Wright Brothers

Two Brothers ( http://faculty.etsu.edu/gardnerr/wright-brothers/huffaker.htm)

Someone who keeps trying, who perseveres against all odds, and someone who dreams of the future and ends up changing the world, that is a hero. The Wright brothers are my heroes because of their dream to fly and their perseverance and intelligence to make it happen.

Orville and Wilbur Wright were not the only Wright brothers; they had two older brothers Reuchlin and Lorin, and a sister Katharine. They were the sons of Bishop Milton Wright and Susan Catherine Wright. Wilbur Wright was born on April 16, 1867, near Millville, Indiana, and Orville was born on August 19, 1871 in Dayton, Ohio. Their family was an intellectual family; their house had two libraries and their father made them debate different points, then switch sides and defend the other point. Orville wrote that they "were lucky enough to grow up in an environment where there was always much encouragement to children to pursue intellectual interests; to investigate whatever aroused curiosity."

Takeoff prep (http://www.wright-house.com/wright-brothers/Wrights.html ())

Orville and Wilbur Wright's interest in flight started in 1878 when their father bought them a toy helicopter. The helicopter was made of cork and bamboo and used a wound rubber band to propel its rotors. The Wright brothers tried to make larger versions of this, but were discouraged when they didn't fly well. They then turned their attention to kites.

Their lives took a bad turn during the winter of 1885-1886 when Wilbur was hit in the face with a hockey stick while playing ice hockey on a frozen lake. He lost his front teeth and developed a heart disorder, discouraging his parents from sending him to Yale.

First Takeoff (http://www.wright-house.com/wright-brothers/Wrights.html)

In 1889, the two brothers built a printing press and started a daily newspaper in Dayton, Ohio. In 1892, they started a bicycle shop, also in Dayton, and in 1896 they started manufacturing their own brand of bikes. The two kept their inventing spirit, with Orville inventing a self oiling wheel hub. During that year, their spark of interest in manned flight became a flame when French aviation researcher Octave Chanute and other aviators experimented with gliders on the sand dunes at the Lake Michigan shore. The brothers decided that they would learn everything there was to know about flight, later designing their own experiments. In 1899 Wilbur wrote to Willis L. Moore, Chief of the U.S. Weather Bureau, to find out about areas with high winds throughout the country, looking for a place to test their gliders. Kitty Hawk, North Carolina was the first on the list, and the Wright brothers experimented there between 1900-1902 with gliders, kites, and a wind tunnel to create a flying machine.