Directions: Write a newspaper article about the Wright Brothers' aeronautical feat of
the first engine-powered, controlled flight in 1903. Use the guidesheetbelow to help you plan the information you will include for your article. Headline: Byline: Вy:Lead Paragraph: Who: What: When: Where: Why: How: Explanation:
Answers
Explanation:
The Wright brothers' first airplane flight on Dec. 17, 1903, lasted just 12 seconds and news of the feat made it into only four newspapers the next morning. Yet, the pioneering, 120-foot (37 meters) flight in a fragile airplane over Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, had an enormous impact on the entire world.
Brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright did not invent flight, but their craftsmanship skills helped them form the early 20th-century equivalent of a startup. Their invention of the Flyer, which was the first crewed, powered, heavier-than-air and (to some degree) controlled-flight aircraft, brought people and ideas together like never before. In just a few decades, their ideas led to the creation of new aircraft in warfare, assisted with the spread of goods and people for globalization, and led to spaceflight — including putting the first people on the moon, in 1969.

Humble beginnings
Interest in aeronautics exploded during the 19th century, as the technical how-to finally caught up with humanity's centuries-old interest in flight. Before airplanes, people flew in balloons, airships and gliders — but never in something heavier than air. Several scientists tested gliders throughout the 1800s, filling data tables with information about lift and drag, but no gliders ran on power other than that provided by the wind. A steam-powered airship built by Henri Giffard flew successfully in 1852.
Step 1 for the Wright brothers was to do a literature search on the state of aeronautical knowledge at the time. In 1899, Wilbur wrote this letter to the Smithsonian Institution, requesting copies of all the past research done:
"Dear Sirs:
I am an enthusiast, but not a crank in the sense that I have some pet theories as to the proper construction of a flying machine. I wish to avail myself of all that is already known and then if possible add my might to help on the future worker who will attain final success."
The brothers studied the hang-gliding flights of Otto Lilienthal and work done by Sir Georg Cayley, the founder of aerodynamics. The Wrights picked the brain of Octave Chanute, an engineer who had worked to invent an airplane and the author of the book "Progress in Flying Machines" (Dover Publications, 1894).
With the profits earned at their bike store, Wilbur (the visionary) and Orville (the engineer) set to work on a flying machine. The brothers started by building kites based on the flight mechanics of birds they had observed, then moved on to manned gliders. [Airplanes of Tomorrow, NASA's Vision of Future Air Travel]
The first flight
Four years after Wilbur's humble letter, the Wrights were ready to test an aircraft powered by an engine and propeller. The biplane design was based on Chanute's biplane glider, and the engine was assembled by Charles Taylor, a mechanic in the Wright's bike shop.
On Dec. 17, 1903, Orville climbed into the primitive cockpit. The Flyer lifted from the level ground of Kitty Hawk into the air and flew for 12 seconds before landing with a thud 120 feet (37 m) away. Kitty Hawk was chosen for its consistent winds, which were good for testing kites and gliders and also for taking off with an underpowered airplane. While strong wind gusts could be dangerous, a good, consistent headwind allowed a plane to take off when its own power might not get it off the ground in windless conditions.
The brothers made four flights that day, the last one flying 852 feet (260 m) in distance and staying aloft almost a minute, launching the world into the aviation age for good.