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Orville and Wilbur Wright

by Darrell from San Diego

"More than anything else the sensation is one of perfect peace mingled with an excitement that strains every nerve to the utmost, if you can conceive of such a combination" - Wilbur Wright.
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(www.amazingtoptens.com)

"'To invent an airplane is nothing. To build one is something. To fly is everything'  - Otto Lilienthal (1848-1896), early inventor of mono-plane and bi-plane gliders" ("100 Quotes on the Wonder of Flight."). "Lilienthal's writings directly helped frame the Wright's statements on the "problem of flight" - and his ideas were reflected in Wilbur Wright's first letter to Octave Chanute" ("100 Quotes on the Wonder of Flight."). Otto Lilienthal describes Orville and Wilbur Wright as not just ordinary people but extraordinary. They turned a once shot down idea or belief that was to never come true and developed it into their own strife, creating and flying the first ever airplane with only their might and will to drive them through the tough times. "Here the twelve-year-old Wilbur already appears as "the silent type," being described by one of his teachers as "less communicative" than Orville, his younger brother"  ("The Achievement: The Dream of Flight"). "Taken when Orville was eight-years old, this photograph shows a neatly dressed, serious boy and only hints at his outgoing and often mischievous nature" ("The Achievement: The Dream of Flight"). "Orville stated that the brothers' interest in flight 'began when . . . Father brought home . . . a small toy actuated by a rubber spring which would lift itself into the air'" ("The Achievement: The Dream of Flight"). "In 1901 Wilbur said that his interest in aeronautics dated back to Otto Lilienthal's death in 1896." ("The Achievement: The Dream of Flight"). "They took this new airplane to Kitty Hawk in the fall of 1903 and on December 17 made the world's first manned, powered flight in a heavier-than-air craft." ("Wright brothers."). "Yet they left behind a legacy that reached to the skies and beyond." ("Wilbur and Orville Wright."). Determination is described as the ability to work through obstacles that are presented in front of you. Creativity is defined as the ability to work around obstacles in a way you may not think at first or think outside the box of what is normal or practical. A hero must possess these qualities to achieve greatness and to be recognized throughout the world. The Wright Brothers are heroes because of their determination to keep on trying even though there are many obstacles that came their way and their creativeness to invent machines unlike any other leading them to live a life to inspire others.

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(www.pinterest.com ())

Orville and Wilbur Wright kept pushing the limit even in the face of adversity and misfortune to prove that in the end determination was the key to success. After the first successful flight of 120 feet and 12 seconds at Kitty Hawk, the Wright Brothers spent all their lifetime waiting for this moment but as "The brothers tried to inform the press, but the world refused to believe it. Even the U.S. Patent Office, with more than 100 flying machines on register when the Wrights first applied in 1904, turned them down with a form letter" (Wein). Despite, the criticism the brothers received from the disbelief of those that wanted to see them fail, they pushed through and continued to reinvent. This made their machine perfect as they were driven and determined to show these critics wrong. This shows us that those who dream and prosper in life will come into obstacles. The only way that leads them to success is to overcome these roadblocks and create unimaginable things that will lead the way for other generations. With a larger and newer glider they tested it numerous times at Kitty hawk but still leaving the brothers with a lost sense for the control of the plane and "The brothers ended their 1901 season feeling that perhaps they had reached a final dead end" ("The Achievement: The Dream of Flight"). Even though their experiments "is believed that they numbered fifty to one hundred" this uncovered the fact that they were determined to get the data or goal they had in mind no matter how long it took and in the end they were able to create a machine out of this proposed disaster that would amaze people all over ("The Achievement: The Dream of Flight"). This revealed to us that determination was tested by time as we can relate to this as a failure or a success. There are many times when your work is a failure, for you have spent so much time and you have got nothing in return. Yet, this is where people are set apart as only some can work through these times to find the success through the dark. The brothers ability to make the best out of a situation that seemed so grim and then to improve upon it to where it became a thing of beauty is a true accomplishment and the art of determination that the Wright Brothers possessed. Despite the lack of knowledge on the subject of aviation, Orville and Wilbur were able to use their creativity to invent, test, and design an airplane that would shape the precedent for the many to come.

