The Wright Brothers by David McCullough
Steven Gray
May 9th, 2016
Physical Science
Gray1
Introduction
The Wright Brothers by David McCullough is an outstanding book which tells of Orville and Wilbur Wright, two brothers who taught the world to fly. This dramatic story details the courage and determination of these two men who developed a love for bicycles and learned to make them even staring their own business. This led them to study and explore aerial locomotion and eventually to flight. The first Kitty Hawk flight in 1903 by Orville changed the course of history. Key concepts of research, development of flight control systems, testing theories, developing test pilot skills, and development of propulsion systems can be noted
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They flew the kites to test aerodynamic performance. Kitty Hawk, North Carolina was chosen for their first flight experiments because of the high winds from the oceans making it perfect for kite flying. The brothers reasoned that a free flying object had to be controlled in three primary axes; roll, pitch, and yaw. They built their aircraft with movable surfaces on the wing, elevator, and rudder. Control was at the hand of the pilot. Glider flights of the aircraft were used to test their …show more content…
They became the most experienced pilots in the world, by the time of their first powered flight. The Wright Brothers were the first pilots of a Gray3 heavier than air powered aircraft. From 1903 to 1905, they continued in their efforts to perfect their craft and their piloting skills on a series of powered aircraft.
Key Idea 5: Developed Propulsion Systems The development of a light weight motor and propellers to push the aircraft through the air were discovered by the Wright Brothers improving technology of the time. The brothers who once used bicycles to study aerodynamics, based their engine design on an early internal combustion engine for an automobile. The design of the airframe of the aircraft remained the same for years while the brothers continually improved the engine design. Eventually the engine horsepower improved from 12 horsepower to 75 horsepower improving function. The Wright Brothers were the first to fly a self-propelled, heavier than air machine.