The aerial steam carriage, also named Ariel, was a flying machine patented in England in 1842 that was supposed to carry passengers into the air. It was, in practice, incapable of flight since it had insufficient power from its heavy steam engine to fly. A more successful model was built in 1848 which was able to fly for small distances within a hangar. The aerial steam carriage was significant because it was a transition from glider experimentation to powered flight experimentation.
The Ariel was to be a monoplane with a wing span of , weigh and was to be powered by a specially designed lightweight steam-powered engine producing . The wing area was to be ., with the tail another 1500, yielding a very low wing loading. The inventors hoped that the Ariel would achieve a speed of 50 mph, and carry 10âÂÂ12 passengers up to . The plan was to launch it from an inclined ramp. The undercarriage was a 3-wheel design.
William Samuel Henson (1812âÂÂ1888) and John Stringfellow (1799âÂÂ1883) received British patent 9478 in 1842.
William Samuel Henson, John Stringfellow, Frederick Marriott, and D.E. Colombine, incorporated as the "Aerial Transit Company" in 1843 in England, with the intention of raising money to construct the flying machine. Henson built a scale model of his design, which made one tentative steam-powered "hop" as it lifted or bounced, off its guide wire. Attempts were made to fly the small model, and a larger model with a wing span, between 1844 and 1847, without success.
The company planned "to convey letters, goods and passengers from place to place through the air", according to the patent.
In an attempt to gain investors and support in Parliament, the company engaged in a major publicity campaign using images of the Ariel in exotic locales, but the company failed to gain the needed investment. There was speculation in the press about whether the Ariel was a hoax or fraud.