Wright Brothers

(http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/wright/images/brother ())

You may think of the Wright Brothers as the guys who invented the airplane, but they didn't just build a airplane they built a new society and way of life.

Wilbur Wright was born on April 16, 1867, and his brother Orville Wright on August 19, 1871. The brothers' curiosity in flight sparked at a very young age. Their father was a clergyman who traveled a lot, and every time he went a new place he would bring the boys a new toy ("The Henry Ford."). One time he brought them a helicopter-like top, and that made the boys interested in flight ("Wright, Wilbur and Orville").

Another key event in the early part of their lives was that they opened their own bike shop. After a while they started to manufacture their own brand of bikes, and from that point on called themselves the Wright Brothers (Crouch).

The Wright brothers motorized glider. (http://www.uscg.mil/history/gifs/Wright_Brothers_F ())

The Wright Brothers had an idea, the idea that it was possible to fly with a motorized aircraft. The Brothers faced many problems to figure out how to fly. They figured out the the plane's wings had to provide lift, and for the plane to fly it had to rotate on three axis (Crouch). One of the biggest problems they faced was to find a lighter gasoline engine. Henry Ford designed and built the lighter gasoline engine needed for the plane (Bednarek, Janet R).

Before the Wright Brothers, not much was known about flight. They had built some types of gliders but nothing as high tech as the plane they built. They improved older glider designs by adding mechanical controls and a motorized engine ("The Henry Ford").

You can see the Wright Brothers impact on society in modern airplanes and space shuttles. Thanks to the Wright Brothers we can now transport people and goods to places faster than by car or boat. The strides that the Wright Brothers made in flight also led to modern space exploration

In conclusion, the Wright Brothers made the world's first airplane. They faced challenges to get to their final goal, but in the end they invented not just an airplane but a new way of life.