How did the Wright brothers invent the plane?
The Wright brothers’ first successful flight occurred in December 1903 at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The Wright Flyer flew 120 feet. Its success was due to the brothers’ extensive study, testing and experimentation to establish a science of flight.InspirationOrville and Wilbur’s father gave his children a toy resembling a helicopter in 1878. Made out of cork, bamboo and paper, and propelled into the air by rubber bands, the toy prompted the brothers’ interest in flight. A decade later as an adult, Wilbur started reading everything published on the science of flying.PrecursorsIn the early 1890s, Otto Lilienthal’s invention of the glider proved that wings could hold a human aloft in the air, while Samuel Langley built a steam-powered flying machine.ProblemsBuilding on the work of Lilienthal and Langley, the Wright brothers identified the main problem to solve: how to control the plane during flight. The brothers studied pigeons, noticing that they used their wings to turn and twist in m
