The Wright Brothers and the First Powered Flight
Milton Wright, a bishop in the United Brethren In Christ Church, and his wife, Susan Catherine Koerner Wright, were blessed with a fine, healthy family. Wilbur Wright was born near Richmond, Indiana in 1867, and his brother Orville was born at Dayton, Ohio in 1871. When Orville was 7 and Wilbur was 11, in 1878, their father gave them a toy helicopter which was powered by two counter-rotating propellers, a toy that actually flew. This is seen as the beginning of the Wrights' interest in flight. In 1892, they became bicycle manufacturers to capitalize on the bicycle craze sweeping the nation. Between 1891 and 1899, they read everything they could find about flight. They closely followed the exploits of Otto Lilienthal and read the published material of aviation pioneers such as Samuel Pierpont Langely and Octave Chanute. The more they studied, the more interested they became in building and flying their own aircraft. After deciding that the biplane glider design was the best suited, the Wrights calculated that movable surfaces were the answer to equilibrium problems and proceeded to work out the design for their first glider. Testing was done at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. This was not a random selection; the methodical Wrights had looked for a place with fairly constant wind. Weather bureau records indicated that Kitty Hawk filled this requirement. Their first aircraft was flown as a kite with movable surfaces manipulated from the ground by long control lines. The next, a larger version of the first, was flown first as a kite and later with a pilot on board. The craft was difficult to manipulate and did not fly well. Nevertheless, the brothers were enthusiastic about the results and reached the following conclusions during the first test flights:
• Practice is the key to the secret of flying
• Drag or wind resistance can be reduced by the pilot assuming a horizontal position (which Octave Chanute pointed out was an awkward position to control and airplane from).
• Rolling or banking can be controlled by wing-warping (presenting different angles of the wingtips to the wind).
In July 1901, they returned to Kitty Hawk with their new, much larger glider. Things didn't go well. The control system worked, but the craft performed poorly and the maximum glide distance attained was only 389 feet. Chanute observed these flights, and he and the Wrights concluded the problem was with the tables of air pressure (on an airfoil) which had been worked out by Lilienthal (and which the Wrights had been using as reference in their experiments). During the winter of 1901-02, they built a wind tunnel to test airfoils and recomputed pressure tables. The results of their research and tests gave them the inspiration to continue their hobby, and to build a new glider. The 1902 glider had been modified to yield maximum lift, optimum controllability, and had a rudder added to the rear of the craft. This time it performed well, gliding a distance of 622 feet. They knew they had solved the problem of manned flight, and at this point the brothers became very secretive about their work.
On March 23, 1903, the Wright brothers applied for patents for their flight control system. They were confident that a motor could be added for sustained flight. Attempts at finding a suitable commercial motor failed so the Wrights and C. E. Taylor, a machinist from their bicycle shop, constructed a lightweight, four cylinder engine. This engine produced twelve horsepower. The next task was to design propellers for the craft. After much experimentation, their design consisted of two counter-rotating propellers in the pusher configuration (mounted behind the pilot and facing aft). In order to solve the issue of who would fly first, the brothers flipped a coin. Wilbur won, but his first attempt was a failure, resulting in damage to the rudder frame. On December 17, 1903, at 10:35 in the morning, with J. T. Daniels, W.S. Dough, A. D. Ethridge, W. C. Brinkley, and Johnny Moore (all working at the life station on Kitty Hawk) as witnesses, Orville got on the machine for an attempt at flight. The wind velocity was averaging about 24 miles per hour (27 at take off). With throttle forward, the craft left the rail when it was about 40 feet down the 60 foot track. With the wind slightly gusty and the front control surface (elevator - a canard actually) erratic in its operation, Orville's flight was made like a roller coaster ride. However, the flight from level ground to level ground covered 120 feet in about 12 seconds and was the first successful sustained and controlled powered flight in history. Three additional flights were made that same day. The second and third flight each covered approximately 175 feet, and the fourth and final flight of the day covered 859 feet in 59 seconds. The rough landing damaged the front rudder frame, and while parked at the hangar for repairs, a sudden gust of wind caught the craft, turned it over, and demolished it. There was nothing left to do but go home.
The Wrights wanted wide news coverage of their feat but were disappointed when the press was indifferent and newspaper accounts were brief and inaccurate. The Wright brothers' second powered aircraft was completed about May 16, 1904. It was heavier and stronger than the 1903 craft and had a more powerful engine. They invited the press and public to witness their demonstration flights at Huffman Prairie. Nothing went well. The winds were too light, they had motor trouble, and the craft simply did not get into the air. Although they corrected the problems and made longer and longer flights, public interest was lacking . In 1905, the new "Flyer" was airborne. This plane had a tendency to slip and stall in the turns but they found the problem was one of piloting technique rather than faulty design and construction. Promoters wanted to buy the plane as a money making, circus type attraction, and representatives from several European countries were also interested in purchasing the plane. The Wrights wanted the United States to have the first chance at their invention so they wrote the Secretary of War offering the plane for sale. The offer was refused. Then, they began negotiations with foreign countries but these failed because of patent troubles and their "buy now, fly later" attitude.
Between October 1905, and February 1908, the Wright brothers did no flying. They were afraid that spies would steal their invention, so they kept it hidden from public view. In February 1908, they finally signed a contract with the US Army, and in March of that year they also negotiated a contract with a French company. They developed a new aircraft called the "Type A." Wilbur took one to France to demonstrate it while Orville tested on for the Army. On September 17, 1908, during the last test flight for the Army, the plane developed propeller troubles and crashed, killing Lieutenant T. E. Selfridge and severely injuring Orville's back. However, this accident did not deter the Army's interest in the plane and the contract was fulfilled. In 1909 and 1910, Europe and America were intensely interested in flying. During this time, the Wrights were involved in many legal battles defending their patents. The Wrights felt that their patents covered anything in the air, and they won major judgments against early aviators and aircraft manufacturers.
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