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Making the "Wright" connection

By the end of the nineteenth century, several people had made significant headway in developing the airplane. But it was Wilbur and Orville Wright who put all the pieces together to create an airplane that could fly.

Three men inspired the Wright brothers, setting the stage for this important invention. One was Otto Lilienthal, a German who made 2,000 unpowered flights with his glider. Another was Samuel Pierpont Langley, a prominent scientist and head of the Smithsonian Institution. Langley launched two model airplanes in 1896 that remained airborne long enough to impress the United States Army, which gave him $50,000 for his experiments. The third was Octave Chanute, an American who also conducted gliding experiments. