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17/12/25
Wright Brothers Day
On the 17th December 1903 two men called the Wright brothers successfully flew an engine powered plane. In America today is called Wright Brothers Day in celebration of this!
The Wright brothers names were Wilbur and Orville. They were brothers that lived in America. From a young age they were really interested in the idea of flight.
At first they started to explore and test gliders. A glider is an aircraft with wings that don’t move and is only powered by a flow of wind to keep it up in the air. They tried out different kinds of wings that could move up and down to control the flight. They also developed other control systems, such as a rudder.
The Wright brothers then decided to try and design and build an airplane with its own power supply as well as these different controls they had developed on gliders. By 1903 Wilbur and Orville had built an airplane with a fuel powered engine, which then powered two propellers.
On the 17th December1903, Orville made the first flight in the airplane called the Wright Flyer I. He flew 37 meters in 12 seconds. Later that same day Wilbur flew 260 meters in 59 seconds.
The Wright Brothers
The Wright Flyer I
The Wright Flyer was quite similar in many ways to the gliders they had previously been testing. The pilot had to lie flat on his tummy while in the air.
In 1904 the Wright brothers built an improved version of their airplane, called the Wright Flyer II, but it was actually quite similar to the first one. This was the first airplane to fly in a complete circle, returning to the point where it took off.
Then in 1905 the Wright Flyer III was built. This was a huge improvement on the first two, and was much more effective. It was able to fly for much longer periods, staying in the air for about 40 minutes and was capable of moving and changing direction much better than the previous two.
Then came the Wright Model A. This was developed between 1907 and 1909. This was the airplane that got peoples attention. It was the first version that had seats so the pilot could sit upright. It even had a seat for passengers. In 1909 over a million people watched Wilbur Wright fly this airplane in New York City. He even circled the Statue of Liberty.
The Wright Model A B was the only plane both Wilbur and Orville flew in together at the same time. It was also the only plane their father Milton rode in.
The Wright brothers continued to develop many new versions of their airplanes. They very quickly developed into planes similar to those we’d recognise today. In 1910 they started actually building lots of airplanes to be sold, creating the Wright Company. The last plane to be developed by one of the Wright brothers was in 1919, was called the Aerial Coupe.
The Wright Flyer II
The Wright Flyer III
Wright Model A B
Aerial Coupe
Photos and illustrations in this blog post are Whizzbots and Public Domain Images.