THE WRIGHT BROTHER'S STORY

All around the world, people who have heard of the Wright brothers,the mechanics who pioneered manned motorized flight in the first part of the twentieth century. The circumstances surrounding Orviilee and Wilbur Wright's first flight on December 17,1903 makes an interesting read. What you may not know is that prior to that day, the Wrights,who were virtually unknown,who had no university education,were by no means no leaders in aviation.. They were obscure at best, and another man was expected to put the first airplane in the air and he had financial help from the American government.


His name was Dr Samuel Langley and he was a respected Professor of mathematics and astronomy who at that time was the director of the Smithsonian Institution..

1898,Langley approached the U.S. war Department for funding to design and build an airplane to carry a man and the Department gave him a commission of $50,000. Langley went to work and by 1901,he had successfully tested an unmanned gasoline-powered heavier-than-aircraft.This was the first in history. And when he enlisted the aid of Charles Manley,an engineer who built a powerful new lightweight engine, his success seemed inevitable..

On October 8,1903, Langley expected his years of work to come to fruition. The attempted launch of the experiment failed woefully. The criticism of Langley was brutal. At first Langley did not let that failure or accompanying criticisms deter him. Eight weeks later in early December,the duo made another attempt and like the first it failed. Again the criticisms were fierce. Langley was accused of wasting public funds.

Defeated and demoralized,Langley abondoned his decade-long pursuit. Just days later,Orville and Wilbur Wright-uneducated,unknown, and unfunded-flew their plane "Flyer I" over Kitty Hawk,North Carolina. And that my friend is something worth thinking about.


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