The Wright Brothers!!!

The Beginning of a Legend!!!

Wilbur and Orville Wright were born in Millville, Indiana to Milton and Susan Wright. Wilbur was the third child, and Orville the 6th, out of a family of seven children. While the boys were growing they were very close and shared everything. Toys, time, chores, a deep love of mechanical objects, and many people sometimes even said the brother thought together. The brothers even had secret nick names for each other. Wilbur was Ullam and Orville was given the name Bubs. In a statement by Wilbur he said “nearly everything that was done in our lives has been the result of conversations, suggestions, and discussions between us.”

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Printing Presses and Bicycle Mechanics!!

The brothers first line of work was a weekly news paper called the West Side News and then later on a daily called the Evening Item. When the brothers had to build and customize their

Otto Lilienthal. Two Little Boys Hero!

Otto Lilienthal was one of the greatest glider pilots of 1891. it was the exploits of this great man that first captured the attention of the 2 brothers. When he died in a glider crash it spurred the brothers to action. They decided that the reason he had crashed was because of a lack of control. This is what mad them sure that control was the key.

You Have to Start Somewhere.When the brothers started out they knew

they wanted to make something more than a glider but that was the only way people knew how to fly at that time. So the brothers moved to Kitty Hawk North Carolina and started working on and testing their very own kites and gliders.

Kitty Hawk

The brothers chose to move their testing and experimenting to Kitty Hawk North Carolina Because of its weather conditions of fast winds and its wide expanses of almost nothingness. During the year they would work and experiment here in Kitty Hawk and then return to their homes in Dayton to refine and rebuild their broken aircrafts.

KitesThe brothers first gliders couldn’t

even be called gliders. The fist gliders that the wright brothers built were kites. No matter how many times their kites would crash the brothers would just rebuild and refine until it would fly again. They never let themselves get discouraged. No matter what the obstacle they just kept going. It wasn’t until they had perfected their kites that the brothers started riding the gliders. This new perspective gave them good and bad results.

The Building of a Wind tunnel.

After the brothers had experiments with kites they moved to gliders that actually had a person on them. In 1901 the disappointing performance of one of the brothers gliders prompted them to build a wind tunnel which would help test different wing shapes without having to test them with a living being that could be injured. To this day wind tunnels are still used when designing and aircraft.

!!!!!Success with a Glider!!!!!

In 1902 they met with success with their latest glider and glided a total of 620 feet. After this success they returned to Dayton to Start construction on their next Greatest effort; a flying machine they could control.

Adding an Engine

Since the brothers wanted their plane to be powered it meant it would need an engine, but since they could not find an engine that was light enough they decided to build their own. The engine that the brothers used for their fist aircraft was a 4-cylinder, 12 horsepower one.

Then and Now

The Wright brothers first plane in 1903 had a 4-cilinder, 12 horsepower engine.

The A1 Sky Raider used in the Vietnam War in 1960, 57 years later, had an engine of 18 cylinder and 2800 horse power…and that was in 1960.

Finally.

It was on a chilly December morning in 1903 that the brothers would once more attempt a flight with one of their powered planes. It would be that day that would remembered for the rest of history and remembered as the beginning of aeronautical flight, but it was also the day the brothers finally fulfilled their dream. Their plane had flown a total of 120 feet in twelve seconds.