Orville and Wilbur Wright

To me, a hero is one who has persistence, bravery, and tries to prove his or her beliefs in an amiable way. Some say that a hero would be Spiderman, or Batman, or even Superman. Sure, they can fly and have super strength, but a true hero can really be a normal person. That's right, a true hero needs no laser vision or cape. In fact, I'll bet that there are millions of heroes, big or small. You do not need to save a life to be a hero. Anyone who is persistent and tries to prove their beliefs in an amiable and good-natured way can be a hero, as I am am about to show you.

A great example of heroes at work are the legendary duo, the Wright brothers, or Orville and Wilbur Wright. Wilbur was born on April 16, 1867, in Millville, Indiana, and Orville August 16, 1871, in Dayton, Ohio. The two brothers grew up in a small town in Ohio, owning a bicycle repair shop. They did not go to college, but had immense technological ability. They were so intelligent that they even built their own printing press! After they got a large amount of money from their business, they went after their dream to build a working and sustainable aircraft. To do this, they went to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. There they had many sand dunes to break their fall so they wouldn't get hurt flying a plane.

Then, they flew their first glider in 1900 but couldn't get it to fly. A second trial took flight but landed a few seconds after takeoff. They did not give up, though, and began modifying the glider. That year, they tested over 200 wing patterns in a wing tunnel and upgraded their glider. This time, it was successful, so they began working on the engine required for long-distance flights. They made a 12-horsepower internal combustion engine which later would power the dual turbines to allow the glider to fly for a much longer time.

This engine was able to go up to 31 miles per hour and the day they tested it, it's best distance was 852 feet in just 59 seconds! However, the first flight only went 120 feet in 12 seconds, but it was a great improvement from the glider. That day, sadly, the winds damaged the glider, so they went to the shop to fix it. This was the start of the "golden age of flying." Then, they took the next step. They got a patent for the flying machine and sent it to Washington, D.C, where they got much attention.

In 1908, Wilbur decided to go to France to get foreign people's attention. While he was gone, Orville worked on the aircraft and took many flights. Sadly, one flight failed and Orville got injured, but even worse, a passenger died. Soon after on May 30, 1912, Wilbur passed, as well, leaving Orville depressed and lonely. Orville decided to retire, and he started doing little experiments on problems that interested him. Sadly, he died on January 30, 1948, and the duo was officially gone, but many people carried the flame onward. People all around the world began to take to the skies. As I said before, they had persistance and bravery. This allowed us to go above the clouds in more ways than anyone ever imagined, so this duo definetly changed the world. How could that be done by anyone but true heroes?