The airplane is perhaps the most advanced commercial application of technological innovation achieved by man. It allows people to travel long distances that would take weeks and even months before it was invented (Foulois and Glines 32). The distance that people used to be scared of traveling is now covered in hours in comfort and relaxation. However, the modern airplane that we now turn to went through a very long journey of development before it came into the form in which we see it today. And we owe it all to the inventors of the airplane.
The airplane was invented by brothers Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright in 1903. The brothers are also often referred to as the Wright Brothers (Niz 29). The American brothers were in the bicycle business and were fully aware of the mechanics that a mechanical contraption should include. They experimented a lot and they perfected things like axis control and propeller design.
The brothers were not concerned with engine development but were the pioneers of the aircraft development world since they brought a dream to life (Wegener 45). Because of their efforts, the aircraft was recognized to be more than a dream, and flying was considered to be a possibility for the first time in human history. The two brothers were obsessed with the idea of having a man fly in the air like birds. They were expert engineers with extensive experience in bicycle manufacturing but would continuously consider ways and methods to put their engineering expertise to use so that they could invent the flying machine. Through years of experimentation and analysis of unmanned flying contraptions, the Wright brother slowly and steadily began to understand the mechanics of flight. They experimented with unmanned flying contraptions as well as manned flying contraptions in which they would fly the aircraft themselves.
Their initial flying machines were nothing more than simple gliders. They kept working on their gliders until they perfected the challenges they faced. They gave a great degree of importance to pilot safety and also chose to work had to figure out ways to ensure that the pilot would land safely.
When one goes through the numerous advantages that the airplane now provides man, it is evident that the contribution made by the Wright brothers to technology is immense. There is no replacement for the airplane. It is one of man’s greatest achievements that the Wright brothers have given us.
Perhaps no words highlight the role of the Wright brothers in the invention of the airplane like those written as the label of the original Wright Flyer at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.:
“The world’s first power-driven heavier-than-air machine in which man-made free, controlled, and sustained flight. Invented and built by Wilbur and Orville Wright. Flown by them at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina December 17, 1903. By original scientific research, the Wright brothers discovered the principles of human flight. As inventors, builders, and flyers they further developed the airplane, taught man to fly and opened the era of aviation” (Wright and Kelly 54).
We can conclude from the above discussion that the Wright brothers were indeed the inventors of the airplane and that their pioneering of the technology of manned flight came forth as an opportunity for man to explore a field that has now expanded into new horizons of its own.
References
Foulois, Benjamin Delahauf and Carroll V. Glines. From the Wright Brothers to the Astronauts. New York: Ayer Publishing, 1980.
Niz, Xavier. The Wright Brothers and the Airplane. Minnesota: Capstone Press, 2007.
Wegener, Peter P. What Makes Airplanes Fly?: History, Science, and Applications of Aerodynamics. New York: Springer-Verlag New York Inc., 1991.
Wright, Orville and Fred Charters Kelly. How we Invented the Airplane: An Illustrated History. 54. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1953.