...The Wright Brothers and their Flying Machine (HBS 9-811-034) Question 1 What technological bottlenecks needed to be resolved for manned flight to become a realistic possibility? The possibility to fly with an object heavier than air had first to be proven. Scientists first try to understand how birds were flying, and many computations were done, mainly based on assumptions. In 1800’s, George Cayley designed an airplane with wings, and Otto Lilienthal realized that the wing shape was the key to maintain lift. The biggest technological problem was how to design this wing so that it could lift an object. The Wright Brothers in the end of the 19th century realized that the primary problem with past planes and gliders was that of balance. They developed the concept of “wing warping”, a way to present wings to the air at different angles of incidences and thus secure unequal lifts on the two sides. Finally, one of the last technological aspect to be resolved for developing a manned flight was to be able to understand and compute the lift of a wing. Lilienthal already began by creating table of results from his experiment, but the Wright Brothers couldn’t use it at first because they were not in the same conditions as him. Question 2 How would you characterize the process of technological discovery leading to the development of the Wright brothers’ flying machine? The process of technological discoveries relied a lot on exchange between scientists, engineers and inventors...
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...In 1867 and 1871, formerly known Susan Koerner gave birth to two of the most influential people in the history of the airplane. Wilbur and Orville, known as the Wright brothers, grew up in Dayton, Ohio with their three other, less knowledgeable siblings. Neither of the famous Wright brothers received their high school diplomas, however, the lack of a college education did not disturb their aptitude for understanding current technological advancements. After learning about the newest invention of the bicycle, the Wright brothers opened their own bicycle repair and sales shop in 1892 and used the funding for their profound fascination in flight. In 1896, three salient aeronautical events occurred, intensifying Orville and Wilbur’s interest. Thus,...
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...You and your brother our about to make the first powered flight in history. The wind was right and you recorded a 59 second flight over a distance of 852 feet. You have just made history, in successfully flying the first powered aircraft. This is probably how the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright felt that day. They successfully flew an airplane with a 75 horse power engine. I will be talking on how aircraft design and power plants have evolved since 1903. From the Wright brothers era, the golden age, to the jet era, to what we use today. It going to be an accelerating time so let's get started with the Wright Brothers. The Wright Brothers were known as the first people to achieve the first powered heavier than air flight. This was a huge accomplishment, but believe it or not, they were not the first to fly. According to Aviation 1890-1939 The Pioneering Years, "the Montgolfier Brothers were even earlier pioneers when they took to the sky in a hot air balloon over Paris in 1783. In 1853, in Yorkshire, England, an employee of Sir George Cayley, flew across a valley in the first, heavier than air glider (http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/kenanderson/aviation/index.html)." These early pioneers helped pave the way for the Wright Brothers. The Wright Brothers started off as bike builders, and it wasn't till December of 1900, that the Wright Brothers decided to try out glider designs. "For the last two months Wilbur Wright (33) and his 29 year-old brother Orville, bicycle...
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...Weisskopf First In Flight European Influence Joshua Burnell HIST 130 25AUGUST2014 Weisskopf First In Flight The purpose of me informing you about Gustav Albin Weiskopf (Gustave Whitehead), is to pass on information that it wasn’t the Wright Brothers that first achieved powered flight in the United States. He was born 01 January 1874 in a small German community called Leutershausen, Germany. This town is located in a small farming community in the state of Bavaria. He immigrated to the United States in 1894 and when he arrived in Connecticut he designed and built gliders, flying machines and engines between 1897 and 1915. The problem with Weisskopf is that his achievements were never formally recorded like the Wright Brothers were. He has proof that he did achieve powered flight 2 years prior to the Wright Brothers, by eye witness accounts and minor newspaper recordings. He was formally made the first American in the United States to achieve powered flight on 08 March 2013, and the Connecticut state governor on 26 June 2013 signed it into law. He built his first glider on around the turn of 1894-1895, and early in 1901 Weiskopf had built his 21st manned aircraft. Weisskopf was hired by William Pickering, a professor at Harvard University. He was tasked with building the Lilienthal Glider, which of course he was able to easily achieve due to his prior knowledge of American and German Aeronautical terms and experience. He was the first Chief Mechanic for...
