Transcript Wilbur and Orville Wright

Wilbur and Orville Wright
How They Invented the Airplane
By Michael Aiken
May, 2005
Wilbur and Orville Wright
-Wilbur Wright
(shown on the left)
was born on April
16, 1867 in
Millville, Indiana
-Orville Wright
(shown on the
right) was born on
April 19, 1871 in
Dayton, Ohio.
Wright Cycle Co.
The brothers built
bicycles and plane
parts here.
Another thing they
constructed was a
wind tunnel.
They also built
many test wings out
of wax, iron, and
steel at different
angles and sizes for
test purpose.
Achieving Flight
“We knew that men had by
common consent adopted
human flight as the standard
of impossibility. When a
man said,’It can’t be done, a
man might as well learn to
fly,’ as he was understood
as expressing the final limit
of impossibility.”
Wilbur Wright
A machine that flies must have...
1. Wings that provide lift
2. A power plant to propel it
3. Means of control
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
They needed a testing
ground for their planes.
The U.S. Weather
Bureau recommended
Kitty Hawk, North
Carolina: A windy site
with stretches of sandy
beaches.
1900 Wright Glider
The 1900 Wright glider had a17 ft.
wingspan and a light wooden frame
covered with sateen. The brothers
would fly the gliders like kites. Since
there is much wind, the lift causes the
plane to rise above the ground.
The 1901 glider
crashed when it
spun out of control.
In 1902, the brothers
used a wind tunnel
for testing wing and
propeller design by
running air over
each.
1901-1902
Angle of Attack
As the leading edge
of the wing tilts up,
air moves faster
over the top of the
wing, increasing lift,
making wind rise.
Propellers
The brothers knew that they had to
have a curved wing since the wing
would slice through the air. They also
knew that the propellers would have to
have the right diameter, pitch, and area.
The Wright’s
Propellers
There were two
propellers on all the
Wright Fliers and they
turned in opposite
directions to keep the
plane stabilized. The
propellers were
connected to the
motor through a
sprocket-and-chain
transmission, like the
kind used to pull a
bicycle.
Now, they need an engine...
The Wrights needed
an engine that
produced at least 8
horsepower and
weighed under 200
pounds. Luckily, they
found an amazing
engine that exceeded
both qualities.
The Wright Brother’s Engine
Their engine was state-of-the-art. It was
made by Charlie Taylor. This engine
produced 12 horsepower and only
weighed 179 pounds. It was considered
remarkable and helped the Wright
Brothers achieve success.
1903 Wright Flier
The 1903 Wright Flier was a
product of the tests that the
brothers did in 1902. On their
third try, Wilbur flew for 12
seconds. It was the first time
anyone had been in flight.
Wingwarping: to
adjust the
position of
the wings to
balance the
plane after
turning
Wing-Warping
The 1903 Flier
had ailerons. They
were devices that
helped control the
plane. Ailerons
looked like flaps at
the ends of the
wings that could
control dives and
climbs.
Ailerons
1905 Wright Flier
The 1905 Wright Flier was tested in
Huffman Prairie, Ohio. It’s longest
flight was 39 minutes. It weighed
over 700 pounds and was thought
of as the “First Practical Airplane.
The brothers biplanes
tended to spin out of
control. They fixed
Biplane
this problem by
Blunders
adding ailerons. The
Wright brothers also
made the plane turn
by installing a spiral
twist running down
the wings.
Work Does Pay Off...
After all the inventing,
the Wrights took a
tour in Europe in
1906-1908,
demonstrating their
invention. In 1909,
they returned to
America.
The Beginning of a Legacy
Wilbur died on May 30, 1912 from
typhoid fever at the age of 45. Orville
died on January 27, 1948. All of their
planes that survived their purposes are
currently inside the Smithsonian
Institution’s Air and Space Museum.
The Wright Brothers Memorial
The Wright Brothers Memorial was
constructed after the Wright Brothers
had died. The Memorial is meant to
honor the Wrights for their
remarkable achievements in flight.
Bibliography
Freedman, Russell. The
Wright Brothers: How they
invented the Airplane. New
York; Holiday House, 1991.
Bibliography
“Wilbur and Orville Wright.”
People and Discoveries.
5/1/05<http://pbs.org/wgbh/aso
/databank/entries/btwrig.html>
Bibliography
Smithsonian Institution. “The
Wright Brothers.” National Air
and Space Museum.
5/1/05<http://www.nasm.si.edu/
wright brothers/fly>
About The Author
Hi. I’m Michael Aiken, the author of this
project. The things that I enjoy most are
soccer and backpacking. My favorite foods are
pizza, chicken, and cheeseburgers. Most
people know me for my humorous jokes and
my inability to take anything seriously.