The Wright Brothers – First in Flight

Orville and Wilbur Wright – most commonly known as the “Wright Brothers” – were the men behind what is arguably one of the greatest inventions of modern history: the airplane. The Ohio brothers successfully flew the first powered and controlled aircraft in North Carolina in 1903 – but how did they achieve the historic milestone?

Bikes, Planes, and the Wright Brothers

The Wright Brothers didn’t always work in aviation. In 1892, when Wilbur was 25 and Orville was 21, the pair opened a shop in Ohio where they sold and repaired bicycles. Four years later, the brothers started to build their own bikes and created a unique self-oiling wheel hub. Thanks to the shop’s success, the Wright Brothers were able to fund aeronautical experiments that they performed between 1899 and 1905. “[T]he experience of designing and building lightweight, precision machines of wood, wire, and metal tubing was ideal preparation for the construction of flying machines,” Britannica explained.

Inspired by a helicopter toy their father gave them in their youth and the work of Otto Lilienthal, a German glider innovator, the Wright Brothers started to take their research into flight more seriously in 1896. By 1899, the bicycle shop owners had gone through all of their local library’s material on aeronautics, so they contacted the Smithsonian Institution for advice on how to find additional information. They ultimately determined that an airplane “would require wings to generate lift, a propulsion system to move it through the air, and a system to control the craft in flight.”

The brothers knew Lilienthal, who died in a glider crash, had successfully fashioned wings strong enough to carry him through the air. They also understood that self-propelled vehicles used internal-combustion engines. All they had to do was figure out how to control a combination of both.

Aeronautical Experiments

The Wright Brothers’ experiments stood apart from other aeronautical research because they put complete control of their flying machine “in the hands of the operator.” Eventually, the pair developed “wing warping,” a system that allowed the brothers to “raise or lower either wing tip at will.”

The Wright Brothers quickly realized that Dayton, Ohio, was not a great place to perform experiments in aeronautics. After requesting assistance from the US Weather Bureau – now called the National Weather Service – Orville and Wilbur decided to test their aircraft in Kitty Hawk, a small village in North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

The brothers’ first glider, which they largely flew as a kite in 1900, was a biplane that had 165 square feet of wing area. Their first attempt at flight ended in disappointment when the aircraft failed to develop significant lift.

But they refused to give up. After a few more years of experiments, on the morning of December 17, 1903, just after 10 a.m., Orville took the first successful powered flight in history. The plane, which had a four-cylinder internal-combustion engine, flew 120 feet in 12 seconds. Wilbur then gave it a try, flying 175 feet in 12 seconds. During the day’s last flight, Wilbur soared 852 feet through the air for just under one minute. And just like that, a couple of bicycle shop owners made history, transforming the world of transportation forever.

1. Orville and Wilbur Wright – most commonly known as the “Wright Brothers” – invented the airplane.
2. The Wright Brothers took the first successful powered flights in their groundbreaking aircraft in North Carolina on December 17, 1903.
3. The inventors grew up in Ohio, where they opened a bicycle shop before researching aeronautics.