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The Wright Brothers

by Dhrishaj from San Diego

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s…a plane. For the last century they have been roaming our skies carrying passengers, transporting cargo, undergoing special missions, and keeping us safe. The airplane was conceived by Wilbur and Orville Wright, who on December 17th 1903, successfully flew the first powered manned flight. Although they only flew 850 ft, they made 58 seconds of riveting history. With determination, perseverance, and just plain hard work, the Wright brothers defined what it meant to be a hero as they became the first people to successfully perform a powered flight.

Wilbur and Orville Wright (http://www.ascho.wpafb.af.mil/start/PHOTOS/PG2-A.JPG)
Wilbur and Orville Wright (http://www.ascho.wpafb.af.mil/start/PHOTOS/PG2-A.JPG)

Wilbur and Orville Wright were the sons of Milton Wright, a bishop of the United Brethren in Christ. Wilbur was born on April 16th, 1867, in Millville Indiana while Orville was born August 19th, 1871, in Dayton Ohio. The Brothers grew up together in Dayton in a middle class family. “Wilbur and Orville’s personalities were perfectly complimentary. Orville was full of ideas and enthusiasm, an impetuous dreamer, while Wilbur was steadies in his habits, more mature in his judgments, and more likely to see a project through.” (The Wright brothers’ first flight, December 17th 1903). “Wilbur was also a keen athlete who loved to compete, excelling in gymnastics. Unfortunately, at the age of eighteen his face was smashed with a hockey stick. Wilbur suffered the loss of most of his upper teeth, and several lower ones. Even though a lot of medical and dental reconstruction was done, Wilbur’s health suffered significantly. For a long time thereafter, he endured stomach trouble and claimed to suffer heart ailments as well. After his injury, Wilbur became rather reclusive, tending to his mother who had tuberculosis, and rarely going far from home. Nonetheless, Wilbur did finish high school, although he opted not to attend graduation ceremonies. Orville didn’t even finish his education, having become bored with school his senior year” (Discovering World History). The Wright brothers had not acquired any special skill, training or knowledge, they just had the passion, which was all their dream required.

The First flight ( http://www.gravitywarpdrive.com/Wright_Brothers_Images/First_in_Flight.gif)
The First flight ( http://www.gravitywarpdrive.com/Wright_Brothers_Images/First_in_Flight.gif)

The Wright brothers, Wilbur and Orville, accomplished their first powered flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17th, 1903, in front of witnesses and with the press apprised for the event. Yet, for nearly 3 years, virtually no one had realized that the aspiration to fly had finally been accomplished. “However, the army had had quite some interest in their project. In 1908, the Wright brothers sold the first military airplane to the U.S. Department of War. That same year, Orville stabled several aloft records in excess of one hour before crashing and injuring himself” (World of Invention). Fortunately, he fully recovered and the Wrights formed both a German and American company to manufacture airplanes.” The airplane was quickly becoming the preferred method of travel and also the safest method of travel. It was making the world a smaller plane” (Pursell).

People are crowned heroes because they have the aspiration, the determination, and the will to go beyond the mark. The sole problem with doing something first is that you have set a precedent. The Wright brothers set one that can never be surpassed. Their invention has evolved to become the largest and safest way to travel on the planet. It also gave way to aerospace engineering and space travel. Their feat however, was not simple. “The Wright brothers had over 200 wing shapes and designs. They had nowhere to test their designs so they built a wind tunnel from scratch. They also had several test gliders tested to find which wing shape was capable to hold the weight and sustain flight.” (The Wright brothers’ first flight, December 17th 1903). All the experimentation along with the attempts and failures took them over 4 years. Fortunately hard work pays off, and theirs definitely did.

The X-15 (http://www.sierrafoot.org/x-15/x-15_art2.jpg)
The X-15 (http://www.sierrafoot.org/x-15/x-15_art2.jpg)

Today, the worlds’ fastest aircraft, the X-15, can travel at speeds excess of 6 times the speed of sound. That’s London to New York in 20 minutes. Wilbur and Orville’s invention revolutionized the way we travel, transport, and keep our country safe. What took days by sea or land takes just a few hours by air. All this was done by 2 people who had a dream, a passion, and a will to make it happen. They made history and most importantly, helped all of mankind. That’s the definition of a hero. Doing for the greater good.

Page created on 5/20/2010 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 5/20/2010 12:00:00 AM

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