Myths and Legends

Otto Lilienthal
Wright Brothers

World War I
World War II
Specialized  Aircraft
Space Exploration
 

    The Kitty Hawk  was made in Dec. 17, 1903. 32 year old Orville and 36 year old Wilbur Wright, were born in Dayton, Ohio.  They became interested in aviation after they read about the death of Otto Lilienthal who was a German who  tested gliders. 
   The Wright brothers were both excellent mechanics. They started a bicycle repair shop in 1892 which continued 1904. By their work and experiences at the bike shop they  learned to  construct a wing of an aircraft.    When the Wright brothers got interested in flight in 1900 they tried an experiment called ìKill Devil  Hillî because it took place at  Kill Devil Hill . This experiment had to do with the way planes  fly. In 1903 they made the first powered, manned aircraft.  It flew 120 feet. In March of 1904, a  civil engineer, named Octave Chanute, issued a magazine by the  name of ìPopular Science Monthlyî. The first issue out  had a picture of  the Wright brothers' plane flying. At that time newspapers everywhere  had little coverage of the Wright brothersí discovery . People in Dayton Ohio were the first  to hear about the remarkable plane. Even then people thought it was a joke. When the Wright brothers offered their plane to the government they did not take them seriously until 1908. At that time they bought their first military airplane from the Wright brothers.  During 1908 Orville  suffered a broken thigh and two broken ribs in a plane crash. From 1910-1912  the Wrights gave flying lessons to several people who later became aviation leaders and famous exhibition pilots.  May 30, 1912,  Wilbur died of typhoid fever. Orville sent the original plane to a Science Museum in London in 1912.