Wilbur and Orville Wright
. . . The Wright BrothersThe basic concept of powered flight was achieved on December 17, 1903, when two brothers, Wilbur and Orville Wright, became the first men in aviation history to be able to achieve powered flight.
To study and obtain requisite aeronautical data, the Wright Brothers in 1901, developed a small wind tunnel. Utilizing all known data, they began to construct a series of flying models, the first of which was a biplane kite. They proceeded to build ever larger and larger gliders from these models which they also flight tested at Kitty Hawk. The Wright Brothers studied wing surface flat wing vs. curved wing surfaces shapes, aspect ratio wingspan vs. wing-width and wing tips (or winglets). In 1902, the two brothers built and tested their third glider. Fully satisfied with its results, the basic innovations from this third glider were adopted.
Modern aviation was finally born at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, four miles south of Kitty Hawk, between 10:30 a.m. and noon on Thursday, December 17, 1903.
Five local residents were present. Wilbur and Orville took turns piloting their Flyer I in four sustained flights, the first time in history that a powered machine under human control rose from the ground, was sustained in flight, and then landed in a place no lower than that of the take-off.
Orville was the first to take off, at 10:35 a.m., and flew the Wright Flyer I for 12 seconds, covering a distance of 120 feet, against a 20-m.p.h. wind. The second and third flights covered 175 and 200 feet respectively. In the fourth and last flight, Wilbur remained aloft for 59 seconds and flew 852 feet.
Still, these efforts in aviation history did not make the two brothers instant celebrities. Wilber and Orville were very protective of their patents, continuing their work on their flying machine in relative isolation. During the years of 1904 and 1905 they conducted numerous flights at Huffman's Prairie in Ohio.
Wilbur and Orvile Wright
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It wasn't until 1908, five years later, when Wilbur Wright traveled to France to demonstrate the Wright Flyer III, which was built three years earlier, that the brothers became celebrities. At a special exhibition held on August 8 near LeMans, France, Wilbur Wright so outclassed European flyers that he was instantly made a hero.
The Wright Flyer III was considered by most the first practical aeroplane in history. It could remain aloft for more than 30 minutes, establishing an endurance record on October 5, 1905. It had larger booms than it's predecessors so as to better support the forward elevators and rear rudder.
Brother Orville, meanwhile, was busy in the United States trying to demonstrate to government officials why they needed airplanes. The following year, the Wright Brothers returned to France to demonstrate the Wright Flyer III to several European heads of state.
On June 10, 1909, in a ceremony at the White House, President William Howard Taft presented the Wright Brothers with gold medals of the Aero Club of America.
Gradually, however, articles about the Wright Brothers success at Kitty Hawk were published by the various aero clubs in Europe. The results from the Wright brothers' aeronautical research greatly influenced the development of flight in such countries as England, France, Germany, and Russia. In England, Samuel F. Cody (1861-1913), an American, developed a large kite designed to carry a man for the British Admiralty as an observation platform. In France, Gustave Eiffel conducted critical government sponsored aerodynamic research. In Germany Count Ferdinand Von Zeppelin (1838-1917) was busy building the first successful Zeppelin airship. And in Russia, Professor Nicolai I. Zhukovski, the "Father of Russian Aviation," began teaching aerodynamics at the Higher Technical School in Moscow.
(c) Copyright 1997
All Rights Reserved
Mark J. Denger
California Center for Military History
