The Wright Brothers
The Wright Brothers
The Wright Brothers
Orville and Wilbur wright were the pair better known as the wright brothers. Orville was born on August 19, 1871. Wilbur was born on April 16, 1867. These were the two men who were given the credit of making the first successful aeroplane. They also made the first controlled, powered, heavier than air human flight. They did this on December 17, 1903. In the next 2 years Orville and Wilbur developed this machine into the first fixed wing aircraft. The wright brothers were not the first people to create a flying machine but they were the first people to incorporate controls which made this sort of flight possible and practical.
The wright brothers created the 3-axis flight controls. These are even today what fixed wing aircraft controls are based on. They also studied aeronautics to make the design of wings and propellers far more effective and efficient. Their U.S. patent 821,393 claims the invention of a system of aerodynamic control that manipulates a flying machine's surfaces.
They gained the mechanical skills essential for their success by working for years in their shop with printing presses, bicycles, motors, and other machinery. Their work with bicycles in particular influenced their belief that an unstable vehicle like a flying machine could be controlled and balanced with practice.
Growing Up
The Wright brothers were two of seven. Their father was Milton Wright. Wilbur was born in Indiana in 1867. Orville was born in Ohio in 1871. The brothers never married. The other Wright siblings were named Reuchlin (1861–1920), Lorin (1862–1939), Katharine (1874–1929), and twins Otis and Ida (born 1870, died in infancy).
In elementary school, Orville was very mischievous and was once expelled. In 1878 their father, who travelled often as a bishop in the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, brought home a toy "helicopter" for his two younger sons. The device was based on an
The Wright Brothers
Orville and Wilbur wright were the pair better known as the wright brothers. Orville was born on August 19, 1871. Wilbur was born on April 16, 1867. These were the two men who were given the credit of making the first successful aeroplane. They also made the first controlled, powered, heavier than air human flight. They did this on December 17, 1903. In the next 2 years Orville and Wilbur developed this machine into the first fixed wing aircraft. The wright brothers were not the first people to create a flying machine but they were the first people to incorporate controls which made this sort of flight possible and practical.
The wright brothers created the 3-axis flight controls. These are even today what fixed wing aircraft controls are based on. They also studied aeronautics to make the design of wings and propellers far more effective and efficient. Their U.S. patent 821,393 claims the invention of a system of aerodynamic control that manipulates a flying machine's surfaces.
They gained the mechanical skills essential for their success by working for years in their shop with printing presses, bicycles, motors, and other machinery. Their work with bicycles in particular influenced their belief that an unstable vehicle like a flying machine could be controlled and balanced with practice.
Growing Up
The Wright brothers were two of seven. Their father was Milton Wright. Wilbur was born in Indiana in 1867. Orville was born in Ohio in 1871. The brothers never married. The other Wright siblings were named Reuchlin (1861–1920), Lorin (1862–1939), Katharine (1874–1929), and twins Otis and Ida (born 1870, died in infancy).
In elementary school, Orville was very mischievous and was once expelled. In 1878 their father, who travelled often as a bishop in the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, brought home a toy "helicopter" for his two younger sons. The device was based on an
Bibliography: Anderson, John D. Inventing Flight: The Wright Brothers and Their Predecessors. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004. Ash, Russell. The Wright Brothers. London: Wayland, 1974 Wright, Orville. How We Invented the Airplane. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, 1988. http://inventors.about.com/od/wstartinventors/a/TheWrightBrother.htm http://www.surfnetkids.com/wright.htm