How did the Wright Brothersplane work?
Orville Wright wasn’t even sure he understood how his aircraft worked on that historic flight of December 17, 1903. He called the flight “. . .exceedingly erratic, partly due to the irregularity of the air, and partly to lack of experience in handling this machine.”ThrustFor thrust the brothers crafted two propellers attached to a gas engine.LiftThe Wright brothers used a biplane design to create lift and controlled its pitch with an elevator mounted in front of the pilot.Directional ControlFor lateral control the two Wrights invented “wing warping,” whereby one wing tip was twisted up to produce a turn.Coordinated FlightWing warping tends to throw an aircraft out of control longitudinally, so the Wrights hardwired a hinged rudder directly to the wing tips to control this.Putting It All TogetherRising into the air from its makeshift runway, the world’s first successful powered aircraft responded to the shifting winds. Orville and Wilbur kept it level by causing one wing tip at a time t
