Wright Brothers - On December 17, 1903, the Wright brothers made the first successful experiment in which a machine carrying a man rose by its own power, flew naturally and at even speed.
Left, Wilbur Wright (1867 - 1912) and right, Orville Wright (1871 - 1948), the two brothers who worked closely together in the early development of aeronautics, inventing and flying the first practical airplane in 1903.
Grace pilots a biplane, designed by Wilbur Wright, (1867 - 1912), and his brother Orville Wright, (1871 - 1948), the US aviation pioneers who designed and flew the world's first powered aircraft, (1903), at Sheppey.
Wilbur and Orville Wright, U,S,A, They became the first to fly an heavier than air machine on 17th, December 1903, Orville Wright was born in 1871 and died in 1948, Wilbur was born in1867 and died in 1912, Pictured is Orville Wright flying in the Wright Brothers glider at Kitty Hawk in 1911,
Orville Wright (1871-1948), together with his brother Wilbur (1867-1912), was an American co-inventor and pioneer of early flight. They developed and fitted a lightweight engine to their aircraft Flyer I which was piloted by Orville on 17 December 1903. This was the first powered and controlled aircraft flight, although Flyer III, built-in 1905, was the first efficient plane and by 1909 the American army had ordered a military version.
Photograph of the glider being launched. Orville Wright (1871-1948) and his brother Wilbur (1867-1912) were self-taught American airplane pioneers. They carried out extensive research and testing with gliders in order to establish a design for a heavier-than-air flying machine capable of sustained, controllable flight.
From left, Orville Wright, Charles Taylor and Henry Ford look over the blueprint of Wrights 1903 engine at Greenfield Village, Dearborn, Michigan, 1937.
A painting depicting Orville Wright piloting the Wright Flyer 1 and being chased by his brother Wilbur Wright during the first manned flight on December 17, 1903 at Kill Devil Hills near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
Orville Wright (19.08.1871-30.01.1948) US-American aviator, together with his brother Wilbur he invented the motor-powered airplane Orville Wright (3rd from r) in front of his aircraft 'Flyer' before the take-off, on Tempelhof grounds in Berlin where he conducted air displays - September 1909.
Joseph Sweetman Ames, National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, Orville Wright, Vannevar Bush, National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics at table with Ames at head, Orville Wright sixth from left, Vannevar Bush third from right, 1938.
Orville Wright, born 1871. Early in 1903 he became associated with his brother Wilbur in the bicycle repair business and from the first shared his interest in mechanical flight. Shop experiment led to the development of a power-driven heavier-than-air machine which was piloted by Orville Wright at Kitty Hawk, December 17, 1903.
Orville Wright (1871-1948), together with his brother Wilbur (1867-1912), was an American co-inventor and pioneer of early flight. They developed and fitted a lightweight engine to their aircraft Flyer I which was piloted by Orville on 17 December 1903.
Series of flights from May through July, just after the opening of the Wright Flying School, probably Orville acting as an instructor; Simms Station, Dayton, Ohio.
Three-quarter right front view of Wright glider descending from Big Hill. One of four photographs of gliding activities taken on October 27, 1903, when Wilbur and Orville each made two glides.
Wright brothers were American inventors and pioneers in aviation, the first men to design and fly a powered man-carrying airplane. The two brothers were inseparable in their aeronautical work, and their contributions are difficult to separate into individual achievements.
Background
The older brother, Wilbur, was born on April 16, 1867, on a farm not far from New Castle; Orville was born in Dayton, on Aug. 19, 1871. Their father, Bishop Milton Wright of the United Brethren Church, settled permanently in Dayton about 1884, his duties having previously taken the family at various times to Iowa and Indiana.
Education
Neither Wilbur nor Orville received a high school diploma, and their formal schooling was interrupted by their greater interest in practical affairs, first a printing business and later, beginning in 1892, their bicycle shop.
