{"collection":"UFO & Paranormal","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/ufo/swedborg.htm","path":"ufo/swedborg.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/ufo/swedborg.htm","text":"* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *\n \u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4 * * \u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\n * L I T E R A R Y F R E E W A R E *\n * *\n * F O U N D A T I O N *\n \u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4 * * \u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\u00c4\n * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *\n \n \n -=\u00f0 P R O U D L Y \u00ed P R E S E N T S \u00f0=-\n \n \n \n \n The following is an article from the June '95 (Vol. 3, #6) issue of The\n REALL News. It may be reprinted by other skeptics organizations as long as\n proper credit is given. REALL also requests that you please send a copy of any\n publication that reprints one of our articles for our files. This article may\n also be cross-posted onto other appropriate conferences.\n This article represents the opinions of its author, and does not necessarily\n represent the opinions of REALL or its officers.\n ==============================================================================\n \n The Sociocultural Genesis of the Flying Saucer\n (SWEDENBORG HYBRID ORNITHOPTER OF 1714)\n by Wesley R. Smith, Ph.D.\n \n Among the most badly handled, most interesting, most\n distorted, and most eclectic of aerospace history subjects\n is the origin of the use of the circular, elliptical and\n annular wing planforms (shapes) in aircraft design.\n A quick review of the writer's memory and library reveal\n that more than 50 aircraft have been designed, and/or built,\n using an ellipse or circle as a wing configuration. However,\n this listing is by no means a complete survey, only a brief\n overview of what can be located at hand. In fact, there is\n an entire U.S. Patent subclass (Class 244, Aeronautics;\n Subclass 21.2 Airplane, circular) dealing with aircraft\n using a circular wing planform. Likewise, a number of\n lighter-than-air or hybrid designs have appeared in the\n course of aeronautical history which also use the disc shape\n as a basis for the gas envelope.\n What is undoubtedly the first recorded circular aircraft\n was the product of the fertile imagination of an 18th\n Century Swedish scientist, philosopher and noted theologian\n named Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772).\n Born in Stockholm on Jan. 29, 1688, he was the second\n son of Jesper Swedenberg. The family surname was transformed\n to \"Swedenborg\" after being enobled by the King of Sweden in\n 1719 and following Jesper's appointment as the Bishop of\n Skara. From 1710 to 1714 Emanuel Swedenborg traveled\n extensively throughout Europe following his education at\n Uppsala University; visiting England, Holland, France and\n Germany. An avid student of astronomy and mathematics, he is\n known to have met with John Flamsteed and Edmund Halley.\n While he is known to have studied the works of Isaac Newton,\n there is no evidence to support the contention that\n Swedenborg ever knew him. Nevertheless, it was during this\n period in his life that Swedenborg developed many ideas\n which were as far ranging as a method to calculate longitude\n based on the position of the moon, to plans for a submarine\n and a practical design for an aeroplane.