Why Did The Wright Brothers Invent The Airplane ?
It is claimed that when the Wright Brothers were young boys, their father brought an object that he asked them to identify. However, the brothers could not. Their father then released the object and it flew inspiring awe in the two young boys. Milton, the boys' father, explained to them that the small model was called a helicopter. This prompted Orville and Wilbur to vow that someday they would also fly. So, in all probability the Wright Brothers went on to invent the airplane because of this childhood experience that fascinated them. |
However, it was the exploits of Otto Lilienthal, a glider pilot popular in the latter half of the 19th century who attracted their attention. But it was only after Lilienthal died in the year 1896 that the Wright Brothers developed an interest aviation, and this prompted them to begin experiments on gliding. They knew that in order for them to conduct the experiments, they would first have to learn the theory of gliding and flying. So, they went about educating themselves.
At that point, there was already some fundament knowledge about aerodynamics and many people had conducted experiments on it. Hence, they could tap on these experiments and learn more. In addition, the internal combustion engine was already invented and this gave them an idea to use the power of the engine for manned flights.
So, the brothers started learning as much as possible and then used their knowledge to design and build models, gliders and even their own engine. If they found that the information that they had learned was wrong, they would figure out what the problem was and rectify it. Thereafter, they would conduct thorough tests and experiments to show that their method or design was right. The brothers tried to fly many times, but they were not very successful as the pilots had to move their bodies in the early models to control the planes. This led the Wright Brothers to design an aircraft that could be controlled by moving the wings. And, this led the Wright Brothers to go on and invent the airplane.
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Milton Wright was a bishop with the United Brethren in Christ, while his wife Susan was a home maker. These were the parents of the famous Wright Brothers, Wilbur and Orville, the pioneers of aviation. Wilbur was the elder sibling, who was born on 16th April 1867 in the town of Millville located in Indiana. His brother, Orville, was born on 19th August 1871 in the town of Dayton located in the state of Ohio. 