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...In late 1903, a pair of brothers built and flew the very first practical fixed-wing aircraft in the small town of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. Though the Wright brothers were not the first to experiment with flying machines, they were the first to design an aircraft that had three-axis control by which a pilot could control the pitch, roll, and yaw. Today’s aircraft are much more advanced, but the concept has remained unchanged for almost 110 years. The website listed above provides an outline of the basic parts, control surfaces, and other components of a typical aircraft. It also contains pictures and information detailing where each component is located and what each component achieves during flight. The components that I found interesting were the same components the Wright brothers used to control the flight of their first aircraft. Those components are the elevator, the rudder, and the aileron. The elevator is the component that controls the pitch of the aircraft. There are two elevators located in the rear of the aircraft on each side of the horizontal stabilizer. By moving the elevators up or down, a pilot can change the amount of down force applied to the tail, thus moving the aircraft nose up or down. The rudder is the component that controls the yaw of the aircraft. The rudder is also located in the rear of the aircraft on the aft end of the vertical stabilizer. By moving the rudder left or right, the side force produced by the vertical stabilizer changes...
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...The author of the paper will discuss three technological developments in the 20th century including: the airplane, the automobile, and the computer. The Airplane For centuries humans wanted to invent a device that would allow them to fly like birds. Kites, gliders, and air balloons were many of man’s creations to attempt to derive the privilege of flying. Two men, Wilbur Wright and Orville Wright, were the first to find some success in inventing a device that enabled flying. On December 17, 1903, the Wright brothers flew there invention for the first time. However, this was only a small start because their aircraft did not fly very high and it only stayed in the air for about a minute. Although this was a small triumph in the goal of flight it marked the beginning of the technological advances that produced the modern airplane. When the Wright brothers invented their aircraft they received immediate recognition and other inventors and aviators worked hard at inventing a better aircraft. In 1909, Louis Bleriot, a French aviator, flew an aircraft across the English Channel. Bleriot’s plane, unlike the Wright brother’s plane, was a monoplane and closely resembled modern airplanes. The occurrence of WWI halted any further technological developments of the airplane, however, the...
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...Essay Theme: Airplanes Airplanes, the fastest vehicle to connect countries! They were designed due to the necessity of people to travel abroad and fast. The first successful airplane was made by the Wright Brothers! On December 17, 1903 Wright Brothers made four brief flights at Kitty Hawk with their first powered aircraft. Since airplanes have evolved, the Airbus A380 is the world's largest passenger airliner; many airports have upgraded their facilities to accommodate it because of its size. Initially named Airbus A3XX, Airbus designed the aircraft to challenge Boeing's monopoly in the large-aircraft market; the A380 made its first flight on 27 April 2005 and began commercial service in October 2007 with Singapore Airlines. The A380's upper deck extends along the entire length of the fuselage, with a width equivalent to a wide-body aircraft. This gives the A380-800's cabin 478 square meters of floor space, which is 40% more than the next-largest airliner, the Boeing and provides seating for 525 people in a typical three class configuration or up to 853 people in all economy class configurations. The A380-800 has a design range of 15,700 kilometers (8,500 mi; 9,800 mi), sufficient to fly from New York to Hong Kong, and a cruising speed of Mach 0.85 (about 900 km/h or 560 mph; 490 km at cruising altitude). The A380 was used to...
