Up and High

by Sung Bin
The Wright Brothers were not the first ones to make people fly in an airplane but they were the first ones to make the air crafts controlled by a person and a aircraft that is heavier than air. Lots of people thought that the controlled airplane cant come out in that time, 1900s, they thought it would take a long time like million of years. Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright were the Wright Brothers and they didnt even think they could make the piloted aeroplane.

The Discovery That Changed The World

In 1902, the Wright Brothers were making a glider when they discovered a very important thing. The important discovery was that the movable tail can make the airplane balance well. After they found out that the movable tail can help airplane to balance they used it in the glider that was made in 1902 and it came out to be successful. In the same year they were studying propellers carefully, how the propellers work. Then they designed their own motor and also designed an aircraft that could hold the weight of the motor and the shaking of the motor.

Testing With Gliders

To make the airplane, they first had to test different things with gliders. The first controlled glider was made in 1900 which had 17 feet long wingspan. The Wright Brothers tested it in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. They found something they would improve when they make their This is how the glider looked when the next glider. They made some Wright Brothers made the gliders first. difference in landing gears and some controls. The Wright Brothers decided to make bigger glider next time. The next glider was made in 1901. It was tested in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina and it weighed about 100 pounds and had 22 feet for the length of the wingspan which made the glider the biggest glider ever made. The gliders were a big help to make an airplane, so it was the most important section. This is a picture of the modified glider that used the movable tail. This is a picture of the first engine that the Wright Brothers made.

Did you know.

Did you know that the Wright Brothers were starting to get interested at airplanes just because they liked a toy that is similar to the airplane when they were just kids?

The First Controlled Aircraft

Finally, in December 17,1903, the Wright Brothers made the first controlled airplane that is heavier than air with a propeller and a motor on it. It was named Flyer and weighed about 750 pounds and 40 feet long for the wingspan. Flyer started to be made in the summer of 1903 and it took less than $1000 to make the airplane. The first pilot was Orville Wright and the first flight was in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina lasted for about 12 seconds in the speed of 48km/hour which took him about 120 feet long. This was a historical moment but not everybody knew this because not many newspapers wrote about this in their newspaper. With the controlled airplane, Wilbur flew the longest in that time which was 2 hours and 19 minutes in Le Mance, France in December 31,1908.

The Wright Brothers Life After Creating The Airplane

German-Wright Company was made by the Wright Brothers and a wealthy German man. The German man supported the Wright Brothers by giving them some money. It was made in New York and it seemed that there were no problems but there was a huge problem. It was that the other companies or people copied the Wright Brothers airplane without the permission of the Wright Brothers and lied that they made the airplanes, it is against the law. In 1915, after the death of Wilbur Wright, caused by the typhoid fever in the age of 45, Orville sold the German-Wright Company and retired. But even though Orville retired he still made a laboratory called Wright Aeronautical Laboratory and he worked hard so he got several awards under his own and Wilburs name. They two got Daniel Guggenheim Medal in 1929 for making aircraft that is better than the ones before. Wilbur got an award called Hall Of Fame for Great Americans in New York City in 1955, and Orville was selected in This is the picture of German1965. Wright Company.
The Wright Brothers were the amazing guys. We can say that he helped us to have a world like this now. There is no countries we cant go by airplanes and people can move something to other countries very fast if they use airplanes. If there were no airplanes in this world there would be no international school and we couldnt know other countries well. Also, people would have to travel a little distance by a ship, for example, from Korea to Vietnam, its short if you take an airplane but it takes a long time if you travel by a ship, a car, or walking.

The Military Airplane

Military airplanes were started being made in 1908. The U.S. Army asked the Wright Brothers to make some airplanes for war and Wright Brothers said yes so they made it. Orville showed the demonstrations to the army how to control the airplanes. This was the thing Wright Brothers shouldnt have done because in wars, the military airplanes killed many innocent people.