The Wright
Brothers
Rich Davis
Mr. Goldfarb’s Class
March 26, 2012
Introduction
I think people should be appreciative of Orville and Wilbur Wright. A lot of
people doubted the Wright brothers because many people before them tried to fly
but couldn’t even lift off the ground. Also many people encouraged them like
John Daniels who also took the picture of the first flight. People then didn’t think
the first flight was interesting. This shows that anybody who is determined can be
successful.
Childhood
Wilbur is older than Orville Wright, Wilbur was
born on April 16, 1867 Orville was born August 19,
1871. They built helicopter toys that their dad bought
them. Both Wilbur and Orville made, fixed, and sold
bicycles in Dayton Ohio which is where both of them
grew up. They also liked flying kites and studying
birds.
Orville got in trouble a lot in school but Wilbur didn’t but both Wilbur and
Orville didn’t graduate from High school.
Orville had always dreamed about making a flying
machine someday. Orville and Wilbur were the youngest
boys in the Wright family but they had a younger sister.
Orville was also Dayton Ohio’s top math student .Besides
the bicycle shop Orville owned his own printing shop
However it wasn’t that successful.
Family (Inspiration)
Susan Wright and Milton Wright were very inspirational to
the Wright Brothers.
Susan Wright (their Mom) had tuberculosis. She inspired
the Wright Brothers to work with their hands which she liked to
do a lot .Milton Wright (their dad) was away from home a lot to
work with members of congregation. When Milton came home he
usually brought a toy helicopter and when it broke the Wright
Brothers would rebuild it.
Growing up
Growing up was successful and hard for the Wright
brothers.
The Wright brothers still owned the bicycle shop .They bought
1.2 million bicycles to sell. An average worker at the bicycle
shop made $440 a year. The only time the Wright brothers got
time to think about the plane was in the winter because sales
on bicycles went down.
Some conflicts the Wright brothers had growing up
1This is a picture of Orville and
Wilbur as adults
were their mom died and Wilbur began to have heart
problems. The Wright brothers mom died when Wilbur was 22.
Wilbur began to have heart problem and he would barely go outside.
Creating the plane
The first thing the Wright brothers did was gather articles about flying from
a member of the Smithsonian. They wanted to create the planes features like a
bird so they tried to twist the wings of the plane that didn’t work. Also they didn’t
know how a plane moved left or right. Then they decided to keep the planes
wings flat and that turned out to work.
Over all creating the plane was very successful.
The First Flight
The first flight was on December
17, in 1903. The Brothers flipped a coin
to see who would fly first Orville won.
Orville took off 10:35 am it lasted only
12 seconds in the air and it traveled 120
feet.
The Wright flyer was the plane
that took off. The Wright flyer is 21 feet
long and wings more than 40 feet long
and it weighs 605 pounds.
This is a picture of the first flight. Wilbur is
After the first flight reporters didn’t watching Orville take off
think the Wright brothers’ story was
important because back then people
didn’t think flying was interesting. Also after the first flight they flew 3 more times
that day. The last flight Wilbur flew the plane and it lasted for 59 seconds and
traveled 852 feet.
Improving planes
This is one of many crop
dusters to keep pest from
eating crops
Here are some ways people improved planes after the
Wright brothers. One reason is people improved war planes to
hold more weight and made planes faster and powerful.
Planes now can land on water and the controls are easier
instead of moving your hips to move the plane. Here are also
some uses of planes now. One of them is you can go
sightseeing when back then a plane couldn't hold more than
one person. Also farmers use planes to spray crops to keep
pest from eating the crops.
Legacy and Places to Visit
Here are some places that are very important to the Wright brothers.
Greenfield Village, Dearborn Michigan. The last Wright brothers cycle
shop is here and their house at 7 Hawthern Street.
National Memorial Kill Devil Hills North Carolina. The Wright brothers flew
their first powered plane here. In 1990 it attracted more than 5,000 visitors. At
the top of the hill there is a 60 foot granite shaft. There is a replica of the 1902
and 1903 flyer.
Air and Space Museum in the Smithsonian. The original parts of the
Wright flyer is here and the Wright signal corps flyer, the first military plane.
Aviation Trail, Dayton Ohio. This trail includes many buildings important to
the Wright brothers. One of the Wright Cycle Company shops and the Wright
Printing Shop are here.
Carillon Historical Park. At this park a replica of the 1905 flyer is displayed
along with a replica of the 1909 Wright flyer.
Conclusion
Throughout the Wright brothers lives I noticed for them to be successful
they had to be determined. They had to be determined because they had some
obstacles in their lives such as Wilbur having a heart problem and both Wilbur
and Orville had to go on a germ infested boat just to get across the river. This
could be a life lesson because to be successful you can't let anything stop you to
accomplish a goal.
Work Cited
Collins, Mary. Airborne. Washington, D.C.; National Geographic Society, 2003
Freedman, Russell. The Wright Brothers How they Invented the Airplane. New
York; Holiday House, 1991
Taylor L. Richard. The First Flight the Story of the Wright Brothers. Franklin
Watts, 1990
Ford T.Carin. The Wright Brothers Heroes of Flight. Enslow Elementary, 2003