Invention of

the airplane
FLYING HAS ALWAYS BEEN A DREAM FOR
MAN, MANY EFFORTS WERE MADE TO
FULFILL THIS REALITY THAT NOW
INVADES THE SKIES AND NEW
TECHNIQUES FOR APPROACHING THE
AIRSPACE CONTINUE TO BE DEVELOPED.
 The world's first airplane was built and successfully flown by Wilbur and
Orville Wright, two aviator brothers, engineers, inventors and aviation
pioneers, born in Dayton, Ohio, USA. Together they repaired and sold bicycles.
Generally named collectively, and recognized worldwide as the ones who
successfully invented, built and flew the world's first airplane.

A bicycle sales, rental, and repair

business - the Wright Cycle Exchange -
was started by the brothers in 1892. The
need for a strong, lightweight design,
the importance of balance and control,
and wind resistance were much of the
that they learned about bicycles, which
was key to the development of their
airplane.
 FORMAL DECLARATION

In 1898 Wilbur formally declared his interest in aviation in a letter to the Smithsonian Institution in
Washington requesting that they send him a preliminary investigation.
In that same year, one of the key advances for the aircraft was achieved by the brothers: a
lightweight method of controlling balance and turning the aircraft.
Wilbur got an idea while absently twisting a cardboard box. He observed that even when he
twisted it vigorously, the box retained its lateral rigidity.
It occurred to him that the same principle could be applied to a wing: One side would hit the air at
a greater angle than the other, generating more lift on that side.
The idea was successfully tested by the brothers in the 1899 Wright Kite and they began developing
life-size gliders.
After 4 years of experiments, the Wright brothers' first flight was made to last 12 seconds, in which
their plane, the "Wright Flyer", traveled 36 meters, although it did not rise more than a few
centimeters from the ground. However, it was the first time that powered controlled flight was
performed by a human in a heavier-than-air machine.
 Characteristics of the Wright Flyer 1 in its first flight

• The Wright Flyer weighed 341 kilograms, including the pilot.

• It was 6.4 meters long with a wingspan of 12.3 meters.
• The right wing was four inches longer than the left to counteract the
weight of the engine.

 Over the next 3 years, three gliders were

built and tested by Wilbur and Orville at
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The fishing
village was chosen by the brothers because
its steady winds would help them fly and its
soft sandy beaches would cushion their
landings. The first two gliders, tested in
1900 and 1901, demonstrated that the idea
of wings and added elevators to control
climb and descent worked, but did not
provide enough lift. To solve this problem, a
wind tunnel was built and 200 wing shapes
were tested before choosing the best
design for his third glider.

They also added a vertical rudder to correct a tendency the second

glider had shown to lurch in the wrong direction.

The rudder completed a three-axis control system, making the 1902

glider their first fully controllable aircraft, and the brothers made
hundreds of flights in it.

 Finally, they focused

on the engine.

An engine was built by themselves because

they did not have one that was light and
powerful enough.
Equally important was his decision to treat
the propeller like a rotating wing, reasoning
that it would create thrust in the same way
that a wing produced lift.
In September 1903, the Wright Flyer was returned to Kitty Hawk by the
brothers, under pressure to be first.
On December 14, the Wrights' attempt was delayed by bad weather and
technical problems, and it was decided by a coin toss that Wilbur would fly the
plane. The plane rolled down its launch pad, rose into the air, came to rest, and
crashed.
Three days later, the repairs were finished and it was Orville's turn to fly. On
December 17, despite the wind, the Wright Flyer was boarded by Orville and his
historic 12-second flight over a distance of 120 feet was made.
Three more flights were made that day by both of them, and the last one, which
lasted 59 seconds and covered almost 260 meters, was controlled by Wilbur.
But by then, Wilbur and Orville Wright had already signed their essential
contribution, the one for which they can be considered the legitimate inventors
of the airplane: the control of movement in the three axes of space, a concept
that is still valid more than a century later.
 The age of
aviation had
begun