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...Century Military | On 17 December 1903, just outside of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright made a major impact on history when they successfully launched the first motorized airplane; not only on our society as a whole but also the United States military and the way wars would be fought forever. Because of this one specific day in history the Wright brothers are accredited for the first of countless days in our history that we contribute what we know today as aviation. On that one day, the brothers sustained a total of four flights with only a small twelve horse power engine with the longest flight lasting a mere fifty-nine seconds at a distance of 852 feet. On the fourth flight of the day, Flyer 1 tumbled and crashed. Obviously not all was lost, history was made and inventions in the aviation industry began to grow. The historical first flight by Orville and Wilbert Wright did not make the front page news; it was very trivial headlines at the time. For instance, page ten of the Washington Times article dated 19 December 1903 in column four, High Gale No Bar to Flying Machine. The article described the flying machine and how the brothers got off the ground. The New York Tribune 19 December 1903 also had a small article but not until page five; Flying Machine Works Successful Trial by Ohio Men with Machine on Box Kite Plan. By 1909 The Wright brothers had set up an Airplane factory in Dayton Ohio, it was to be the first and the largest airship factory...
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...Wright Brother’s Before and After THE Flight Christopher L. Teal AVIA210 LUO Abstract Most anyone that you talk to in the modern world can tell you who the famous brothers were that flew the first airplane, but many cannot tell you much else about them. Without question, the importance of that first powered flight has no equal in significance in the aviation world. However, the events that led up to their first flight and the ones after are an important part of their stories. From humble beginnings in Ohio to never ending amount of time devoted to stop the blatant infringement of their patents, their lives span from birth to death and do not just encompass one historic event on the sand dunes of Kitty Hawk North Carolina. Keywords: Aviation, Kitty Hawk, Beginning Wright Brother’s Before and After THE Flight Humble Beginnings The forefathers of modern aviation were not born into a famous or rich family. “The Wright brothers were a product of deep Midwestern roots” (Jakab, P 2001). They were born into a religious family whose Patriarch, Milton Wright, was an ordained minister and Bishop in the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. The Matriarch, Susan Wright was a bright shy woman who studied Literature at Hartsville College, though she left 3 months shy of obtaining her degree (Jakab, P 2011). She was already a member of the Church when they met. Wilbur and Orville were two of five surviving children that the couple birthed. There was a set of twins that...
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...The Wright Brothers Invent the Airplane About one hundred years ago the planet earth was a much smaller place. On December 17, 1903 the Wright brothers, Wilbur and Orville, made history when they took off in flight and invented the first airplane. This is how the planet earth began shrinking geographically making it easier and quicker to travel over long distances. Wilbur was the older of the two brothers by four years. Wilbur was born in 1867 on a farm near Millville, Indiana and Orville was born in 1871 near Dayton, Indiana. As youngsters, Wilbur and Orville looked to their mother for mechanical expertise and their father for intellectual challenge. Milton, their father, brought them various souvenirs and trinkets he found during his travels for the church. One such trinket, a toy helicopter-like top, sparked the boys' interest in flying. In school, Wilbur excelled, and would have graduated from high school if his family had not moved during his senior year. A skating accident and his mother's illness and subsequent death kept him from attending college. Orville was an average student, known for his mischievous behavior. He quit school before his senior year to start a printing business. The two brothers were very intellectual and smart, but both did not ever get their high school diplomas. It just goes to show that even two of the best minds in our history didn’t have to go to college or even finish high school to become these great minds. The first time Wilbur and...
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...those who were developing the technology. No matter what the role each of these played, we have to appreciate everyone. We would not be where we are today in aviation if it weren’t for these pioneers. Pioneers of Aviation Introduction From the very first flight of the balloon to the flight of the powered airplane, our early pioneers always looked to make changes for the better. Many of these ideas simply built upon ideas of individuals of the past. These great pioneers were from every part of the world, United States, England, France, Germany, and so many other places. They did not look at aviation as a reason to disagree but rather found that flight would help everyone equally. Balloons Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier are the brothers who invented and flew the first hot air balloon. Born in Annonay, France, they had a passion and drive in science. In 1782 they constructed a balloon that was filled by burning paper to heat the air and lift the balloon off the ground (Montgolfier, 2011). This first flight wasn’t until 1783 when Pilatre de Rozier and Marquis d’Arlandes went 7.5 miles in less than a half hour at a height of 3,000 feet (Montgolfier, 2011). This marked the first balloon flight as well...
