100 years of flight

Essay by FuckHomeWorkJunior High, 9th gradeA-, March 2004

download word file, 5 pages 3.7

The history of flight begins as early as the Greek Gods. The experiments and attempts to fly were unsuccessful until the early 1900s, where two brothers, Orville and Wilbert Wright, designed a glider that was finally a success. It took them years to research the works of others who experimented with flight.

By 1900 they carefully started designing their first full-sized aircraft, which was at first to be used as a kite and controlled from the ground. When their design was almost finished, they wrote to the U.S. Weather Bureau for help in finding the best place to construct and test their creation. They decided that Kitty Hawk, North Carolina was the best choice, since it had suitable winds and plenty of sand dunes to give them soft landings.

They came and went to North Carolina for years experimenting different glider designs. Then on December 17th 1903 they finally found success.

It had been Orville's turn to fly, he climbed aboard the Flyer, and for the first time in history a powered flying machine had taken off from level ground, traveled through the air, and landed under the control of its pilot. Not pleased the brothers repaired the small damage from the previous flight and Wilbur then made the second flight traveling 175 feet. At attempting to fly the plane again later that day a gust of wind picked up the Flyer destroying it.

The Wrights did not reveal the airplane until their inventions were protected by patents (1906) and they had signed for agreements for the price of their invention (1908). In 1909 sold the first military airplane to the U.S. Army. The biplane that the Army had bought from the Wrights was sold for $30,000.00.

In November of 1906 a wealthy Brazilian living in Paris became the first...