\n On Sept. 8, 1714, Swedenborg first wrote of his idea for\n an aircraft to his brother-in-law, Erik Benzelius. This was\n later followed by a complete written description which\n appeared in the fourth edition of Sweden's first scientific\n journal, _Daedulus Hyperboreus_, founded by Swedenborg in\n the same year (1716). During this time, Charles XII of\n Sweden also appointed Swedenborg as Assessor Extraordinary\n at the Royal College of Mines, which enabled him to have\n significant impact on Sweden's metal-mining for the next 30\n years, during which he was elevated to the position of\n Assessor. Moreover, his work is of great historical\n significance, for _Daedulus Hyperboreus_ contains the first\n detailed technical description of a flying machine of any\n type.\n Fortunately, the Stifts-och Landesbibliotek at Linkoping\n (codex 14a, 1714) has Swedenborg's original manuscripts\n which include a sketch of Swedenborg's \"Flying Saucer.\" The\n design is oval in shape; however, circular, square and\n rectangular planforms are also suggested in the 1716 text.\n The dimensions [*] of Swedenborg's aircraft are given as:\n 32' x 24' (603.2 sq') for an oval, 28' diameter (615.75 sq')\n for a circle, 25' x 25' (625 sq') for a square, and 20' x\n 30' (600 sq') for a rectangular surface. In all cases the\n central thesis of the Swedenborg ornithopter comprises of a\n central pilot's station measuring 6' wide, 4' long and 2'\n deep. Suggested materials for the pilot's basket include\n cork, leather and birch bark; nevertheless, both the main\n wing and secondary flapping wings were to be covered with\n sailcloth.\n On both sides of the basket area are a pair of flapping\n wings operated by the would-be pilot. These are described as\n having a length of 5' and a chord of 1.5' (7.5 sq' each). A\n coiled spring was also to be attached to the spars of the\n flapping wings to enable the pilot to operate the wings with\n greater ease.\n Furthermore, like a design suggested by Da Vinci, the\n flapping wings were intended to function as valves with\n hinges at the center of the chord, folding on the up-stroke\n and opening on the down-stroke. With aid of what he refers\n to as \"the power of the wind,\" Swedenborg believed that the\n muscular weakness of the pilot would be more than\n compensated for by this system, and that by being able to\n alter the incidence angle of the flapping wings, they would\n also provide sufficient thrust for horizontal flight. While\n not entirely complete, there is at least a partial divorce\n of the lift and thrust components of flight, as the flapping\n wings are clearly not intended as the primary means of\n aerodynamic lift. A complete separation of these two systems\n would not come for another 85 years when Sir George Cayley\n designed his first fixed-Ying aircraft in 1799.\n The oval wing of Swedenborg's machine is comprised of a\n wooden framework with eight lateral ribs. Both lateral and\n longitudinal camber are employed, the curvature being\n maintained by four beams spaced in pairs at right angles to\n each other. After carefully balancing the craft to ascertain\n its center of gravity, Svedenborg suggested that a vertical\n beam measuring about 8' in length be attached to the bottom\n of the pilot's basket. At the bottom end, a weight of 1\n lispund (18.75 lbs) was to be attached to ensure pendulum\n stability.To support the entire machine, and presumably\n prevent the central beam from piercing the bottom of the\n basket, four diagonal beams were apparently attached to the\n sides of the pilot's basket. Swedenborg states that it\n \"would do no harm\" to attach wheels to the ends of the\n quadruped struts, but he does not specifically indicate they\n were necessary.