin4647]

as a home depot employee and a fan of aviation history I would have been fascinated and i would love to help you find parts, but ive met people in the store who are doing dangerous things, and there are things we cant help with. if i thought somebody didnt have the technical understanding to tackle this, i would probably recommend the to build a kite version to understand, as i believe the wright brothers did

[@saucerguy3]

@@casychapin4647 I would want to go to your store and be the person I talk to along assembling the supplies and tools I need for the project. I would also grab some random, cheap tool on the way out. Upon check out, I would be certain to require a check out person help me upon and casually tell them what I am building, and that you were the person to help me gather the tools and supplies. That I was only there to purchase, x tool only, that last one I grabbed on the way out, and imply these extra purchases for what I am making was your idea..... lol. I was joking on my original response, still, on a serious note, I do in fact buy things for remote control aircraft builds and the foam that's normally being used for insulation is one of my go-to materials on many of my builds, so I do mention to them if I need their help, what the stock is for, and it's always cool seeing a smile on their faces knowing it's going for something cool, not merely stuck inside of some wall.

[@peterblake5977]

Goes to show what a narrow minded world we now live in . I doubt if the wheel would have been invented if humans had been this risk adverse back then!

[@MichaelMcFearin]

Just wonderful, I had never seen this beutiful glider before or the inventor.

[@deamondhebil606]

Amazing history.... Congratulations professor...

[@Darksagan]

This was awesome. If only Lilienthal could see his influence.

[@CandC68]

Oh, I love this. The brilliance and courage of Otto. A flying machine that the inventor was probably the only person who COULD fly it. I have to say that he died DOING his dream and inspiration. Flying.

[@peters972]

Thank you! That is beautiful.

[@ThoughtfulAl]

Very nice. I studied Otto Liliethal at school 50 years ago and very much wanted to build and fly my own glider, but didn't. He built an artificial hill 15 m (50 feet) high as he lived in a flat area with no suitable hills to launch from and I often admired the amount of work that would have taken.

[@danhaywood5696]

I read of him and saw photos as a child. I've always remembered his name. I really had a thing for flying when I was a child.

[@slartybartfarst9737]

Wow thank you all for this fantastic work and video

[@chibuikeibe6812]

This is really awesome..😊 The way they took their time to build it from the beginning to the end is quite amazing.... good job guys..🤝 I remember building a human artificial wing in 2008 and it was successful...but the saddest part is that people keep doubting it because I'm from west Africa..🤦🏽 Although any moment from now I will shock my doubters by resurrecting that invention..🤝

[@tron.44]

You should be proud! Keep striving to achieve your goal, and fly freely with your own glider or wing.

[@LongoSD9]

Amazing, thank you for sharing!!!

[@tomarmstrong1281]

Has no one ever heard of Sir John Cayley and his 'man flyer'? Otto did some sterling work but he was NOT the first to experience heavier than air manned flight. Cayley's 'man flyer' flew in 1853 across Brompton Dale in Yorkshire. Wickepedia has a good description of his life and times. Much of his empirical research established the principles and the theory of aerofoils and is reputed to have been used by the Wright Brothers. There is a full size working replica of his man flyer to be seen in the Yorkshire Air Museum. It was used in a film and flown by Derek Piggot. But full kudos to the professor and his team.

[@thomasleemullins4372]

I will check him out. Thanks for the information.

[@tomarmstrong1281]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y362i4irrZmYis0

[@travelbugse2829]

Many thanks. Absolutely fascinating to watch. Lilienthal was truly the father of hang-gliding. I know that people are saying the ancient Chinese invented flight, but we do not have sufficient information about their machines. I should be patriotic and say that George Cayley in the UK created a primitive glider in the early 1850s. Later in the 1890s, another Englishman Percy Pilcher visited Lilienthal several times and was inspired by him, flying similar machines. Pilcher died back home after an in-flight structural failure in 1899. My thoughts as an ex-weight shift pilot: The tailplane should have been more controllable. I believe the high relative angle of incidence between the wing and the tailplane/stabiliser would keep the aircraft stable only within a narrow speed range. It was stable as set up, but diving/gaining speed would produce a rapid automatic nose-up correction that would keep the pilot very busy! It would have been a 'phugoid flyer' if flown long distance, I believe. That is not to dismiss any of the pioneering work that Lilienthal made, however - an amazing, talented person who gave his life for scientific progress.

[@travelbugse2829]

I forgot to add, a big thankyou to everyone involved in the project.

[@MJ-iy4fb]

Actually it was Bill Gates who invented flight.

[@soaruk3697]

@@travelbugse2829 You also forgot to mention Cayley's glider did fly and it is well documented as such. Several reconstructions of Cayley's machine have also been successfully flown. There seem to be some German propogandists around these days that are promoting Lilienthal to be the first in flight and the 'father of flight', they are totally wrong, and the honour rightfully belongs to Cayley.

