the wright brothers--9/10/26

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Today's encore selection--from To Boldly Go Where No Book Has Gone Before by Luke O'Neill. Orville and Wilbur invent the airplane:

“Orville and Wilbur Wright invented and flew the first airplane, in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903. Their interest in flying had begun when their father gave them a toy made of paper, bamboo and cork that had a rubber band for its rotor, and which flew like a helicopter. The two brothers played with it until it broke and then made their own. 

“While still a teenager, Wilbur was struck by a hockey stick which knocked out all his front teeth. He didn't like going out after that, and he spent a lot of time reading in his father's library. His brother Orville, on the other hand, dropped out of high school and set up a printing shop. Wilbur joined him in the business and the brothers launched a newspaper called West Side News in their home town of Dayton, Ohio. 

“The 1890s saw the popularization of the 'safety bicycle', with a chain-drive transmission and gears. Powered by the legs via pedals, the links in a flexible chain connect with the teeth on one circular chain ring and transfer energy to a second chain ring linked to the axle of a wheel or propeller. The relative circumference of the two rings, or gear ratio, regulates the speed of the axle. This invention led to a bicycle craze in the US in which millions of people bought bicycles, and the bike boom was especially significant for women. Cycling increased women's mobility outside the home, which among other things allowed them to meet (and marry) a broader range of people than those found in their home towns, transforming gender relations. Many women bought bicycles, and this gave rise to the 'rational clothing' movement, with less restrictive skirts. A special 'bicycle wear corset' was even invented. This change in women's clothing might seem minor today but it was radical at the time. 

“The Wright brothers were well aware of the demand, and decided to open a bicycle sales and repair shop, as well as making their own bicycles. They also kept publishing newspapers and magazines, and were inspired by articles about Otto Lilienthal, a German who had made gliders. In August 1896, Lilienthal was killed when one of his gliders crashed to the ground. His death focused the brothers' minds on a key issue: how to control the wings of a glider. Watching birds, Wilbur figured out that birds change the angle of the ends of their wings to move left or right. 

“And so they began to design an aircraft. They made the wings of the aircraft they designed movable, and in 1900 they went to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, to start their manned gliding experiments. They chose the location because of regular breezes and soft sandy surfaces to land on. A key feature was to put a 'camber' into the wings — a curvature of the top surface. Lift was achieved by the air flowing more quickly over the upper side of the cambered wing than the underside. The brothers' first flights with the glider were unmanned, but then Wilbur climbed on board and was able to fly the glider over distances of a few metres. 

Seconds into the first airplane flight, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903

“In 1901 they returned to Kitty Hawk and built gliders with larger wing areas. These proved difficult to control, and on their way home from that year's efforts, Wilbur said to Orville that man would 'not fly in a thousand years'. As with probably all inventors and indeed scientists, they had reached a low point and almost quit. But instead they went back to the drawing board. By 1903 they were ready to test their new design, with an engine attached to drive a propeller (which had been used in boats) to achieve lift-off. The propeller was used to achieve 'thrust' — the pulling of air behind the propeller to create a pressure difference, pushing the aircraft forward — which they knew was needed to counteract the drag caused by gravity. And it worked! 

“The aircraft was called the Wright Flyer. Wilbur won a coin toss to see who would go first — and his attempt lasted three seconds. On 14 December, which by coincidence was the 121st anniversary of the Montgolfier brothers' first unmanned hot-air-balloon flight, the aircraft did better; and on 17 December, Orville flew 120 feet in 12 seconds. They then took turns, with one flight lasting 59 seconds over 852 feet. The Wright Flyer was the first airplane — a machine that could fly over the ground under the control of a pilot. 

“The brothers sent a telegram to their father asking him to 'inform the press'. He contacted the Dayton Journal, but they refused to cover the story, saying that the flights were too short to be important. A telegraph operator leaked the news to a Virginia newspaper — suitably called the Virginian-Pilot—and the story was reprinted in several newspapers, including the Dayton Journal. The problem was the article was a major exaggeration. The journalist had clearly felt the news had to be 'sexed up', and the headline read: 'Flying machine soars three miles in teeth of high wind'. It did say 'No balloon attached', which was true. The Wright brothers issued a statement saying the article was 'fictitious' and gave their own account, which few newspapers published, deeming it less interesting.”

author:	Luke O'Neill
title:	To Boldly Go Where No Book Has Gone Before: A Joyous Journey Through All of Science
publisher:	Penguin
pages:	58-60