The ease with which birds roam the friendly skies has always been envied by mankind. The dream to be able to take off to the skies is presumably as old as mankind itself. However, the concept of an aeroplane or airplane is still fairly new in our society today. The first attempts were efforts to fly just like any birds by attaching feathers to their arms and flapping. It was quite unfortunate that all those attempts were unsuccessful. Flapping wings were a brilliant idea to lift light bodied birds. However, they simply did not have the power required to lift an entire machine and the load of a human body as well. I suppose it was a great concept but could not be executed. According to an article that I read , the first successful air flight was in a hot air balloon. The thing about hot air balloons is that you can not go the way you want. If the wind is blowing west, that means you would have to go west. If the wind is blowing east , meaning you have to go east ,too. During the Civil War hot air balloons were frequently used by the armies to look at enemy troops. But yeah , that shit won’t bring you anywhere as compared to a F-22 Raptor or an Eurofighters . While this experiment succeeded in getting off the ground literally it did not go very far either. It was only in 1799, that an Englishman named Sir George Cayley built the first true airplane. He conceptualized a flying machine that had fixed wings instead of flapping ones, a propulsion system and even movable control surfaces. Thus, the fundamental concept of airplanes subsequently came into existence. With his emphasis on lift, the thrust and control Cayley designed the first glider in 1804. It only had a single wing and a movable tail mounted on an universal joint. It also had an adjustable center of gravity and was the first ever aircraft of any size capable of flying. He then tried to expand the glider concept and built a man-sized one with wings spanning 300 feet. A few hops were all it could manage. While Cayley was working on his glider there were others too who were figuring exactly to fly. Another good example of an aspiring plane inventor is William S. Henson. All these ideas that they came up with only managed brief glides. In fact , the numerous experiments had also caused many deaths and accidents such as Samuel Langley who flew a steam powered plane and very sadly crashed into a lake. Some of the projects were foiled in the attempt of building an airplane as too much funds were spent and many people in those time never believed that flying was unattainable. Out of so many attempts , I think that only the Wright Brothers were the first people to successfully fly a plane with a person in it. The plane flew one hundred twenty feet and flew only about twelve seconds.The Wright Brothers eventually created a plane that could fly for more that one and a half hours in 1908.THEY MADE AVIATION HISTORY!!!
Orville And Wilbur WrightWilbur and Orville Wright’s contributions to aviation were among the most important in our century. Most importantly it all began in their childhoods. The invention was first thought of hundreds of years ago, but look how long it took us to get our arses on the A380 and the B747 now.Orville and Wilbur Wright, had realized one of mankind’s earliest dreams , they actually flew. Although gliders were in existence, the Wright brothers made the world’s first successful sustained and controlled flight of a motor-driven aircraft, the culmination of years of experimentation gliders and kites.The Wright household was indeed a very stimulating place for the children.The Wright brothers grew up in an environment where there was always a lot of encouragement to children to pursue intellectual interests and also to investigate whatever aroused curiosity.Wilbur was the third son and Orville was the fourth one in the family.On their 11th's birthday , their father who appeared to be a bishop , bought them a toy helicopter.The toy 'helicopter' was nowhere closer to the ones we normally see in the modern days , it was made of paper and wood.That was the time when their interest in flying was sparkled.That toy helicopter ignited a high interest in them for the hidden world of aviation , and ultimately putting mankind to fly in the sky.Before enrolling into aviation business Orville started a printing business when he was in high school. He used a small printing machine to publish a newspaper. He sold copies of the newspaper to the other children in school. However , but he did not earn much money from the project.Wilbur offered some advice to his younger brother. ''Make the printing press bigger and publish a bigger newspaper'' , he said. They eventually designed and built one. The machine looked peculiar yet it worked perfectly. Soon, Orville and Wilbur began publishing a weekly newspaper.They were finally earning money. Wilbur was 25 years old and Orville 21 when they began selling and repair bicycles. They then began to make them. At the same time , it was difficult for the Wright brothers to get flying machines off their minds.Wilbur decided to learn about all the different kinds of flying machines that had been designed and tested through the years.The Wright brothers constantly read everything they could about people who tried to sail through the air under huge balloons.They also read about people who tried to fly on gliders , winged planes without motors and such.That was the time both of them started their journey , they began to design their own flying machine. They used the ideas they had developed from their earlier experiments with combinations of the toy helicopter, printing machines , kites and bicycles.The Wright brothers tested a glider that could carry a person in 1900. However , neither the first or second glider they built had the lifting power needed for real flight.Wilbur and Orville came to realise that what they had read about air pressure on curved surfaces was a mistake. So they built a wind tunnel two meters long in their bicycle store in Dayton, Ohio. They tested more than two hundred designs of wings. These tests gave them the correct information about air pressure on curved surfaces , and that had made it possible for them to design a machine that could fly.After all the hardwork , patience , sacrifices and determination they built more powerful engines and flew better airplanes.When Orville and Wilbur Wright succeeded in flying their planes at Kitty Hawk , North Carolina.They sent a telegram to their sister in Ohio , telling her of their great accomplishment.It read , ''First sustained flight today fifty-nine seconds.Hope to be home by christmas''.Their sister , excited by the news , rushed to the local newspapers office and gave the telegram to the editor to report on it.The next day , the newspaper headline that graced the paper said , ''Popular Local Bicycle Merchants to be Home for Holidays!'' How could the editor miss the real news. Their success was suprisingly unknown. Most people were still sceptical of flying was possible. It was almost five years before the Wright brothers became famous. In 1908, Wilbur went to France to show their skills. He gave demonstration flights at heights of ninety meters. A French company agreed to begin making the Wright brothers flying machine.Orville made successful flights in the United States while Wilbur was in France.Quickly and expectedly both of them became heroes as news about it were spread all across the globe.They returned to Dayton , Ohio where they continued to improve their airplanes and taught many others how to fly.Later , they managed to built their first warplane for the US military.They dedicated their whole lifes to ensure the success of planes.I genuinely salute them for what they had done.
Airplane Development And Travel Today
Today, the Wright brother's first airplane is in the Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. Visitors to the museum can look at the Wright brothers small plane with its cloth wings, wooden controls , tiny engines and other small components. Airplane travel has improved significantly since the first efforts of the Wright Brothers.In the modern world , it’s getting more and more convenient for people to get from one place to another. Our pilots and aircraft engineers are getting more and more efficient and professional and made flying completely safe. Airplanes now can easily travel thousands of miles at altitudes of more than 7 miles, carrying over three hundred passengers. Those passengers rest in comfortable seats instead of on their stomachs like the Wright brothers did. Jet engines have replaced propellers and speeds are greater than 600 miles per hour. Not even the Wright brothers could have imagined what air travel would be like today.They'll probably freak out! 