[@danvision5086]

*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traian_Vuia*

[@thomasleemullins4372]

Leonardo De Vinci had an airplane design but no one knows if he actually built and flew it.

[@SternLX]

And now we have Paragliders that in the right air conditions can stay aloft for hours just using rising columns of air.

[@hobbyrob313]

the proof is absolutely provided by these people! respect! now having seen this you would like to shout more more, but on the other hand, you shouldn't take any unnecessary risks! Friendly greetings from The Netherlands! Rob👍

[@jessasto947]

"Was it a fault in the material or was it a constructional defect?" I believe the idea that the storks don't flap their wings does not mean that their wings are rigid/fixed. Even in the video of the flying stork, a close observation reveals the wings are flexing, bending, turning, twisting. While it's subtle from a distance away, the wings are far from just randomly flexing from wind/loads. Hence, the major flaw in the assumption that it can be duplicated with a flexible model. None -the-less, He deserves the recognition and all the world-wide credit for his historical achievement!!

[@rockmanharbinger3622]

Beautifully Done! ROCKMAN😎!

[@goomadeflesh5518]

an english guy called percy pilcher was the first guy to fly a flex wing a few years before otto ironically he also died under his wing

[@hblandim720]

ESPETACULAR!!! CONGRATULAÇÕES DO BRASIL!!! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@michaelboyko5024]

That was the greatest invention, indeed! Great respect for him, moreover note that people new nothing about aerodynamics... Later the famous Soviet aircraft engineer Andrey Tupolev said that "give me a great engine and I'll make a brick fly"

[@kkteutsch6416]

Americans used this concept of Tupolev during the II war in various aircraft projects, doing them around even more powering radial engines....

[@tedmoss]

People knew about birds, so knew about aerodynamics. They just didn't know much. For example the birds wing is curved and the tail is used to steer like a rudder on a boat.

[@michaelboyko5024]

@@tedmoss well, people new birds for millions of years. But how few it turned out when it came time to construct a air plane wing! First, the profile of it... Aha, now starts the new unpaved road

[@Rozebunny14]

Thank you for such a wonderful video♥️🕊️✈️

[@richardsisk1770]

Excellent Film! Inspiring.

[@robertoaxelciarelli424]

Bellissima riproduzione!

[@rogerhill4427]

Well done. Very brave!

[@lucianosschlieper]

the scene of the pilot letting go of the controls and slowly getting out of the machine gives me a very strange feeling. It's beautiful.

[@jbird6609]

Another similar pioneer was Gustav Whitehead. He was an early engine builder for the time. He went further by adding his engine to a Lilienthal style glider. Reports are that he flew it often, before the wright brothers, but wasnt documented properly. Credit should be given to early pioneers who had success. The Wright Brothers invented aeronautics but they werent first to fly.

[@jbird6609]

I was a high school kid in the late 60s. I built several hangliders, that skimmed the ground . We were considered wierdos and disrespected. Fortunately I saw the danger and quit before they killed me. During that time there were many deaths to young experimenters. . Today there are standards that hangliders must meet to be safe. Our progress has been made on the shoulders of those who came and died before us, like Otto. If you look at those picture of him way back then, he was muscular looking, strong and intelligent. Like someone i might have known when i was his age. Honor history, salute to Otto Lilienthal.

[@jamesvaliensi7706]

A very interesting book on the subject is by David Gierke, "To Caress the Air". It is based on the civil case of A.Herring vs. Glenn Curtis and in it you will find the involvement of A Herring and powered flight.

[@Vincent-jw2wi]

i am thrilled by how satisfying this is

[@David-oi7im]

... good job on your presentation..

[@jamesengland7461]

It appears from the wind tunnel tests that the pilot sits right at the center of pressure, or even behind, rendering it unstable unless he pulls his weight forward slightly, moving his weight, and the center of gravity, slightly ahead of the center of pressure, making it stable and controllable. But what's with that flapping, loose empennage? Not only is airflow to it blocked by the wing, it seems very passive.

[@pkjmfineart1593]

Amazing. Thank you!.

[@peterblake5977]

I too had a fascination for flight from an early age. By 1976 Hang - gliding had arrived in Britain and at 30 years of age this was my introduction to real natural un-powered flight from the beautiful coastal resort of Rhossily on the Gower coast of Wales . After my first two seater flight on a seated Highway glider with an instructor. After a top to bottom flight from 600ft I was HOOKED! My last flight was on a second hand Highway Demon glider from Merthyr Common in 1989 , my longest flight being 3Hrs. Later at the tender age of 6o I was able to obtain a NPPL licence flying a Cessna 150 , but regard my time on Hang-gliders the most exiting and natural way to fly . Hi! to Martin Hann by the way, what great days the were in the SE Wales Hang -Gliding Club.

