Airbike...1897
Airbike...1897
On this page, we* are happy to present, for the 1st time in 120 years, as a Free download, the nearly lost work of Dr. Konstantin Danilewsky: "A Steerable Flying Apparatus", published in 1900 in what is now Kharkiv, Ukraine. (In 1900, it was known as Kharkov, Russian Empire.)
AirBike... 1897 is neither science-fiction, nor alternative history -- it is documentary!
Dr. Danilewsky's book chronicles his 3-yr effort to design and develop a practical personal aircraft. His work, now largely overlooked, was done at a time when the whole world was "abuzz" with activity attempting to achieve controlled, human flight. During 1897–1899, he conducted experiments on four different airship designs. Since he did not have access to a light-weight petroleum engine, his experimentation was done using human power, knowing full-well that when a suitable engine became available, it could simply be added.
Dr. Danilewsky's work therefore concentrated on positive control by the pilot and flying against the wind. Though he succeeded, two impediments fiercely opposed him: Funds to continue his work, and the unwillingness of the aviation "world" to develop aviation slowly, methodically and instead charge uncontrolled into the fledgling "heavier-than-air" competition of the age.
*Click on this book cover to download!*
Photo credits:
Cover, "Airbike...1897"
by Alexander Akimov & William Welker
Whether you found this page from the "Then & Now" article on the airships of Konstantin Dalilewsky, or arrived here from an Internet search, we hope you find this page useful.
Click on the image above to view or download the free Airbike...1897 book.
Published by Sapphire Publications, ISBN 978-1-62374-015-3, April 10, 2019, 342 pgs.
* Dr. Alexander Akimov, Urkaine & William Welker, Colorado, USA
Contained within Airbike...1897:
Within the pages of this book "Airbike...1897" are the original, published 1900 versions of Dr. Danilewsky's book in Russian and German, but also the same edition now in English:
All three language editions are presented along with a biography of Dr. Danilewsky (in Russian, Ukrainian, and English), commentary on the transliteration of the author's name into English, an article on the production of hydrogen used for airships and the Danilewsky airship designs (also found on this website), and some historical information about where Dr. Danilewsky's experiments were conducted.
Dr. Konstantin Danilewsky
Konstantin Yakovlevitch Danilewsky (1855 – after 1917), was a scientist, physician-neurologist, inventor, aviation pioneer.
“K. Danilewsky, with his methodical and scientific approach, and safety-first attitude, very well could have become the Santos-Dumont of Russia and Ukraine”.
Костянтин Якович Данилевський (1855 – ? після 1917) – вчений, лікар-практик (нервові хвороби), винахідник, піонер авіації.
“К. Я. Данилевський, із його методичним та науковим підходом, із його пріоритетом безпеки польотів – без сумніву міг би стати для України та Росії своїм Сантос-Дюмоном”.
Константин Яковлевич Данилевский (1855 – ? после 1917) – учёный, врач-практик (нервные болезни), изобретатель, пионер авиации.
“К. Я. Данилевский, с его методичным и научным подходом, с его приоритетом безопасности полётов – вполне мог бы стать для России и Украины своим Сантос-Дюмоном”.
Download your free copy of Airbike...1897!
Click HERE to download. The PDF file is just under 18MB, so you may wish to save the file to your computer.