Wright Brothers
Some Interestring History...

1. 100 Years Of Flight
2. First Flight
3. Wright Cycle Co.
4. Wishbone Technology
5. Kitty Hawk
6. The Infernal Machine
7. Air Corps
8. Shooting Stars
9. The Competition
10.Smithsonian Denial
11.The Wright Way
12. Smithsonian Slander

1. 100 Years Of Flight

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the first powered flight of a heavier than air vehicle and the invention of the airplane. "The first time in the history of the world in which a machine carrying a man had raised itself by its own power into the air in full flight, had sailed forward without reduction of speed, and had finally landed at a point as high as that from which it started." - Orville Wright

2. First Flight

That first flight was at 10:35 AM on December 17th 1903. Orville piloted the Wright brothers' airplane,
"The Flyer", at an elevation of 10 feet for about 100 feet in distance and the whole ordeal lasted about 12 seconds.

Airplanes are the wagon trains of modern global society. The world became a much smaller place on that winter day a hundred years ago. Less than 60 years later jetliners became the norm and the airways truly opened to the public at large. Airplanes now allow us to travel to nearly any destination on the planet in a matter of hours. All of this can be owed to the dreams and determination of these two brothers form Ohio.

3. Wright Cycle Co.

In 1892, Orville and Wilbur Wright founded the Wright Cycle Co., in Dayton, Ohio. Their bicycle and repair shop was no different than the other countless bicycle shops populating the country at the time, save for one crucial detail, theirs was the only one where wings were being built as well as wheels.

4. Wishbone Technology

"We were lucky enough to grow up in an environment where there was always much encouragement to children to pursue intellectual interests; to investigate whatever aroused curiosity." - Wilbur Wright

In 1878, the boys' father, a bishop in the Church of the United Brethren of Christ, gave the tikes a flying toy. A fragile thing powered by rubber bands and made of cork, bamboo and paper. Regardless of the delicate nature of the soon destroyed toy, it was able to captivate their imaginations and inspire their life's work.

5. Kitty Hawk

The duo debated about many locations to conduct their experiments, including the coast of Georgia and San Diego. Favoring the 15-mile per hour constant wind and the close proximity to Dayton, Ohio where they lived, the brothers chose Kitty Hawk, North Carolina as the site for their exploration in aviation. Today, the Wright Brothers National Memorial is a 431-acre site in the Kill Devil Hills area about four miles south of the village of Kitty Hawk, with a commanding view of the Atlantic Ocean. The brothers chose the highest hill in the vicinity as their staging ground for their historic experiments in aviation.

6. The Infernal Machine

During the later part of the fifteenth century, famed artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci postulated numerous innovations for the purpose of flying machines. Some were fantasy-based, one with a human harness with movable bird type wings, but others were more amazingly forward thinking. Of these were his ideas for a design for an early version of the helicopter and the parachute. He also predicted that these devices would play heavily in future military applications. Teddy Roosevelt would be the first to apply that idea.

7. Air Corps

Frank Lahm had met the Wright brothers and became fast friends. In 1909, after a mere 3 hours training with Wilbur he was deemed a pilot for the US Army. In 1920, the Air Corps Training Center was established in San Antonio, TX and Lahm was appointed commander of primary and advanced flight training at the school. The seed of what would become the United States Air Force was born. With the recommendation of Teddy Roosevelt, the first contract for an Army airplane was awarded to the Wright brothers.

8. Shooting Stars

In 1927 the silent film, "Wings", debuted. The film follows the adventures of two young men who fall in love with the same girl. When the US enters WW1, both of them join the Air Corps and become ace pilots. They remain friends, but the relation to the girl puts serious strains on their friendship. Sounds a lot like the plot for the film, "Pearl Harbor", doesn't it? Why mention this film? Well it was the first film to ever win best picture at the Academy Awards. It was the only silent film that ever won. The film was shot in San Antonio where Frank Lahm taught future pilots to fly using the planes built by the Wright brothers and the film was the first screen appearance of Gary Cooper.

9. The Competition

Samuel P. Langley served as the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and originally corresponded with the Wright brothers during 1899. Langley was as serious about powered flight as the Wrights. He organized a series of flying experiments in the 1890's, one of which was with a gasoline-powered engine. He was considered the frontrunner in aviation innovation and Teddy Roosevelt allocated much money to the Langley's advancements during the Spanish-American War.

10. Smithsonian Denial

Ultimately, Langley's designs were wrought with troubles and his last failed flight attempt was on December 9th, 1903, just nine days before the Wright brothers' historic flight at Kitty Hawk. The Smithsonian didn't readily recognize their contribution to aviation and the Wrights' argued with them over conflicting claims of priority. Today, the original Wright "Flyer" is a treasure of the Smithsonian, but because of their denied recognition throughout Orville and Wilbur's lives, the plane was not donated to the institution until 1948.

11. The Wright Way

The Wrights did gain wide spread acclaim for their invention, but the new founded aviation community soon turned on their innovators. A smear campaign ensued against the Wright brothers, attempting to minimize their contribution to the invention of the airplane. All of this was due to patents held by the Wright brothers and the modest fees they were to be paid by anyone using their technology. Countries other than the US simply side-stepped the whole ordeal by not even recognizing the Wright brothers and denying them patents in their countries.

12. Smithsonian Slander

The Smithsonian, along with the help of Glenn H. Curtiss, tried to debunk the fact that the Wright brothers invented the airplane. They rebuilt one of Langley's crashed planes and demonstrated that it flew, but failed to mention they had made several modifications derived from the Wrights' invention. Why do this? Well, the Smithsonian had dumped a fortune into Langley's research and wanted to desperately boost their image as the contributing factor to the invention of the airplane. It was only after many years that the Smithsonian recanted, their claims and fully honored the Wright brothers.