The Wright Brothers – Orville and Wilbur – were two American pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flying the world’s first successful motor-operated airplane.
Video Credit: The History Channel
No one had heard of the Wright Brothers when they flew their first airplane in 1903. In fact everyone knew their competitor, a PhD who had $70,000 funding from the Smithsonian and US Army ($10,000,000 in today’s dollars).
Self funded from their small bicycle shop, Orville and Wilbur Wright beat all their competitors. Their insatiable curiosity led them to discover elements of flight none of the experts had ever thought of and that curiosity led them to develop the world’s first wind tunnel where they could test their ideas.
Our team shares the Wright’s passion as well as their approach experimenting and testing so you get science deployed.
In 1901, the Wright Brothers were frustrated that none of their gliders had produced sufficient lift. They were desperately looking for answers on how to improve performance and modify the glider design.
By building their own wind tunnel, they were able to test various wing models, angles and simulate the ratio of lift to drag. This also gave them the ability to build and test over 200 wing shapes and eliminate their trial-and-error method of construction.
By testing each component individually, they were now able to make vast improvements to their designs, which eventually lead to wing lift and human flight.
