Page 11 - Ruth Law
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RUTH LAW
DAYTONA'S PIONEER AVIATOR
The "WRIGHT FLYER”
Wilbur and Orville Wright
1867-1912 1871-1948
The Wright Brothers (Orville and Wilbur) always dreamed
of flying. Classmates at school bought kites the brothers
built. Later, a bicycle shop they owned provided them
with funds to build aircraft.
Experimenting constantly, the brothers developed a
glider that carried one person and made over 1000
flights. Finally, their design of a 12 horse-power gasoline
engine and the use of bicycle chains connected to
propellers, led to the first powered airplane the "Wright
Flyer." It was built of spruce, braced with wire and
covered with muslin.
The brothers tossed a coin to see who would be the first
pilot. Wilbur won, but the plane stalled and crashed. In
1903, it was Orville's turn to make the first powered
flight from Kitty Hawk beach in N.C. The "Flyer" caught
a gust of wind and crashed after 120 feet in 12 seconds.
The same day, on its 4th flight, with Wilbur at the
controls, the plane flew for 59 seconds and traveled 852
feet. A gust of wind damaged the aircraft.
By 1905, they abandoned their other activities and
concentrated solely on aviation development. In May,
1906, they received a patent for their flying machine.
HER PLACE IN AVIATION HISTORY
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