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(player.mashpedia.com ())

After they had created and flown the first ever airplane the world realized that "Using merely wood, cloth, and steel, the Wrights transformed an age-old dream into a reality" ("The Achievement: The Dream of Flight"). Even though the Wright brothers were limited in the amount of resources they had, they were able to use their creativity to make a machine that defied most people's' ways of thinking. This showed us that you can create anything you wanted because your dreams are what guide you on your path to creativity, not even materialistic needs or envious minds can stop you from creating, inventing, or thinking. Before creating the first flying airplane, they had to think of ideas to test, tweak, or learn about what would help them to fly their plane even though "The Wright brothers knew absolutely nothing about flying. But they had a deep interest in it. They began to educate themselves systematically in the theory and the art of flying. They were unique in their approach. The rest of the world was enthralled with the combustion engine that had been adopted for use in the automobile, another breakthrough invention that continues to influence civilization to this day. The brothers ignored all of that and, after watching two birds in flight in 1899, concluded the pilot had to be able to control every movement of the vehicle under wind power, thus being able to move horizontally, vertically, and left to right" ("The Wright Brothers."). They were able to make the first airborne plane because instead of focusing on the problem of flight like everyone else did, the Wright brother's thought differently, more creatively, than most and realized you needed to learn the art of flying first before you could actually fly an airplane. This displayed that despite their lack of knowledge you can think of different ways to work out problems to find a solution. Creativity is the key to figure out anything that comes your way of doing the things that you love most. Through creativity the Wright brothers were able to show their true quality and vision that they had to make a machine that would revolutionize travel forever. Whenever they could think around situations or occurrences was when their creativity was expressed, therefore they could do what they loved most. Fly.

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(www.vietnamplus.vn ())

The Wright brother's love for aviation has turned these simple men into heroes through their qualities of determination, being able continue on through obstacle, and creativity, the ability to think differently and uniquely than everyone else, which had led them on a path to inspire many to invent, create, and build anything they dreamed of. Even though the Wright brothers had many critics and disbelievers they were still able to push through these obstacles to a day that will always be remembered; December 17, 1903, the first manned flight. Though to get to their first flight they first had to think of ways around the problems they had to be able to invent what they truly loved and showed us that you can create anything you dream of. The Wright brothers have inspired me because "The legacy left by Orville and Wilbur is undisputed. 'In classic American fashion -- in a pattern that would give birth to such age-defining products as the Model T and the Apple personal computer -- a breakthrough that would fundamentally alter society was the product of inspired tinkering by dedicated shade-tree mechanics,' Time magazine said. That sums up the life of the Wright brothers who literally turned flying into a reality. Until they came along, it was merely something to dream about" ("The Wright Brothers."). I think the Wright Brothers deserve to be heroes, as they have taken the dreams of many and of themselves, and showed the world that dreams do come true. This inspire us all because all you need to achieve your dreams is to believe that you can do whatever you want to do, if you love it. Every hero thinks of different ways to impress the public but there are only a select few who can touch the hearts of many. Orville and Wilbur were these kind of people that were not just in it for the fame but because they actually loved the sight and feeling of flight.


Works Cited

"The Achievement: The Dream of Flight (A Library of Congress Special Presentation Commemorating the Centennial of Flight)." The Achievement: The Dream of Flight (A Library of Congress Special Presentation Commemorating the Centennial of Flight). A Library of Congress Special Presentation Commemorating the Centennial of Flight, 29 July 2010. Web. 06 May 2015.

"The Wright Brothers." Business Leader Profiles for Students. Ed. Sheila Dow and Jaime E. Noce. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1999. Biography in Context. Web. 4 May 2015.

Wein, Bibi. "Orville And Wilbur Wright: Twelve Seconds That Changed The World." Biography 5.3 (2001): 88. Biography Reference Center. Web. 7 May 2015.

"Wilbur and Orville Wright." Contemporary Heroes and Heroines. Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Biography in Context. Web. 30 Apr. 2015.

"Wilbur Wright Quote." Iz Quotes. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2015.

"Wright brothers." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Biography in Context. Web. 4 May 2015.

"100 Quotes on the Wonder of Flight." Commemorating 100 Years of Powered Flight (n.d.): 1-21. Popular Rotorcraft Association. Oregon Department of Aviation. Web. 14 May 2015.


Page created on 5/20/2015 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 5/20/2015 12:00:00 AM

The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.

Related Links

The Dream of Flight: - This explains the dreams of aviation that the brothers were able to achieve
First Flight Foundation: - The Wright Brothers inspires others through their sotry
First Flight Centenial: - Orville and Wilbur were able to live a life that has driven the world to continue the dream of aviation