The Wright Brothers

Wright Brothers

Wilbur WrightBorn: April 16, 1867 in Millville, IndianaDied: May 3o, 1912 at age 45 of tuberculosisOrville WrightBorn: August 18, 1817 in Dayton, OhioDied: January 30, 1948 at age 76Together Orville and Wilbur grew an interest in flying at a young age by watching the birds. They both believed that it was within in man's ability to somehow fly, just like the birds. Neither one went to college, but they both had a curious nature that led to their ability to be creative and inventive. When they were young they built rubber band models of planes and this increased their interest and desire to build real planes that would allow men to fly. Together they built their own printing press and ran a printing business, operated a bicycle repair shop, and created and manufactured their own invented bicycles. The profits from their bicycle sale is what they used to fund their airplane experiments and inventions. The Wright Brothers started out creating and testing kites and gliders that used the observations of birds in the design for a successful flight. They did their testing in the Kitty Hawk in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where the winds were good and strong and the sand dunes softened their landing. After several successful gliders, the brothers decided to attempt to build a glider that could be manned. They had several failed attempts and went back to the drawing board for a disign that could lift that much weight and keep control in flight. The Wright brothers built a wind tunnel to test their smaller scale models (they tested over 200 models in the wind tunnel). Finally, after two years they created a glider that had lift and control. Now it was time to add power and that's just what they did, they created the first airplane.

First Flight

1878 - Wright Brothers build their first rubber band plane1886 - Printing buisiness begins1892 - They begin repairning and building bicycles1901 - Tested first gliders and failed1901 - Built Wind Tunnel for tests1902- First successful glider1903 - First successful flight

Orville and Wilbur Wright were the first to have a successful manned and powered flight, it even lasted over a minute. The flight occurred on December 17, 1903 at Kill Devils Hills. They had several successful tests that day, each brother taking turns piloting a flight. It was a day that changed transportation in the world. The Wright brothers continued working on their plane and later had their own plane manufacturing business, Wright Company.

Lasting Impact

The Wright Brothers invented the first plane to be flown by a person. This invention opened the world to a whole new kind of travel. Today we are greatly affected by this magnificent time saving mode of transportation. Millions of people fly in airplanes everyday, making travel quicker and more convenient.

Citations

Bellis, Mary. "The Wright Brothers - First Flight of an Airplane." About.com Inventors. 20 Dec. 2013. About.com. 09 Feb. 2014 ."Wright Brothers Aeroplane Company/Aviation History Wing." History Wing Introduction. 11 Feb. 2014 ."The Wright Brothers In Flight." YouTube. 09 June 2009. YouTube. 11 Feb. 2014 ."The Wright Brothers: Wilbur and Orville - EnchantedLearning.com." The Wright Brothers: Wilbur and Orville - EnchantedLearning.com. 10 Feb. 2014 ."The Wright Brothers." The Wright Brothers. 11 Feb. 2014 .http://www.toysperiod.com/images/van-cleve-bicycle-ad.pnghttp://www.printeresting.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/wright_print_logo1.jpghttp://www.the-exponent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/plane.jpghttp://www.wright-brothers.org/History_Wing/Wright_Story/Career_Choices/Wright_%26_Wright/Wright_%26_Wright_images/Prouty_standard_cylinder_press.jpg

Biography

“If birds can glide for long periods of time, then… why can’t I ?”- Orville Wright

Timeline

Later Flights