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...Humanities 110 sec 007 March 11, 2007 Air plane invention. Orville Wright and his brother Wilbur Wright made history on December 17, 1903 at 10:35 am when they invented the First engine airplane. “In August of 1900 Wilbur built his first glider and he chose a remote sandy area off the coast of North Carolina named Kitty Hawk where winds averaged at 13 m.p.h.”(Parker 126). They traveled to Kitty Hawk where they tested the 1900 glider. Using the results of the wind tunnel experiments, they constructed their 1902 glider. “In October they tested it at Kitty Hawk and had a big success gliding a record of 620 feet” (Parker 145). Orville Wright took off into a 27 mph wind and the distance he covered was 120 feet in12 seconds. His flight was exceedingly erratic, mainly due to the irregularity of the air, and partly to lack of experience in operating the air plane. Despite of the problems encountered with their last attempts at flight, the Wright brothers reviewed their test results and determined that the calculations they had used were not reliable. “They decided to build a wind tunnel to test a variety of wing shapes and their effect on lift” (Stearns and Langer 35). Based upon these tests, the inventors had a greater understanding of how an airfoil also known as wing works and could calculate with greater accuracy how well a particular wing design would fly. The Wright brothers had been flying with people since May of 1908 but on September 1908, passenger flight...
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...dreams, will have an effect on our entire lives. To achieve success we must follow our dreams overcome obstacles and not let the fear of failure interfere with our goals. A perfect example of how a dream leads to success is the Wright Brothers, Orville and Wilbur. They were the first innovators of flight and created the world’s first working airplane. When the brothers were young, they opened their own bike company to capitalize on the public’s new interest in bicycling. Once they earned enough money from their cycling company they wanted pursue their dreams of flying and flying machines. At first they tried to use gliders to fly, which worked but it wasn’t considered actually flying. A few years later they managed to put an engine on a plane and on December 17, 1903, they recorded the first flight. Although they had many critics, they proved all of them wrong when they flew publically in air shows. The two brothers had a dream that one day humans would take to the skies for transportation. Today most of their planes and equipment are scattered all over the country in different museums, including the Smithsonian. Wilbur and Orville Wright faced numerous hurdles that seemed impossible but they did not let challenges or failure deter them. The Wright brothers serve as an example of how hard work and dedication pays off in the end. There are many types of dreams; financial success is one, while another and more important is happiness and contentment. I have many goals that I hope will...
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...The brothers, five years apart in age, grew up to do everything together. Though Wilbur was much more dominant he wrote better and seemed a natural leader he and Orville were careful to share whatever opportunities came their way. After the 18-year-old Wilbur was hit with a hockey stick (by a 15-year-old future murderer, whose victims would include his parents and brother) and suffered debilitating facial injuries, he gave up on the idea of leaving Dayton for a higher education. Instead, he lived out his teens as a recluse and reader. Then he and Orville developed a love of bicycles, learned to make them and started their own business. This well written book shows many connections between aerial travel and locomotion by bicycle, which at...
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...endangering us. I have chosen a few of the technologies in the 1900’s that fascinated me the most. OK so first of all the invention of the car. It is undoubtedly one of the most radical innovations of this century. A car, in its early stages, was highly expensive, only the best of the best could afford such a luxury. After the introduction of labour and the assembly-line system, affordable cars were made, leading to drastic changes to society. Personally I don’t know how I could live without a car, it just wouldn’t be possible, and I can’t even imagine what would happen to me. Airplanes. The Wright Brothers' first-ever flight of a motorized airplane in 1903, introduced the era of flying into the sky. The jet engine, the supersonic flight, fighter aircraft and space travel all are rooted in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina which was the site of the achievement of the Wright brothers. Without these airplanes we wouldn’t be able to see our families in other countries. We would have to take out ships and sail to them and personally that’s not an option I want to take. The first ever manned spaceflight. The technology of... Read...
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