By Mrs. Hall and Mrs. Cusick

The Wright Brothers

Wilbur Wright was born in 1867, and Orville Wright was born in 1871. They were born in Dayton, Ohio.

At that time the new bicycle was invented. When Wilbur was 22, and Orville was 18, they opened a bicycle shop.

The Wright Brothers

While working in the bicycle shop Wilbur was reading the newspaper. He saw that Otto Lilienthal had died. Otto was a person who studied human flight. That was when Wilbur got the idea to follow Otto’s ideas.

The Idea

The brothers made their first glider as a controlled kite and a pilot flown glider. The pilot lay face down. He controlled an elevator by his hands. His feet controlled the wings.

The Brothers’ First Flight

To test the glider the brothers went to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina because there is a lot of wind and there is sand for soft landings. They first flew it like a kite. Then Wilbur was the pilot and flew it.

Kitty Hawk

After going back to Dayton, Ohio the brothers decided to make a bigger and better plane. By 1902 it was done and it was also the biggest glider ever built. This time the pilot’s hips controlled the wings.

Bigger and Better Plane

The brothers made a glider that they called the flyer. The flyer had an engine so it could go forward. The brothers made 2 propellers for their flyer. The pilot was Wilbur. He won the brothers’ coin toss. The flights didn’t work out very well.

The brothers tried again and got it right. Wilbur was up in the air for a minute.

The Flyer

The brothers made another plane named flyer 2. Wilbur broke the record of 5 min. to 39 min. in the air. Then the brothers again made another plane. This time it had seats and levers for steering.

Flyer 2

Later in life, the brothers split apart. Orville went to show the U.S. army and Wilbur went to France.

Splitting Apart

The French loved the flying. Wilbur made the headlines of the French and German newspaper while Orville also did. But while Orville was flying with a passenger a propeller got caught on a wire. He cut the engine and took a nose dive. Orville got injured and the passenger was killed.

Showing the World

After Orville got hurt, Wilbur came quickly onto the scene. When Orville was back in shape, he flew again. This time the army said, “We will pay you $25,000, and, if you can reach up to 40mph, we will give you $5,000 extra.” Orville did it. His average speed was 42 mph.

Selling the Plane

After selling the plane, the brothers make a company called “The Wright Company.” Suddenly, Wilbur went down with typhoid fever. He died on May 30, 1912. The funeral was huge! Even President William Howard Taft was there! He hailed Wilbur as the “father of new science.”

Wilbur Dies

After a while, Orville became rich and moved into a mansion. Orville had a heart attack on Oct. 10, 1947. After being in the hospital for a while, Orville came home. Then on Jan. 27, 1948 he had a 2nd heart attack and died 3 days later in the hospital. He was 77 years old.

Orville Dies

Even though the Wright Brothers are gone, their ideas, thoughts, and history are still with us.

THANK YOU Wilbur and Orville Wright!

The Wright Brothers Remembered

Visiting Kitty Hawk!

The Wright Brothers By: George Sullivan

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