The Wright Brothers, Orville and Wilber, Educational Posters, Prints, Photographs & Books

Wright Brothers

“We were lucky enough to grow up in an environment where there was always much encouragement to children to pursue intellectual interests.” Orville Wright

The Wright's Flyer had a ‘tail first' arrangement. Wing-warping allowed the plane to turn, but the brothers found that a bank could cause the plane to spiral into the ground. They added moveable rudders to keep th turn under control.

Orville and Wilbur Wright, American inventors and aviation pioneers, achieved the first powered, sustained, and controlled flight of an airplane in 1903. The brothers built two sturdier, more reliable planes in the next two years, and in 1906 received a U.S. patent for a powered aircraft.

17 December 1903 at Kitty Hawk: Flyer No. 1 rises into the air for the first time. Three flights were made that day. The longest, piloted by Wilbur, was 852 feet and took 59 seconds. ...

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Ohio Brothers Achieve Flight

Ever since Icarus donned his wings of feathers and wax, humans have dreamed of flying. But as the 20th century began, few believed people would ever fly through the air. But two young men from Dayton, Ohio, knew better. Their names were Wilbur and Orville Wright. The Wright brothers first became interested in powered flight after reading about the pioneering glider pilot Otto Lilienthal. Soon, they began experimenting with gliders and kites as their own design. On the advice of weather experts, they chose a narrow strip of sandy beach near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina for their experiments.

In the summer of 1902, the Wrights successfully tested a glider at Kitty Hawk. The next fall, Orville and Wilbur returned to Kitty Hawk with a gas-powered plane thay had built for less than $1,000. They were so confident that this plane would work, they sent a telegram to their father, "Success assured. Keep quiet." But bad weather and minor technical problems kept their plane grounded until December 17th. That day, the two brothers flipped a coin to see who would make the historic first flight. Orville won. The flight was anthing but spectacular, covering only 120 feet and lasting a mere 12 seconds. But that short trip was to change the nation - and the world - forever.

Soon, the skies over America were filled with strange flying contraptions. Only 11 years after Kitty Hawk, the world's first scheduled airline was operating in Florida. By the 1950s, airliners were making daily non-stop flights across the Atlantic. Today, U.S. airlines log over 400 billion miles every year! Our ability to fly anywhere in the world - at a moments notice - has brought people from all cultures together, and made our world a smaller, less mysterious place.

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Flying Machine Takes to the Air! Headline of the Friday, December, 18, 1903 London Herald Newspaper

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First Flight

Poster Text: Orville and Wilbur Wright chose the windy, sandy beaches of the Outer Banks, islands off the coast of North Carolina, to test their gliders and their first airplane. The two brothers from Dayton, Ohio, made Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, famous when their airplane took off and flew under its own power – the first time a motorized airplane actually flew. This picture records the first flight of the Wright Brothers' plane on December 17, 1903. Orville was at the controls. Wilbur ran alongside holding on to a wind to keep the plane balanced, and he let go as the plane rose in the air. Wilbur had set up the camera, and the picture was taken by John Daniels, a local man who came by to help the brothers. On this first flight the plane stayed in the air for twelve seconds and flew 120 feet. The Wright brothers made four flights that day; the longest light lasted 59 seconds.
The Wright airplane was the first great invention that ws fully documented by photography. Wilbur and Orville had taken up the photography as a hobby before they became interested in aviation. During the four years they worked to build their airplane, the found photography to be a valuable tool. They used photos to record their experiments and to analyze their mistakes. And, in the end, a picture proved they had made the first machine to fly under its own power.

December 17, 1903 -
Ohio Brothers Achieve Flight

Ever since Icarus donned his wings of feathers and wax, humans have dreamed of flying. But as the 20th century began, few believed people would ever fly through the air. But two young men from Dayton, Ohio, knew better. Their names were Wilbur and Orville Wright. The Wright brothers first became interested in powered flight after reading about the pioneering glider pilot Otto Lilienthal. Soon, they began experimenting with gliders and kites as their own design. On the advice of weather experts, they chose a narrow strip of sandy beach near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina for their experiments.

In the summer of 1902, the Wrights successfully tested a glider at Kitty Hawk. The next fall, Orville and Wilbur returned to Kitty Hawk with a gas-powered plane thay had built for less than $1,000 (roughly $27,000 in 2013). They were so confident that this plane would work, they sent a telegram to their father, “Success assured. Keep quiet.” But bad weather and minor technical problems kept their plane grounded until December 17th. That day, the two brothers flipped a coin to see who would make the historic first flight. Orville won. The flight was anthing but spectacular, covering only 120 feet and lasting a mere 12 seconds. But that short trip was to change the nation - and the world - forever.

Soon, the skies over America were filled with strange flying contraptions. Only 11 years after Kitty Hawk, the world's first scheduled airline was operating in Florida. By the 1950s, airliners were making daily non-stop flights across the Atlantic. Today, U.S. airlines log over 400 billion miles every year! Our ability to fly anywhere in the world - at a moments notice - has brought people from all cultures together, and made our world a smaller, less mysterious place.

Theodore Roosevelt was US President.

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