OrvilleWrightIntroduction

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Orville Wright Introduction

Orville Wright was born on August 19, 1871 in Dayton,

OH as the fourth child to Bishop Milton Wright and Susan

Catharine Wright. Although neither had high school degrees,

along with his brother Wilbur, Orville was credited with being

the first to successfully develop and fly a heavier-than-air

powered plane on December 17, 1903 in Kitty Hawk, North

Carolina. Orville was the pilot of the first run deemed to be a

successful flight; that initial flight lasted 12 seconds and

covered approximately 120 feet. Amid strong skepticism

from many aviation experts and the press, in 1908 Orville

and Wilbur would go on to achieve international notoriety

fame by successfully demonstrating their flying machines

capabilities throughout the world.

The Scene:

It is a warm early-summer day in 1928 and we are in the

yard of the Hawthorne Hill mansion that Orville has called

home since 1914. Everyone in this class is Orville Wrights 7

year-old grand-nephew, Wilkinson Wick Wright, whomUncle Orv is watching for the day. Wick is playing in the

yard when Orville walks out onto the porch.


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Anecdote:

Hey Wick, Wick, come on over here, I want to talk with you

for a moment.

(Small Delay)

Wick, how old are you right now?

Response: Im 7 years old

Seven, ah when I was your age I was a very curious and,

some might say, mischievous little boy. I didnt always do

particularly well in school but I constantly inquired into how

things worked and what made them tick. My parents always

encouraged your Uncle Wilbur and me to pursue all of our

intellectual interests through thorough investigation and

study.

In fact, I remember when Iwas seven, my father brought

home a toy Penaud helicopter for Will and I to play with. It

was the first time wed seen anything like it. Little did we

know at the time that this simple toy would be one of the

main reasons we became so enamored with achieving flight.

Now that you are seven, I wanted to share something that I

hope will inspire you, one of my diaries. I have captured

many ideas, memories, and experiences in my diaries over


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the years. This particular diary contains my notes from

1903, including my account of Will and my first flight in Kitty

Hawk, North Carolina back on December 17th, 1903. Are you

interested in hearing about the details of that day?

"When we got up, a wind of between 20 and 25 miles was

blowing from the north.

I still remember the, steady wind, frigid temperatures, and

lingering rain that morning from the previous nights storm;

it was right around 4 degrees with the wind chill. We werent

certain we were going to be able to fly that morning but

were running out of time before we had to return to Dayton

for Christmas and were determined to try.

We got the machine out early and put out the signal for the

men at the station. Before we were quite ready, John T.

Daniels, W. S. Dough, A. D. Etheridge, W. C. Brinkley of

Manteo, and Johnny Moore of Nags Head arrived.

Actually, Wick, why dont you come with me? I have

something that might interest you more than just listening

to me talk.

(Go Over To Plane)

Do you recognize this? This is a replica of the 1903 Flyer we

were in that morning. I thought it might be more interesting

for you to actually experience that moment for yourself

rather than just listen to it. Hop on up onto the wing. Be

sure to grab hold of the controls. We assembled some of the

plane in Dayton before traveling to Kitty Hawk and had the


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remainder of it shipped. It took us about three weeks to fully

assemble the machine once all the parts had arrived. In total

she has a wingspan of 40 feet and weighs 625 pounds.

With the help of the Kill Devil Hills Life Saving Crew, we

hauled the machine up the slope to the staging area. We ran

the engine and propellers for a few minutes to get them in

working order, and then I got on the machine at 10:35 for

the first trial. After Wills crash a few days earlier I wasnt

sure what to expect but the encouragement I received from

Will and the others calmed my nerves a bit. The wind was

whipping right into my face out of the North. To get herstarted, I slipped the rope and the machine started traveling

down the monorail we had laid out that week. Slowly at first

but then she got going up to 7 or 8 miles on the rails in the

sand. At the fourth rail, the machine lifted from the track.

(Dramatic 12 second delay)

A sudden dart ended the flight; however, we were finallysuccessful. 12 seconds and 120 feet later, Will and I were

the first to build a working flying machine. I will admit,

though, that first one was certainly not the smoothest flight

I have ever taken, as the center balance of the controls

made the machine difficult to maneuver. The machine

pitched up and down the full time but landed intact, with

only a damaged skid.

(Walk out from behind plane)

We ran three more trials that morning, all with greater

success. During the final trial Will was able to maintain his

altitude and speed for 59 seconds and traveled 852 feet. It


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was a glorious day for me and Will and a testament to

challenging what is accepted as impossible. For, if we all

worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true is

really true, there would be little hope of advance.


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Bibliography

American Experience, The Wright Stuff. Retrieved on August 2nd, 2009from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/wright/wrights.html

Crouch, Tom D., The Bishop's Boys: A Life of Wilbur and Orville Wright,New York: Norton, 1989.

Eyewitness To History, The Wright Brothers - First Flight, 1903.Retrieved on August 2nd, 2009 from

http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/wright.htm

Freedman, Russell, The Wright Brothers: How They Invented theAirplane, New York: Holiday House, 1991.

Howard, Fred, Wilbur and Orville: A Biography of the Wright Brothers,New York: Knopf, 1987.

Kirk, Stephen, First in Flight: The Wright Brothers in North Carolina,

Winston-Salem, North Carolina: J.F. Blair, 1995.

Library of Congress, Wright Photo 3G7. Retrieved on August 9th, 2009from

http://invention.psychology.msstate.edu/inventors/i/Wrights/portraits/3G7.html

NASA, Reliving The Wright Way A Biography of Orville Wright.Retrieved on August 3rd, 2009 from http://wright.nasa.gov/orville.htm

Parramore, Thomas, Triumph at Kitty Hawk: The Wright Brothers andPowered Flight, Raleigh: Division of Archives and History, North

Carolina Dept. of Cultural Resources, 1995.

Smithsonian Education, Orville Wrights Diary. Retrieved on July 24th,2009 from http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/

lesson_plans/wright/group_a.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/wright/wrights.htmlhttp://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/wright.htmhttp://invention.psychology.msstate.edu/inventors/i/Wrights/portraits/3G7.htmlhttp://invention.psychology.msstate.edu/inventors/i/Wrights/portraits/3G7.htmlhttp://wright.nasa.gov/orville.htmhttp://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/lesson_plans/wright/group_a.htmlhttp://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/lesson_plans/wright/group_a.htmlhttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/wright/wrights.htmlhttp://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/wright.htmhttp://invention.psychology.msstate.edu/inventors/i/Wrights/portraits/3G7.htmlhttp://invention.psychology.msstate.edu/inventors/i/Wrights/portraits/3G7.htmlhttp://wright.nasa.gov/orville.htmhttp://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/lesson_plans/wright/group_a.htmlhttp://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/lesson_plans/wright/group_a.html


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Primary Source

Copied from: http://wright.nasa.gov/orville.htm
http://wright.nasa.gov/orville.htmhttp://wright.nasa.gov/orville.htm


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