\n Alas, Swedenborg's flying saucer was never to be built.\n He did, however, wisely suggest that the aircraft first be\n tested as a ballasted glider, and that it be launched from a\n high place. Looking across the chasm of 280 years we can see\n the practical, as well as the impractical, aspects of his\n design. His work apparently influenced no one and is all but\n forgotten by most aerospace historians; but since his day, a\n number of successful circular planform aircraft have been\n built and flown. Although the idea was not to be taken up\n again for many years, it is worth noting that there were at\n least a dozen circular, elliptical or annular shaped\n aircraft designed and/or built in the United States and\n Canada prior to the First World War. Among them, Dr. Bell's\n Ring Rite of 1908, Ringert Jongewaard's flying disc of the\n 1880s, Robert B. Taylor's 1842 design for a convertiplane,\n George Francis Myers' 1904 annular quadruplane, and the\n interesting McCormick-Romme \"Umbrella Plane\" tested at\n Cicero Field near Chicago from 1912 to 1914.\n Last year a disc-shaped airship was displayed at\n Washington, D.C., by a team of Russians for the first time,\n so it would seem that the idea is far from permanently\n disappearing from the polymorphic annals of aerospace\n despite the high aerodynamic drag penalty of circular\n planforms, particularly at transonic speeds.\n The flying saucer, like the \"flying house\" stories of\n the late 19th Century and the \"Great Airship Flap\" of\n 1896-1897, is based on historical fact which has evolved\n into distorted cultural mythology. Yes, there are flying\n saucers, and I for one, am open minded enough to admit that\n it is entirely possible for life to have arisen on a planet\n orbiting a distant star. But of all the flying saucers that\n can be positively identified, they are definitely the\n products of imaginative human beings, and among those humans\n is one by the name of Emanuel Swedenborg, an 18th Century\n man who designed the progenitor of what has become a 20th\n Century icon.\n \n NOTES\n \n * According to _The Prehistory of Flight_, p. 233, footnote\n 5, Sweedenborg's unit of measurement, the ell, is about\n 2' (24n). However, _Webster's Third New International\n Dictionary_, p. 736, states that an ell is 2.25' (27\").\n Based on the latter, the overall dimensions and areas\n would be as follows: Oval, 36' * 27', 763.4 sq'; circle,\n 31.5' dia, 779.3 sq'; square, 28.125', 791 sq';\n rectangle, 22.5' * 33.75', 791 sq'. Additionally, the\n dimensions of the pilot's basket would be 6.75' * 4.5' *\n 2.25'. The wings would measure 5.625' * 1.6875', 9.5 sq'\n (ea), and the rod for the pendulum weight would be 9' in\n length.\n \n BIBLIOGRAPHY\n \n BOOKS\n \n Encyclopedia Britannica, Volume 21 (Spelman-Timmins).\n Chicago, etc.; William Benton, 1968. pp 503-504.\n \n Gibbs-Smith, Charles Harvard. Sir George Cayley's\n Aeronautics 1796 - 1855. London; Her Majesty's Stationary\n Office, 1962. pp 7-10.\n \n Hart, Clive, Ph.D. The Dream of Flight: Aeronautics From\n Classical Times to the Renaissance. London, 1972.\n \n ibid. The Prehistory of Flight. Berkeley, California;\n University of California Press, 1985. pp 146-151, 223.\n \n Swift, E. Swedenborg, The Man and his Works. 1932.\n \n Sigstedt, C.S. The Swedenborg Epic. 1953.\n \n Tafel, R.L. Documents Concerning the Life and Character of\n Emanuel Swedenborg, 3 Vol. 1875-1877.\n \n Trobrigdge, G. Swedenborg, Life and Teaching. 1944.\n \n Webster's Third New International Dictionary. Chicago,\n London, Toronto, Geneva, Sydney, Tokyo, Manila;\n Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1966. p 736.