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Invention Mysteries TM
Self-syndicated weekly newspaper column

Take a flight back in history to 1903

By Paul Niemann

"Before the Wright brothers, no one in aviation did anything fundamentally right. Since the Wright brothers, no one has done anything fundamentally different." -- Darrel Collins, U.S. Park Service, Kitty Hawk National Historical Park

[MAY 22, 2003]  Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519, had envisioned a flying machine nearly 500 years ago, but it wasn't until Orville and Wilbur Wright made a working model of the first airplane in 1903 that human flight was officially invented in the form of their Wright Flyer. The Wright Flyer had a wingspan of 40 feet and weighed a little more than 600 pounds.

This year we celebrate the 100th anniversary of what was then a truly new invention -- powered flight. The Wright brothers had begun glider experiments in 1900 in Kitty Hawk, N.C., and in 1902 had conducted more than 1,000 test flights.

Their first powered flight, with Orville at the controls, was on Dec. 17, 1903. It lasted 12 seconds and covered 120 feet. Wilbur piloted the fourth flight later that day, covering 892 feet and staying aloft for 59 seconds. The brothers survived the day, but their plane didn't, as it was overturned by a gust of wind and destroyed.

On May 22, 1906, the Wrights received a patent for their "Flying machine with a motor."

Interestingly, there were a few other important events that happened during this week in aviation history.

In 1819, the first bicycles -- called swift walkers -- were introduced to the United States, in New York City. How is this relevant to flight? As you probably already know, Orville, 36, and Wilbur, 32, owned a bike shop that allowed them to pay the bills while they made aviation history.

On May 21, 1927, Charles Lindbergh, who was only 25 years old at the time, made aviation history when he flew the first solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean, from Long Island, N.Y., to France in his Spirit of St. Louis. It took him 33 hours.

On May 20, 1932, Amelia Earhart flew from Newfoundland to Ireland to become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

This same week in 1939 saw regular transatlantic air service begin as the Yankee Clipper took off from Port Washington, N.Y., to Europe.

Flight has changed the world for the better by making visits to foreign countries possible for millions of people, but it also changed the world for worse by allowing for quicker destruction of human life during wars and terrorist attacks.

 

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There are two rather interesting facts about flight that remain true 100 years after Orville and Wilbur's first powered flight -- one good and one bad. The first is that flying, despite its risks, is statistically much safer than driving, and the other is that most of the major airlines are losing money. American Airlines is bordering on bankruptcy, and TWA filed for bankruptcy last year.

This shouldn't come as much of a surprise to those who are familiar with the plight of the Wright brothers, as they didn't get wealthy from being aviation pioneers. The Wrights faced expensive lawsuits from copycat inventors who tried to infringe on their patent. Even though they eventually won, their legal battles were expensive and time-consuming.

According to the website www.wright-brothers.org, most of the money to be made was in exhibition flying, where the audiences wanted to see death-defying feats. The Wright Brothers' teams of pilots began to die in accidents and the stress began to affect the Wrights. This, combined with their legal troubles, distracted them from what they were best at -- invention and innovation. By 1911 Wright aircraft were no longer the best flying machines, and in 1912 Wilbur contracted typhoid and died. Orville sold the Wright Company in 1916 and went back to inventing.

For more information, and to see a timeline of the Wright Brothers' history, visit www.wright-brothers.org.

Next week: "Accidental inventions"

[Paul Niemann]

Paul Niemann is a contributing author to Inventors' Digest magazine, and he also runs MarketLaunchers.com, helping people in the marketing of their new product ideas. He can be reached at niemann7@aol.com.

Last week's column in LDN: "The invention that nearly ruined its inventor"

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