[@stomptheelites]

Fantastic!

[@randyedward5314]

This is beautiful!

[@orvjudd1383]

Wonderful recreation of the Lillienthal glider. I did notice that there is instability of the tail relative to the wing. I don’t know if that was taken into account by Otto. I wonder if modifying his design to stabilize the relative movement of the tail would help or hinder the flight characteristics?

[@mr.mcbeavy1443]

You ain't kidding brother, that thing was flapping around like it was made with toothpicks and rubber bands. Definitely could stand some reinforcement.

[@MarkShinnick]

With my own models, mere random flexes made no big difference; it's the average that seems be important.

[@lcfflc3887]

it would definitely help increase the flight time by been able to pitch the nose up and down with the stabilizer but back then probably didn't have and accurate idea of what a bird's tail is really supposed to do, whe you look at a bird flying, tail looks fixed in one position only, when.

[@MayMay-fe2ki]

In order to reduce the total weight of the aircraft, all bamboo rounded by rope will make it durable and is to be used instead of wooden rod in modification. A vertical enclosed bamboo loop is also to be installed and tied in the front part of the aircraft as the support for airman's feet and used as a step for his up and down jumping movement and such movement is similar to add energy to the wings during flying. No energy to be transferred to wings movement won't fly longer. Moreover, an additional of two parachutes to be installed at the left and right wings which would be opened after flying to increase uplift forces when required. I think that it will fly longer and land safely after modification.

[@litestuffllc7249]

Since man had flown a hundred years early, and higher up to 30,000 ft and longer; I dare say there are aircraft that did not rely on Lilienthals insights. It was only 3 years later that the first Zeppline was built and flew several miles in 1900.

[@atlet1]

Otto Lilienthal was the pioneer on the science of flying due to the principle heavier than air. Flying due to the principles of lighter than air was an established technology by his time.

[@j.ericswede7084]

Undoubtedly Lilienthal was a keen observer of bird's wings and he put his observations to work in developing one of the World's First Gliders. Very nice recreation of the original.

[@cablecar3683]

That's where you're wrong, in Imperial Britain, a man by the name of Sir George Cayley made a glider with the keen importance parts of aircraft, lift, thrust, gravity, and drag in mind, the design has the wing and tail section suspended with solid material and the little carriage on the bottom of the plane, the source I got this information from is AmazingViz's First in Aviation 3D, which shows two planes before the Wright Flyer, the glider I just mentioned and also another areoplane powered by three engines with three propellers, in 1888 made in France and is now displayed in a museum in Paris, 35 years after the 1853 British glider, which makes it the real World's First Glider, before Otto Lilienthal.

[@j.ericswede7084]

@@cablecar3683 Duly noted and original comment updated. Thank you.

[@stevenwilliams2601]

like the story of Icarus, Otto's dream will always be relived by those that reach to the sky and push to go beyond!

[@SoloRenegade]

First in flight of any kind (hot air balloon): Jean Pilatre de Rozier First in unpowered heavier than air flight: Otto Lilienthal First in powered heavier than air flight: Orville Wright The Wright brothers flew unpowered heavier than air gliders successfully for years prior to their first successful powered flight. Blimps and Rigid Airships flew from 1852 to the present with a variety of accomplishments during that time. Filled the gap in the time between hot air balloons and the Wrights first powered flight.

[@SoloRenegade]

@@TugIronChief that's a new one. now prove it.

[@koreanature]

Wow... !!! My best friend, It's always great. I wish you every day of your development. Have a happy day!

[@luizmattos9031]

Parabéns a esta equipe que realizou um projeto que muitos, talvez jamais diria que funcionaria.

[@wilsonandremachadosilveira4200]

Showwww! Voar e sentir o que os desbravadores sentiram! Parabéns!

[@davidwrobel8089]

Basically the first successful glider, this can't be taken away from Mr Otto, Fast forward to the Wright Brother to get it right

[@rafikulahamed959]

Great,,,We waiting for next experiment video.

[@ponyrang]

Wow, that's a great video. I will always cheer for you in Korea I'm looking forward to a great video. Have a nice day.

[@cg7509]

I live right near Sand City, wish I would have known, definitely would have watched this!

[@Andrew-13579]

They had this glider in California. I wonder if they had given thought to flying it off the cliff at Torrey Pines, CA.

[@masterxyr]

what? no rolls or jumping from a skyscraper? pfpff joking! Remarkable journey and amazing success. congrats to everyone involved and the many hours of sweat, tears and joy

[@robertkirby3158]

There is no doubt about Lilienthal's status in the history of man's efforts to fly. He inspired the Wright brothers with his successes and the data he recorded. However, the same brothers came close to giving up when the same data proved inadeqaute for the next step towards sustained flight under power. That they did not was due to their sister exposing them to the inferior efforts of well financed institutes thus giving them a second wind. It also put their failure using Lilienthal's data into perspective as other than a failure. Who cannot enjoy the tangible reality this project brings to a piece of world history but al three of the men I mention were only interested in where they had been for where it might take them next.

