Aeronautical technology flows
at the start of World War I
by Peter B. Meyer
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics --- findings and views are those of the author, not the BLS
ESSHC conference, Vienna
April 2014
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1
A pre-history of the airplane
1860s Clubs and journals show fixed-wing designs
“Aerial navigation” and “flying machines” are fringe activities –
maybe hopeless, useless, dangerous
1890s Glider flights, survey books
Experimenters followed open science, open source practices
Networking ; shared findings, designs – public goods
1903-06 Powered glider flights (Wright brothers, Santos-Dumont)
1908-11 Big exhibitions
1908-1916 New industry
Much was documented
My project: gather & count publications, patents, clubs, firms,
letters, innovators, etc. to understand technical innovation
2
Data on publications
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1910 Bibliography of
Aeronautics by Brockett
of Smithsonian Institution
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13,000 entries, 940 pages
Data to mid-1909
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Much cleanup was necessary
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Title, author, year, language, journal
Duplicates, missing elements,
“missing” entries
Successor volume covers 19091916
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Even larger
Partly computerized
Aeronautical articles by language
Continues higher after 1907, permanently. Source: Brockett bibliography (1910).
Aeronautical periodicals before 1909
Journal
when
where
entries in
Brockett (1910)
L'Aérophile
1893-
Paris
1383
Zeitschrift für Luftschiffahrt
1882-
Berlin; Vienna
1101
Illustrierte Aëronautische Mitteilungen
1897-1931
Strasbourg; Berlin
1053
L'Aéronaute
Wiener Luftschiffer Zeitung
Bollettino della Societa Aeronautica Italiana
1868-1914
1902-1914
1904-
Paris
Vienna
Rome
822
604
534
Aeronautics
1907-1921
London
425
Aëronautical Journal
1897-
London
415
Scientific American
1871-
New York
371
La Conquête de l'Air
1904-
Brussels
343
Aeronautical World
1902-1903
Ohio
315
Compte Rendus de l’Académie Sciences
1836-
Paris
191
Bulletin of the Aerial Experiment Association
1908-
Nova Scotia
157
La Revue de l’Aviation
American Magazine of Aeronautics
L'Aeronauta
190619071896-1900
Paris
New York
Milan
147
102
95
Revue de l’Aeronautique
1888-96; 1900-1
Paris
87
Flight (Aero Club of UK)
1909-
London
81
American Aeronaut
1907-1909
St. Louis; NYC
81
Aeronautical Annual
1895-1897
Boston
68
Ballooning and Aeronautics
1907-
London
64
from Mouillard’s L’empire de l’air, 1881
The next five from L’Aerophile, 1893-1905
Example patent
Aeronautical patents per year, 1860-1907
This is a sample including more than 40% of the relevant patents of that time.
• From publications of the time, USPTO, google patents, and EPO.
• Sources say whether a patent is aeronautically-relevant.
For flying machines I find so far no licensing fees or suits.
8
Subjects of publications and patents to 1909
from selected samples, all countries, some overlap
Pub.
count
Term/idea in pub title
Balloon (aerostat, dirigible, Zeppelin,
2100
Navigation (control, steerable)
623
Kites, gliders (gliding, soaring)
550
Wing
180
Motor (engine, propulsion, propellers)
380
Bird/animal (animal, fish, insect)
270
voyage, ascent)
Scientific/measurement
(research, theory, meteorology, atmosphere,
experiment, duration, altitude, temperature,
weight)
Technology patented
Patent
count
Balloon, airship
556
Navigation / control
297
Kite/glider/wing (glider,
parachute, wing, airfoil)
Propulsion
(propellers,
flapping wing, ornithopter,
engine, motor)
186
355
Other of interest
475
Helicopters
32
Military (warfare, army)
400
Toys / fun
30
Clubs/societies
600
Instruments
26
Imitation/copying of previous designs
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Wright brothers 1901-2 glider
1903-5 airplanes
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Chanute-Herring
glider, 1896
Pratt truss
Wilbur Wright’s first letter to Chanute in 1900 says “the apparatus I intend to employ . . . is
very similar to [your] "double-deck" machine [of] 1896-7 . . .”
“. . . I make no secret of my plans . . . .
I believe no financial profit will accrue to the inventor of the first flying machine,
and that only those who are willing to give as well as to receive suggestions can hope to link
their names with the honor of its discovery.
10
The problem is too great for one man alone and unaided to solve in secret.”
That basic design continues . . .
