The Wright Brothers

Wilbur Wright Explains his Invention to a facinated King Alphonso XIII of Spain (http://www.wright-house.com/wright-brothers/wrights/photos/Wilbur_and_Alphonse.jpeg)

With determination to achieve powered flight, with the courage to face the dangers of flight, the Wright brothers achieved the impossible: heavier than air, powered, controlled flight. This is an achievement that rivals all others. This simple task laid the groundwork for all other aerospace accomplishments.

The Wright brothers where born to Milton and Susan Wright; Wilbur was born in 1867 and Orville in 1871. They had two other brothers, Reuchlin, and Lorin. Their Father was a bishop of a small church community and traveled a lot. One day when he returned, he brought with him a rubber band powered helicopter. When the toy finally broke, they had studied it so much that they where able to build their own.

Before the invented the airplane they held many odd jobs such as bike mechanic, popcorn seller, printer, and most importantly tinkers. They were by habit learners so when someone compared making bikes to building an airplane, they decided to try it out. They found out through many glider trials that their intellectual resources were severely flawed. Nevertheless, they persevered and in the end they had a new engine, a new propeller and a new flying machine.

After they had settled all their numerous legal battles about the airplanes, they retired to what they loved to do: tinkering. They set up a workshop where they built many things in a broad range of fields. Wilbur died in 1912 while Orville died in 1948 while fixing his doorbell.

The obstacles the Wright brothers faced were many and challenging. They had one thing I admire greatly, determination. They also had courage to fly in a homemade piece of wood and fabric that had never been tested before. This is great courage. These attributes inspired me never to quit in the face of trouble and never to compromise my own personal values. I wanted to be like them because I knew that these would never leave me, no matter what happened, and they seemed to embody these quite well. I also learned that the brothers had two older brothers. I thought they had no other siblings.

The Wright brothers overcame many obstacles in their quest for flight. Nevertheless, they overcame them with all the courage and determination in the world.