Career
They began by selling bicycles but soon added a repair shop, and in 1895 they began to manufacture bicycles, conducting a profitable business. They read technical articles and books in their spare time, and their interest in aeronautics gradually increased. In boyhood, they had flown kites and their father had given them a toy helicopter made from the design of Alphonse Penaud. Now the glider flights of Otto Lilienthal were attracting interest and works by Octave Chanute, Professor Samuel P. Langley, and especially Lilienthal were absorbed by the boys. They gave much thought to the problem of lateral stability, which they solved theoretically before applying their idea of warping the wings to their first biplane kite in 1899.
In 1900 their first glider experiments were conducted at Kitty Hawk, N. C., and they tested their second glider at Kitty Hawk in 1901. Some of the Wright Brothers' work was observed and constructively criticized by the astute Octave Chanute. At his invitation, Wilbur reported upon their experiments before the Western Society of Engineers, and this public review of their work led the brothers to verify their ideas by the use of a wind tunnel, built by themselves. By the end of 1901, they had tested more than 200 wing types and had compiled tables of data upon which they felt they could rely. Their glider of 1902 had almost double the efficiency of their previous ones, and they made more than 1, 000 flights with it, in winds up to 36 miles (58 km) an hour. By the end of 1902, they were ready to build a powered machine. As no engine with the required lightness and power was available, they designed and built one, aided by their mechanic, Charles Taylor. This engine developed 12 hp at 1, 200 rpm and weighed 170 pounds (77 kg). They also designed propellers of about 66 percent efficiency. Both engine and propellers exceeded their design calculations. The brothers returned to Kitty Hawk in November 1903 and completed the airplane. After overcoming a number of difficulties, they made the first man-carrying powered flights in history on December 17, 1903. Orville piloted the first flight, which covered about 120 feet (37 meters) and lasted 12 seconds. Wilbur, on the fourth and longest flight of the day, flew 852 feet (260 meters) in 59 seconds. The flights were reported to the newspapers, but the brothers conducted their further experiments in Dayton quietly and attracted little attention. By the end of 1904, they could keep the machine up for five minutes and fly complete circles. On October 5, 1905, a flight of over 24 miles (39 km) around the field was made in a little over 38 minutes; more than two hundred flights were made in 1904 and 1905, and a patent was granted for the plane on May 22, 1906, but it was not until 1908 that the world knew without doubt of the leadership of the Wrights. In that year Wilbur, flying in France, carried passengers on numerous flights and established distance and altitude records almost at will. Orville, flying at Fort Myer, was having equal success in the official Army trials, until the failure of a propeller caused the accident which proved fatal to his passenger, Lieut. Thomas E. Selfridge, and injured Orville severely. He soon recovered and joined Wilbur in France. After further triumphs in France, Italy, and England, the brothers returned to the United States, and a two-day celebration was held in Dayton in their honor in June 1909. The Wright plane passed all tests at Fort Myer successfully and was accepted by the Army on August 2. Later in the year, Orville made a number of flights in Germany; and Wilbur, at the Hudson Fulton celebration in New York, flew up the Hudson to Grant's Tomb and back to Governor's Island. An American company to manufacture Wright planes was formed in November 1909, and the brothers found themselves immersed in business affairs, manufacturing and selling planes, arranging flying exhibitions, training pilots, and engaging in patent suits against Glenn Curtiss and others. The courts decided the suits in favor of the Wrights. Worn out by the long patent struggle, Wilbur died of typhoid fever at the height of his career. He had made his last flights in May 1910. Orville continued flying actively until 1915, personally testing all improvements on the Wright planes. In that year he sold his interest in the Wright Company. His last flight was made in 1918. Though he served on the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and maintained an office in Dayton, he lived quietly for the rest of his life. After his death in Dayton, January 30, 1948, his papers revealed that he had provided for the return of the 1903 Wright plane from England, where it had been loaned during a controversy arising from the patent suits, and in 1948 the plane was placed permanently in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.