\n \n \n PERIODICALS\n \n Acton, Alfred. \"The Mechanical Inventions of Emanuel\n Swedenborg.\" Philadelphia, 1939. pp 20-26.\n \n \"Machine att Flyga i Wardet Enlight Utkast av Emanuel\n Swedenborg.\" Stockholm, 1960.\n \n Odhner, Carl Th. \"Swedenborg's Flying Machine.\" New Church\n Life, October 1909, pp 582-591.\n \n Odhner, Carl Th. and Hugo Lj. Odhner. \"Suggestions for a\n Flying Machine.\" Aeronautical Journal, July 1910, pp\n 118-122.\n \n Swedenborq, Emanuel. \"Utkast til en Machine at Flyga i\n Wadret.\" Daedulus Hyperboreus. 4, October-December 1716,\n pp 80-83.\n \n Transactions of the International Svedenborg Congress.\n London, 1910, pp 45-46.\n \n \n MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION\n \n Illinois State Library. Patent Classification Index.\n \n Stifts-Och Landesbiblioteck. Linkoping, codex 14a, 1714.\n \n Swedenborg, Emanuel. Opera quaedam aut inedita aut obsoleta\n de rebus naturalibus I, ed. Alfred H. Stroh (Holmiae\n 1907), p 226.\n \n LISTING OF CIRCULAR, ANNULAR, ELLIPTICAL, SQUARE,\n RECTANGULAR OR OTHERWISE ODDLY SHAPED AIRCRAFT WHICH HAVE\n RELEVANCE TO THE UFO PHENOMENON\n \n NAME CONFIGURATION COUNTRY YEAR\n \n \n Emanuel Swedenborg elliptical, etc. h-t-a Sweden 1714\n Robert B. Taylor circular, h-t-a US/Britain 1842\n convertiplane design\n Muzio Muzzi circular (upright) US/Italy 1844\n l-t-a propelled balloon\n Leteur circular, h-t-a France 1852\n controllable parachute\n John Wooton annular, h-t-a US, 1866\n flying machine patent New Jersey\n Ringert Jongewaard elliptical, h-t-a US, Dakota 1883\n flying machine patent Territory\n F.R. Geshyenda elliptical, h-t-a Tsarist 1887\n \"Proekt Paraleta\" Russia\n John Buegger circular, l-t-a US? 1888\n airship\n William Augustus annular, l-t-a US? 1891\n Fyers balloon\n William N. Riddle circular (domed) US, Texas 1892\n l-t-a propelled balloon\n William Eddy circular, h-t-a US 1892\n kite\n Laurence Hargrave annular (upright) Australia 1893\n h-t-a tandem kite\n Estanislao elliptical, h-t-a US, New 1895\n Caballero de Los flying machine patent York\n Olivos\n George F. Myers circular, h-t-a US, Ohio 1897\n multiplane and patent -1904\n Percy Pilcher circular, h-t-a Britain 1897\n \"Umbrella Boat/cyclone sail\"\n Rev. Burrell Cannon semi-elliptical, US, Texas 1880s\n h-t-a \"Ezekiel Airships\" 1902,1913?\n A.G. Bell annular, h-t-a Canada 1908\n \"Ring Rite\"\n D'Equevilley annular, (upright) France 1908\n h-t-a\n Givaudan annular, (upright) France 1908\n h-t-a tandem ring\n Vermorel annular, (upright) France 1908\n h-t-a \"Givaudan II n\n hybrid tandem ring triplane\n Cappazza elliptical, l-t-a France 1909\n airship\n Unknown annular, h-t-a Britain 1909\n \"Safety\" annular biplane\n Lt. J.W. Seddon, elliptical, h-t-a Britain 1909\n RN and A.G Hackett\n Steel hoops used in construction of tandem biplane\n Seddon\"Mayflyl\".\n A.G. Ufnmstev annular, h-t-a Tsarist 1909\n \"Sfyeroplan No.1 & Russia -1910\n Sfyeroplan No.2\"\n William P. Gary annular (upright) US, New 1910\n h-t-a \"Flying Barbell n Jersey\n Butler Ames annular wings US 1910\n h-t-a, magnus effect\n Amos Wyckoff circular, 1-t-a/ US 1910\n h-t-a hybrid flying machine -1914\n Two patents, one built. Destroyed by fire.