Ferber, 1902, copies Wright design
based on report from Chanute
Voisin-Farman winning prize, 1908
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Santos-Dumont 1906, 1st airplane flight in Europe
Farman, 1909-10
Source: Gibbs-Smith’s Rebirth of European Aviation
11
Tinkerers era has “open
source” publications,
patents, copying
Now we look at the early
industry era: 1908-1916
1908: Startup firms appear
13
Branches and spinoffs from other industries
Source industry
Establishments/firms that made airplanes in 1908-1916
Engines, turbines
AGO, AWK, Bollee, Curtiss, Junkers, Motorenfabrik Oberursel, Napier, Nieuport/SGd’EL, Praga, Salmson,
Schwade, Siddeley, Sloan et Cie, Sturtevant, Sunbeam, Talleres, Tips, Train, Turcat-Mery, Westland,
Autos, railcars, carriages
Bollee, Delaunay-Bellville, Euler-werke, Fiat, Lohnerwerke, Odier-Vendome, Savary, Turcat-Mery, Wolseley,
Hannoversche Waggonfabrik, Linke-Hoffman, Russo-Baltic Wagon Co., Hooper, WKF
Ships, boats
Flying school
Airships, balloons
Ordnance
Electric
Bicycles, motorcycles
Avro, AWK, Barnwell Bros, Denny/RAF, Harland-Wolff, Oertz, Radley, Saunders, Tellier et Cie, Wight
Other engineering
AEA, Breguet, Daimler, Euler-Werke, Fairey, Gallaudet, Gwynne, Liore-Olivier, Nielsen-Winther, Ransomes,
Robey, SAML, Savages, SNOS, Williams, Zaparka
Auto repair
Other business
Day, Martin
Grade, Graham-White, NFS, Rex GmbH, Schultze, Sloane, Sopwith, United Eastern, Vegener
Astra, Chalais-Meudon, PMBRA, Dornier, Saunders, Schutte-Lanz, Siemens-Schuckert, Vickers
Anzani, LTG, Yokosuka Naval Air Arsenal
AEG, Phoenix Dynamo,Siemens-Schuckert,
Curtiss, Euler-werke, Turcat-Mery, Wrights
BAT, Deperdussin, Sage, Thulin AETA
• Spinoffs here mean key technical people or founder came from the other industry
(as in Klepper’s research on early automobile companies)
• Maybe 10-20% of firms were started by a tinkerer with experience in aero
experimentation but not branching out or spinning off from other industry
• Most firms were started with experience at an airplane-maker already!
Most new aero firms were in Europe
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In Japan, military led; few firms
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In U.S., several major firms, but paralysis associated with litigation
by the Wrights who have a broad patent claim
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Clubs and publications do not arise till 1909; military decision to research
balloons and airplanes in 1909; dispatch individuals to other countries to
learn ; first 25 civilians get foreign training to fly in 1911 ; almost all
engines and aircraft are modifications of a foreign design till 1920
“pioneer patent” – an unusual legal category starting 1890s
Curtiss firm manufacturers airplanes ; big lawsuits
American-made planes considered unsuitable for use in WWI at start
1917: Military forces patent pool, called MAA
Australia, New Zealand, Canada, elsewhere
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Some new firms, mostly founded by tinkerers not industrialists
Aero publications jump with new industry,
decline in WWI
Phases: slow growth, 1860-1906
(data from Brockett 1910, 1921 ; estimates after 1909)
1907 –spike with sudden interest in new industry
1914 – notable drop because of the war, especially in French and German
Aero patents in US, 1907-1916
U.S. patents per year in “aeronautics and aviation”
classification decline after 1912
•
Possibly Wright lawsuits caused this
•
Presumably during war, fewer applications came from Europe
•
Data not ready for other countries
•
These are by date of grant, not the date the applicant filed
Conclusions (1)
1810-1906 aerial navigation experimenters publish and patent
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Growth of patents is comparable to growth of patents overall
Publications grow faster than that
Many clubs and societies arise, at first organized around ballooning
Technology is imitated ; little intellectual property
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Note: No firms do this “research” (technological uncertainty)
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motivation mostly intrinsic or altruistic: to fly! change world! attempt challenge
Communication  imitation, progress  1890s standard glider
A new industry starts from this open-source information
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Publications and patents jump up, 1907-1913
Wave of new companies appears, exhibitions, military contracts
Patents matter as intellectual property then
Conclusions (2)
Most new firms are in Europe
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Some started by aero people only
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Many are coming in from another industry or spinning off from
engineering/manufacturing experience
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“Success rates” unknown as yet
In WWI, notable decline in aero publications
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Especially in French and German
English publications drop, but less
 Many English speakers are distant from the war
US aero patents decline, presumably also in the other countries
 After 1907, aero technology decreasingly by open-source processes,
more by industry and hierarchical/government processes