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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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