Hiram Maxim's Flying Machine

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What if Hiram Maxim had won patent to the lightbulb in the United States, and instead of developing the Maxim gun had spent the rest of the 1880s working almost entirely on flying machines, completing a working design by the end of the decade. Due to already having great clout, his invention is recognized earlier than the Wright Brothers so it becomes known right away. How much of an influence does this have on early flight and warfare for the next few years? Would the early aircraft prevent the development of the airship, or would the airship prematurely kill the flying machine in this timeline?
 
He did form a production company with 2 real aviators, but his efforts at flight were somewhat limited by being grossly overweight, underpowered, and totally unstable and uncontrollable. He did have a good grasp of flight testing by keeping his machine tethered. Had he lived, he may have been a contender in the manufacture of early aircraft, but he hadn't thought through enough of the aspects of flight, to be truly successful as a pioneer.
 

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But why flying machines, was he particulary interested in them or somthing?

Maxim did built a steam powered aircraft and got around to tethered testing in 1894. During one test it was so powerful that it broke free of the rails that were restraining it and flew a few feet above the rails for 200 yards with Maxim and a few assistants aboard. It was not able to fly in any controlled fashion though, sources saying that the flight it took involved in careening out of control for 200 yards. The aircraft was also able to move at a speed of 42 miles per hour during tests. His machine had a major performance advantage over the Wright Flyer, the only thing it lacked was control.
 
Maxim did built a steam powered aircraft and got around to tethered testing in 1894. During one test it was so powerful that it broke free of the rails that were restraining it and flew a few feet above the rails for 200 yards with Maxim and a few assistants aboard. It was not able to fly in any controlled fashion though, sources saying that the flight it took involved in careening out of control for 200 yards. The aircraft was also able to move at a speed of 42 miles per hour during tests. His machine had a major performance advantage over the Wright Flyer, the only thing it lacked was control.

Really. Can you cite that? I'd like to know more.
 
The whole point to the Wright flyer was control.

They did it in a really goofy way. Which is why the successful planes were built by other folks. Once you get the idea of changing the control surfaces, changing just a portion works a whole lot better than the whole thing.
 
The whole point to the Wright flyer was control.

They did it in a really goofy way. Which is why the successful planes were built by other folks. Once you get the idea of changing the control surfaces, changing just a portion works a whole lot better than the whole thing.

The Wright's method of aileron, or roll control, called wing warping, may make a resurgence once again, but it will now be called Mission Adaptive Compliant Wing (MACW), or wing morphing. I guess wing morphing does sound goofy. The trick will be to get metal and composites to simulate wood and wire, and find a place for the computer.
 
Well, there's still Gatling's handcranked weapon already in circulation, and I'm reasonably sure that other inventors would've approached the machine gun problem from Maxim's angle not too much later than IOTL.

Regarding the flying machine, Maxim did build a steampowered one, but it was too heavy to get off the rails, iirc. At any rate, I've seen engravings of the craft, and it's about as aerodynamic as a bookshelf.
 
Maxim's machine had the aerodynamics of a bookshelf. Had he based his aeroplane on a doghouse or lawnmower, history would, indeed, be changed.

AirShow2006044D.jpg
 
In the doghouse

I've sen the videos of the doghouse flying--not a fake. Was the lawnmower a real flying machine, or is that a thrown machine, or a photoshop?
 
Could be a fast-action camera catching a falling lawnmower. Steam power doesn't work well for aircraft though, or for cars. Works reasonably well for ships though, and power plants.
 
It is a flying machine which looks like a lawnmower. The only thing fake is that it is a very poor lawnmower.
 

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Maxim's aircraft had three times the power to weight ratio as the Wright Flyer, and also did not have to have a powerful wind gust to go airborne (it took off by accident, showing how much power it had). His aircraft was also expected to be able to carry a pretty significant payload, much more than the Wright Flyer. It was technically superior to the Wright Flyer in every way except control. Assuming Maxim had been able to devise some kind of control surface and make an aircraft capable of maneuvering in flight, how would early aviation have played out? Maxim's machine would have had a payload higher than many World War I bomber aircraft and would have been more readily useful for military, airmail, and (for those thrill seekers) passenger flights.
 
Fascinating that the invention of manned, H-t-A flight could easily have been pushed up by so many years, and that late-era light steam turbines could get the job done. Had Maxim kept his motivation, or even had a partner with the capital to continue his work....

A very interesting thought.
 
Fascinating that the invention of manned, H-t-A flight could easily have been pushed up by so many years, and that late-era light steam turbines could get the job done. Had Maxim kept his motivation, or even had a partner with the capital to continue his work....

A very interesting thought.

And the aircrafts would be steam powered, which is awsome in itself
 
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