Wilbur and Orville Wright

The Wright brothers invented the airplane. Their names were Wilbur (1867-1912) and Orville (1871-1948). Other people had flown through the air on balloons and gliders. But the Wright brothers were the first to fly in an engine-powered airplane. All modern airplanes are based on their work.

As children, the Wrights were fascinated by the study of motion. Their mother encouraged them to experiment and learn.

In 1899, the Wrights began studying the science of flight. They began experimenting with gliders. They thought the biggest problem with flying machines was that they were hard to control. They tested the gliders for several years near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Eventually, they figured out how to control a machine in flight.

In 1903, the Wrights built a flying machine with an engine—an airplane. They named it Flyer. On Dec. 17, 1903, the brothers made four flights on Flyer. The longest, by Wilbur, covered 852 feet (260 meters). It lasted 59 seconds.

The first airplane flight took place near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903. It lasted 12 seconds.

For years afterward, most people knew nothing of the Wright brothers’ achievement. A few newspapers reported on the Wrights. But the stories were often inaccurate. Many people at the time doubted that flying machines could even exist. In any case, the Wrights liked working in private. They spent several years perfecting their airplane design.

Orville Wright pilots glider

In 1908, the Wrights showed off their inventions in the United States and in France. They made long flights that amazed large audiences. But one flight, on September 17, ended in disaster. An accident caused Orville to crash his plane. Orville was seriously injured, and his passenger died. Orville later recovered and continued flying.

In 1909, the Wrights established a company to build airplanes. Wilbur died of typhoid fever in 1912. Orville sold the company in 1915. But he kept doing research on airplanes for the rest of his life. Orville died on Jan. 30, 1948.

Wright brothers. (2020). In World Book Kids. Retrieved from https://worldbookonline.com/kids/article?id=ar832221