How Did The Wright Flyer's Influence On Society

The breakthrough invention of the Wright Flyer in 1903 left a remarkable influence on society with hundreds of thousands of planes around the world today, some of which can fly at the likes of 500 mph with tens of thousands of pounds of thrust, and the ability to fly around Earth's circumference. Born in Millville, Indiana and Dayton, Ohio respectively, Wilbur and Orville Wright exhibited an interest in flight from the time they were kids growing up in Dayton, Ohio. When Orville, following in Wilbur's footsteps, dropped out of high school, the brothers decided to start their own printing business, and three years later, they started their own bicycle company called The Wright Cycle Company. Following the death of glider pilot Otto Lilienthal,

Prior to the airplane, those who wanted to traverse across the United States or make international travel were forced to endure “weeks-long trips across the U.S. and months-long crossings of the Atlantic Ocean. Ahead lay transcontinental trips of less than a day, and eventually even the oceans would be crossed in a few hours” (Drye). The invention of the airplane transformed the lives of Americans, and that of global citizens, because it enabled the ability to travel lengthy distances in a greatly decreased period of time than before. In fact, there were many cases where people chose not to travel to different countries prior to the airplane because the origin and destination were simply too far away, but with the Wright brothers’ invention of the airplane, transcontinental trips could be traversed in “less than a day.” Furthermore, the invention in 1930 of the jet engine for airplanes became an added bonus to the brothers’ airplane invention. While propeller-flown aircraft like the Wright Flyer were restricted because of the air and its pressure, “Jet engines allowed aircraft to fly higher and faster than was possible for propeller-driven craft...Airfreight also [became] popular, with a five-fold increase in tonnage carried from 1970 to 1998. In 1998, profits for all U.S. airlines were $9 billion. In 1955, the peak year for non-jet aircraft, the profits were $140 million” (Andrews). Ultimately, the Wright brothers impacted the world as their invention created the ability to travel long distances swiftly, and because they invented the airplane, they provided a platform for the future invention of the jet engine which enhanced the airplane by allowing it to “fly higher and faster.” Similarly, they paved the path for the movement of goods and freight because once the