The First Flight

The twentieth century can be seen as a time of revolution, of innovation, and most notably advances in science and technology. One of the most notable inventions at the turn of the century has to be the application of human flight, which would set the path for modern airplanes we use today. Although there were many flying concepts and sketches that had been released, this was the first to be a fully self powered aircraft. So who were the people who invented the modern airplane?


Wilbur and Orville Wright were born in Millville, Indiana, in the late 1860s. As children, they were fascinated by the concepts of aeronautics and flight. At that time, the only self sustaining aircrafts were balloons. In 1892, the brothers opened a bicycle shop, a trending vehicle that was immensely popular at this time.

The Airplane:
The Wright Brothers drew their inspiration from Otto Lilienthal and Alphonse Penaud, both well known aeronautical engineers. They went to work down in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, a place well known for its strong winds. They had numerous innovations on the aircraft, including the movable rudder. They saw that the most difficult part in creating the airplane was controlling it, thus the rudder was added to add more control on the plane. Another innovation was wing warping: a way of twisting wings so that it adds more control to the helmsman. It took multiple models to perfect the craft, but on December 17, 1903, they finally succeeded. First, Orville Wright flew 120 feet in 12 seconds. Short, but they accomplished what they had set out to do: make a man fly. By the end of the day, they improved upon that trial, with Wilbur Wright at the control, he was able to keep the plane in the air for about a minute as far as 850 feet. In 1906 they were granted their first patent for the designs of their glider. They would continue to improve the airplane, and eventually it could fly for 30 minutes while travelling over 24 miles.
Although not initially well received in America, the Wright Brothers sought to promote their invention in Europe. There, they encountered lots of popularity and success, and this success would translate back home in the states.

Impact/Aftermath:
The creation of the airplane would be revolutionary and change the method of transportation in the world. Now, people could get to places farther away much faster, making the world a whole lot smaller. This was impactful not only in a practical sense, but also a philosophical sense. Before this even, not many believed that man would ever be able to fly, much less travel to any location around the world. However, after this invention it opened up the world to the limitless possibilities that technology could bring to the world.


Sources:
http://www.history.com/topics/inventions/wright-brothers
https://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/wright-brothers/online/