[@zackworrell535]

The Wright Brothers were inspired by him and credited him for his discoveries, but they abandoned his technical research in exchange for their own achieved using a custom built wind tunnel. The wright brother are the first in sustained powered flight.

[@gghhhfghgh]

Só voaram em 1908! 2 anos depois de Santos Dumont!

[@Themheals]

I stand with Russia

[@hepphepps8356]

@@Themheals that’s absurd.

[@colinschaeffer3940]

@@TugIronChief No, those three or others did not achieve anything more than "powered leaps"!

[@mcapps1]

He didn't do shit, he jumped off a fucking Hill.

[@cruzcontrol1504]

OUTSTANDING

[@aruncr4500]

Excellent

[@bigglestheflyboy]

This project was carried out with typical German precision, and they clearly got to understand how the Lilienthal flying machine worked. But as a Hang Glider pilot from the very beggining , I know that trying to judge the flying characteristics of a glider like this on FLAT earth will not work very well. This type of flying machine needs the air to have a componant of rising up to meet the machine, as one has when flying it from a hill top. In their wind tunnel, the air was coming AT them, not UP to them and this is very important. When you stand on the top of a hill, you can feel the air coming up under you and all you need to do is take a couple of steps and the glider lifts up. Then you move you weight forwards, and the machine lowers its nose and moves forward, but because of the rising air the machine, also rises. This is exactly why the Lilienthal glider flew so successfully and is also the exact same way that modern day Hang Gliders fly. Otto was in essence the very first Hang Glider Pilot in the world!!

[@johngallagher912]

Your film makes it sound like Otto crashed on his first flight. Otto Lilienthal flew gliders about two thousand times over a period of five years before his fatal flight.

[@tedmoss]

No one said that.

[@BGBengtsson]

Check from 5m15s-

[@slicedlimes7948]

This was literally mentioned in the video

[@tolitsdterrible4785]

Then, you have a hearing problem. Time to have your ears checked.

[@michaelnorris4629]

It is very possible to crash without being killed. I did many times using a hang glider and once in my plane.

[@camplethargic8]

24:46 That's falling, with style.

[@Goldenboy-sc4fg]

All the best to your beautiful Channel hopefully your subscribers and viewers will keep increasing 🇴🇲

[@FLYNRYAN1978]

Awesome !

[@brealistic3542]

Great Video !

[@user-rm4lc1lx5b]

I was in Sand City California dozens of times. They fly paragliders there. Respect to all aviators.

[@gilbertgauger3380]

I am very curious to know if there is any historical evidence of Lillianthlal’s determination of the proper center of gravity for his glider.

[@altamiradorable]

Everybody talks about the Wright brothers but never give enough credit to Otto Lilienthal !

[@user-cp3yt2hp9i]

Good job!

[@jgsaez]

Amazing!

[@huto9606]

Ja das war ein großer Schritt in der weiter Entwicklung von Fluggeräten!

[@constpegasus]

Man has some guts to free fly that bird. Terrific job sir.

[@litestuffllc7249]

I agree Lidmark; but if you look at the title they say "first in flight" Also it appears by their video that really this glider was incapable of being launched without a head wind and may not have had enough lift even then to lift a normal size human into equiliibrium ; ie it would immediatley start to decend even going 50 kph. I think he understood the principles - thats true; and perhaps if he didn't die he would have built a real glider that actually flew without a head wind and might actually rise without having to go 50 Kph.

[@tron.44]

Otto would be proud!

[@RajVelu]

Exalted idea of super bro good bless you 🌹

[@tolitsdterrible4785]

Have they considered the height and weight of Lilienthal? I believed he designed the glider's wing size and strength based on his own body statistics.

[@tohaason]

Good point. The pilot in the video is a big guy (though slim). I'm thinking that an actual hangglider pilot of shorter lighter stature would be a better match than a tall airplane pilot?

[@jamesfermanis4099]

Yes ,but in 1894 Lawrence Hargraves flew his Box kite designs at Stanwell Tops, Sth of Sydney Australia. These designs which the Wright brothers, who had been in correspondence with were the designs they adopted. Credit due, but often Hargraves work is forgotten.

[@redvli8746]

That was beautiful, I wonder if they can make another one using modern materials and technology applied

[@eliezerrivera9203]

Hi, the only issue with the stabilizer the tale is not straight to the rest of the aircraft stabilizer must be straight with strength if the stabilizer is not stable won't keep very stable

[@haroldland4620]

Tremendous !