\n \n Lee-Richards annular, h-t-a Britain 1911\n biplane\n William P. Gary annular (upright) US, New 1911\n h-t-a tractor triplane hybrid Jersey\n Edwards diamond-shaped Britain 1911\n h-t-a \"Rhomboidal\" pusher biplane\n Lee-Richards annular, h-t-a Britain 1912\n biplane glider\n McCormick- annular (hexagonal) US,Illinois 1912\n Romme h-t-a \"Umbrella Plane\" -1914\n Lee-Richards annular, h-t-a Britain 1913\n tractor monoplane\n J. Robertson annular, h-t-a Britain 1913\n Porter \"Gyropachute\" air cushion vehicle\n Paul Malwurm annular fuselage, US 1929\n h-t-a \"Flyworm\"\n L.C. Popper and annular lift rotors US 1932\n John B. Guest using magnus effect, h-t-a\n Snyder square, 1-t-a/ US 1932\n h-t-a hybrid\n Unknown circular, l-t-a Italy 1932?\n \"Whirling Gasbag n\n Nicholson square, h-t-a US 1932\n Carl N. Hall annular, h-t-a US 1933\n propeller enclosed in a huge ring\n Jonathan E. rectangular blades US 1933\n Caldwell rotating laterally, h-t-a\n Luigi Stipa- annular fuselage Italy 1933\n Caproni enclosing buried engine, h-t-a\n Nemeth circular, h-t-a US 1930s\n Lamer circular, h-t-a US 1930s\n Aarup semi-elliptical, US 1935\n h-t-a tractor monoplane\n Moskalyev semi-elliptical, USSR 1936\n SAM-9 \"Strela\", -1937\n h-t-a tractor monoplane\n Flettner annular wings Germany late\n using magnus effect, h-t-a 1930s\n Vought semi-elliptical US 1942\n V-173, h-t-a \"Flying Pancake\"\n Vought semi-elliptical US 1947\n XF5U-l, h-t-a tractor monoplane -1948\n Miles annular fuselage Britain 1947\n M-52, h-t-a -1948\n Leduc annular fuselage, France 1949\n 0.10/0.16, h-t-a\n Leduc annular fuselage France 1953\n 0.21/0.22, h-t-a\n Hiller annular rotor duct US 1955\n XONR-l flying platform, h-t-a\n Convair circular wing US 1950s\n design studies, h-t-a\n Doak annular propeller US 1958\n ducts VZ-4DA, h-t-a\n SNECMA annular fuselage France 1959\n Coleopetre C.450-01, h-t-a\n Avro tCanada) annular, h-t-a Canada/US 1960\n VZ~9Z \"Avrocar n\n Piasecki semi-annular, h-t-a US 1962\n VZ-8P n Airgeep II n\n Aero Rinetics annular, h-t-a US 1963\n Northrop elongated cone US 1966\n HL-10 lifting body, h-t-a\n Northrop elongated cone US 1965\n M2-Fl/2 lifting body, h-t-a -1966\n Bell annular rotor ducts US 1966\n X-22A, h-t-a\n NORD annular rotor ducts France 1968\n 500, h-t-a\n Boeing/Grumman circular radome US mid-1960s\n AWACS, h-t-a -current\n Martin Marietta elongated cone US 1970\n X-24A lifting body, h-t-a\n Martin Marietta elongated cone US 1973\n X-24B lifting body, h-t-a\n Skyship Enterprises circular, 1-t-a Britain 1974\n airship\n Lockheed annular wing US late\n design for an airliner -1970s\n Mr. Six? annular, h-t-a US? 1980?\n Model seen at Oshkosh n Flymart n\n Unknown circular, 1-t-a Russia/CIS 1994\n Displayed in Washington! DC\n Howard Menger circular UFO model US 1951?\n HMX-l-l951 designed by 1950s alien\n \"contactee\" Howard Menger\n \n ADDENDA\n \n Cayley \"Governable Parachute\" 1852-1853\n Convair circular, n-t-a GEM 1960\n Ground Effect Machine\n Avro circular, h-t-a 1960\n WSGOGA\n NC Price 1 U.S. Patent #3,103,324 1963\n Lockheed 09-10-63, Circular\n High Altitude, High Velocity\n VTOL Aircraft\n Sikorsky annular, \"cypher\" 1988\n h-t-a -present\n Paul Moller multiple annular 1980s\n \"skycar\" u200x -present\n Jesse A. Bird? elliptical reconstruction 1897\n of Swedenborg's original design\n Lockheed modified elliptical Mid-\n GTD-21B hypersonic rpv 1960s\n \n \n [Wesley Smith is a Springfield native with a Ph.D. in American History\n from George Washington University. He is an aerospace historian who\n has received two fellowships at the National Air and Space Museum, is the\n Chief Archivist for the Wright Brothers Foundation, and was recently\n appointed to the Congressional Committee for the 2003 Wright Brothers\n Centennial. Smith is currently doing research for a forthcoming book\n cataloging early American heavier-than-air flying machines.]\n \n ---","title":"Swedenborg Ornithopter","type":"page"}