Wilbur And Orville Wright Facts
Wilbur And Orville Wright Facts
|
| Interesting Wilbur And Orville Wright Facts: |
|---|
| Wilbur and Orville Wright were born four years apart and were two of the seven children born to Milton and Susan Wright. |
| Milton Wright traveled as a bishop in the Church of the United Brethren In Christ. |
| In 1878 the boys were given a little paper and bamboo helicopter that used a rubber band to power the rotor. |
| They said it launched their interest in flight. |
| Wilbur finished four years of high school but didn't receive his diploma because in 1884 the family abruptly moved from Richmond, Indiana to Dayton, Ohio. |
| Soon after an accident resulted in the loss of his front teeth and he became withdrawn and virtually housebound. |
| In 1889 Orville dropped out of high school to start a printing business with the printing press they had designed and built. |
| In 1892 they opened a bicycle sales and repair shop. |
| In 1896 the Wright Cycle Company began manufacturing its own brand of bicycle. |
| In 1896 several events occurred which fuel their interest in manned flight. |
| Samuel Langley, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, successfully flew an unmanned fixed wing plane. |
| Octave Chanute tested gliders on the shore of Lake Michigan. |
| In May of 1899 Wilbur requested aviation information from the Smithsonian and the brothers began their experimentation with flight. |
| After reports of several deaths in glider accidents, the Wrights became convinced that pilot control was the key to safe manned flight. |
| The Wrights observed that birds change the angle of their wings to make their bodies bank right or left. |
| They experimented with wing-warping using a system of ropes and pulleys controlled by the pilot and in July 1899 tested their new design on a biplane kite. |
| In 1900 they chose Kitty Hawk, North Carolina for their test site after studying US Weather Bureau data and for its soft sandy areas. |
| The Wrights based their plane of previous glider designs and made many low-level and unmanned flight to test their modifications. |
| They built a 6 foot wind tunnel to test modifications and lift coefficients on models. |
| They made the important discovery that longer, narrower wings gave them better lift. |
| On October 1, 1901 they designed a movable tail rudder which greatly improved control and eliminated yaw. |
| On December 17, 1903 they made two successful powered flights in history. |
|
Related Links: Facts Scientists Facts Animals Facts |