Lesson #9

The Wright Brothers :

The First Airplane

Orville and Wilbur Wright:

what does an airplane need to get into the air? do you think airplanes looked the same since back when they were first invented?

In December, 1903, on the sands of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, through planning and perseverance, the Wright brothers achieved the milestone of manned, controlled, powered flight.

This was the first plane of flight for the wright brothers:

With Orville Wright as pilot, the airplane took off from a launching rail and flew for 12 seconds and a distance of 37 meters (120 feet). The airplane was flown three more times that day, with Orville and his brother Wilbur alternating as pilot. The longest flight, with Wilbur at the controls, was 260 meters (852 feet) and lasted 59 seconds.

What consisted of the airplane:

• gasoline-powered engine weighed 179 pounds, delivered 12 horsepower
• 2 propellers, each 8.5 feet in diameter
• propeller made of 3 layers of 1 1/8 inch spruce, glued together, shaped with hatchet and drawshave
• wingspan = 40 feet, 4 inches
• chord = 6 feet, 6 inches
• wing camber = 1:20
• total wing area = 510 square feet
• horizontal forward rudder = 48 square feet
• distance from nose to tail = 21 feet, 1 inch
• unmanned weight = 605 pounds (including engine, propellers, and chain drive)
• wing skeleton covered with white French sateen fabric
• propeller shafts made of steel

Here is the only diagram drawn by the Wright Brothers:

Once wind resistence hits the bottom and top part of the wings, it lifts the aircraft into the air. The strong steel propellers, powered by a sturdy motor, keep the aircraft in flight while suspended into the air.

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