NORTH CAROLINA -USA
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In 1902 two brothers, ORVILLE and WILBUR Wright, decided to try and build a flying machine near the beach in North Carolina. That decision put Kitty Hawk in the history books. Orville and Wilbur grew up in Ohio and owned a bicycle shop there. They were fascinated with the problem of flight and began by testing kites and gliders but the winds in Ohio were mild and inconsistent. Weeks could go by without enough wind to test a new glider. After Orville and Wilbur consulted with the U.S. Weather Bureau, they found Kitty Hawk had the strong consistent winds they required. Orville and WILBUR packed up and began developing solutions to the problems of controlling their boxkite-like glider in three dimensions. Up and down, or pitch, was controlled with a stabilizer in front. Side to side, or yaw, was controlled by a rudder in back. Banking, or roll, was controlled by twisting the wings. Today, roll is controlled by ailerons.
These problems solved, Orville and Wilbur concentrated on an engine strong enough to push the flying machine forward but not too heavy to keep it on the ground. On December 17, 1903, the Wright Flyer, piloted by Orville Wright, lifted off and flew a distance of 120 ft, 37m with an airspeed of 31 mph. It was so much fun they kept doing it all day long, the last flight for a distance of 852 ft, 253m. Shortly after that last flight, a strong gust picked up the Wright Flyer and tumbled it across the dunes busting it up pretty good. They were so excited, Wilbur had forgotten to tie it down. The Wright brothers were happy anyway. Everyone should learn to fly, it is lots of fun. But for some reason, names like Orville and Wilbur aren't cool anymore.
