Orville Wright(August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur Wright(April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912) – aviation history Wright brothers

Wilbur and Orville were the sons of Susan and  Milton Wright. Milton was a bishop in the United Brethren Church and was often away from home. He was a loving father and often brought back presents. In 1878 he brought them a rubber band powered helicopter and Orville and Wilbur start to make copies of it. In 1884 Wright family moved to Dayton, Ohio about that time Susan fell ill with tuberculosis. Wilbur just finished high school and nursed his mother. By the time Orville began to lose interest in school and learned the printing business. Sadly Susan died in the summer of 1889.

wright brothers aviation history
Aviation History Wright Brothers

In 1890 Wilbur and Orville started printing business but it didn’t go as they expected. Then in 1894 they started repairing and selling bicycles. And in 1896 they started manufacturing their own bikes and founded Wright Cycle Company.

Glider attempts

In 1899 Wilbur had an idea about a system to balance the aircraft and they tested it in a kite, then a  series of gliders. Kitty Hawk, North Carolina was the place they did the first test flight. In 1900 and 1901 they did two test flights but both attempts failed. Toward the end of the 1902 flying season, their third glider became the first fully controllable aircraft, with roll, pitch, and yaw controls.

First Propeller

Wright brothers and their mechanic Charlie Taylor designed and built a gasoline engine light and powerful enough to propel an airplane. They also designed the first airplane propellers.

On December 17, 1903 they made the first controlled, sustained flight of a powered, heavier-then-air aircraft with the Wright Flyer. And the first flight was made by Orville at 10:35 am with 27 miles per hour (43km/h) headwind, of 120 feet (37m) in 12 seconds, at a speed of 6.8 miles per hour (10.9km/h) over the ground. In addition they made three more flights that day. Second flight covered 175 feet and third flight covered 200 feet. Their altitude was about 10 feet (3m) above the ground. And the last flight started at just about 12 o’clock. Distance was measured to be 852 feet, the time of flight was 59 seconds.

 Five people witnessed the flights: John T. Daniels (who snapped the famous “first flight” photo using Orville’s camera) and Will Dough, Adam Etheridge, all of the U.S. government coastal lifesaving crew; area businessman W.C. Brinkley; and Johnny Moore, a teenaged boy who lived in the area. After the men hauled the Flyer back from its fourth flight, a powerful gust of wind flipped it over several times, despite the crew’s attempt to hold it down. Badly damaged, the Wright Flyernever flew again. The brothers shipped the airplane home, and years later Orville restored it, lending it to several U.S. locations for display, then to a British museum (see Smithsonian dispute below), before it was finally installed in 1948 in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., its current residence.

first flight wright brothers
Aviation History Wright Brothers First Flight

link of a short documentary

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