Human Resource Development
Monday 30 September 2013
Human Resource Development: Way 2 Success.....
Human Resource Development: Way 2 Success.....: “Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.” —Albert Einstein
Wednesday 25 September 2013
Biography of the two brothers who took flight..
Orville Wright
Born: August 19, 1871
Dayton, Ohio
Died: January 30, 1948
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Died: January 30, 1948
Dayton, Ohio
Wilbur Wright
Born: April 16, 1867
Millville, Indiana
Died: May 30, 1912
Dayton, Ohio
American aviators
Millville, Indiana
Died: May 30, 1912
Dayton, Ohio
American aviators
The American aviation pioneers Wilbur and
Orville Wright were the first to accomplish manned, powered flight in a
heavier-than-air machine.
Their
early years
Wilbur and Orville Wright were the sons of
Milton Wright, a bishop of the United Brethren in Christ. Wilbur was born on
April 16, 1867, in Millville, Indiana. Orville was born on August 19, 1871, in
Dayton, Ohio. Until the death of Wilbur in 1912, the two were inseparable.
Their personalities were perfectly complementary (each provided what the other
lacked). Orville was full of ideas and enthusiasms. Wilbur was more steady in
his habits, more mature in his judgments, and more likely to see a project
through.
While in high school, Wilbur intended to
go to Yale and study to be a clergyman. However, he suffered a facial injury
while playing hockey, which prevented him from continuing his education. For
the next three years he continued his education informally through reading in
his father's large library.
In their early years the two boys helped
their father, who edited a journal called the Religious Telescope. Later,
they began a paper of their own, West Side News. They went
into business together as printers producing everything from religious handouts
to commercial fliers. In 1892 they opened the Wright Cycle Shop in Dayton. This
was the perfect occupation for the Wright brothers because it involved one of
the exciting mechanical devices of the time: the bicycle. When the brothers
took up the problems of flight, they had a solid grounding in practical
mechanics (knowledge of how to build machines).
The exploits of one of the great glider
pilots of the late nineteenth century, Otto Lilienthal, had attracted the
attention of the Wright brothers as early as 1891, but it was not until the
death of this famous aeronautical (having to do with the study of flying and
the design of flying machines) engineer in 1896 that the two became interested
in gliding experiments. They then decided to educate themselves in the theory
and state of the art of flying.
Wilbur Wright (L) And Orville Wright |
.
Their
beginnings in flight
The Wrights took up the problem of flight
at a favorable time, for some of the fundamental, or basic, theories of
aerodynamics were already known; a body of experimental data existed; and, most
importantly, the recent development of the internal combustion engine made
available a sufficient source of power for manned flight.
The Wright brothers began by accumulating
and mastering all the important information on the subject, designed and tested
their own models and gliders, built their own engine, and, when the
experimental data they had inherited appeared to be inadequate or wrong, they
conducted new and more thorough experiments. The Wrights decided that earlier
attempts at flight were not successful because the plans for early airplanes
required pilots to shift their bodies to control the plane. The brothers
decided that it would be better to control a plane by moving its wings.
First
trip to Kitty Hawk
The Wright brothers proceeded to fly
double-winged kites and gliders in order to gain experience and to test the
data they had. After consulting the U.S. Weather Bureau, they chose an area of
sand dunes near the small town of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, as the site of
their experiments. In September 1900 they set up camp there.
The Wright’s first device failed to fly as a kite because it was unable
to develop sufficient lift (upward force). Instead, they flew it as a free
glider. They kept careful records of their failures as well as of their
successes. Their own data showed conclusively that previous tables of
information they had were greatly inaccurate.
Returning to Dayton in 1901, the Wright
brothers built a wind tunnel (a tunnel wherein one can control the flow of wind
in order to determine its effect on an object)—the first in the United States.
This is where they tested over two hundred models of wing surfaces in order to
measure lift and drag (resistance) factors and to discover the most suitable
design. They also discovered that although screw propellers had been used on
ships for more than half a century, there was no reliable body of data on the
subject and no theory that would allow them to design the proper propellers for
their airship. They had to work the problem out for themselves mathematically.
The Wrights, by this time, not only had
mastered the existing body of aeronautical science but also had added to it.
They now built their third glider, incorporating their findings, and in the
fall of 1902 they returned to Kitty Hawk. They made over one thousand gliding
flights and were able to confirm their previous data and to demonstrate their
ability to control motions of the glider. Having learned to build and to
control an adequate air frame, they now determined to apply power to their
machine.
Powered
flight
The Wright brothers soon discovered, however,
that no manufacturer would undertake to build an engine that would meet their
specifications, so they had to build their own. They produced one that had four
cylinders and developed 12 horsepower (a unit that describes the strength of an
engine). When it was installed in the air frame, the entire machine weighed
just 750 pounds and proved to be capable of traveling 31 miles per hour. They
took this new airplane to Kitty Hawk in the fall of 1903 and on December 17
made the world's first manned, powered flight in a heavier-than-air craft.
The first flight was made by Orville and
lasted only 12 seconds, during which the airplane flew 120 feet. That same day,
however, on its fourth flight, with Wilbur at the controls, the plane stayed in
the air for 59 seconds and traveled 852 feet. Then a gust of wind severely
damaged the craft. The brothers returned to Dayton convinced of their success
and determined to build another machine. In 1905 they abandoned their other
activities and concentrated on the development of aviation. On May 22, 1906,
they received a patent for their flying machine.
The
next step
The brothers looked to the federal
government for encouragement in their venture, and gradually interest was
aroused in Washington, D.C. In 1907 the government asked for bids for an
airplane that would meet certain requirements. Twenty-two bids were received,
three were accepted, but only the Wright brothers finished their contract.
The brothers continued their experiments
at Kitty Hawk, and in September 1908, while Wilbur was in France attempting to
interest foreign backers in their machine, Orville successfully demonstrated
their contract airplane. It was accepted by the government. The event was
marred by a crash a week later in which Orville was injured and a passenger was
killed.
Wilbur's trip to France proved to be a
success. In 1909 the Wright brothers formed the American Wright Company, with
Wilbur taking the lead in setting up and directing the business. His death in
Dayton on May 30, 1912, left Orville feeling depressed and alone. In 1915 he
sold his rights to the firm and gave up his interest in manufacturing in order
to turn to experimental work. He had little taste for the busy activity of
commercial life.
After his retirement, Orville lived
quietly in Dayton, conducting experiments on mechanical problems of interest to
him, none of which proved to be of major importance. His chief public activity
was service on the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (the government
agency that came before the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or
NASA), of which he was a member from its organization by President Woodrow
Wilson in 1915 until his death in Dayton on January 30, 1948.
The Wright Brothers helped found modern
aviation through their curiosity, their inventiveness, and their unwillingness
to give up their vision.
For
More Information
Culick, Fred E. C., and Spencer Dunmore. On
Great White Wings: The Wright Brothers and the Race for Flight. Shrewsbury,
England: Airlife, 2001.
Freedman, Russell. The Wright
Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane. New York: Holiday House,
1991.
Howard, Fred. Wilbur and Orville:
A Biography of the Wright Brothers. New York: Knopf, 1987.
Kelly, Fred C. The Wright
Brothers: A Biography Authorized by Orville Wright. New York: Farrar,
Straus, and Young, 1951. Reprint, New York: Dover Publications, 1989.
Walsh, John Evangelist. One Day at
Kitty Hawk: The Untold Story of the Wright Brothers and the Airplane. New
York: Crowell, 1975.
Monday 23 September 2013
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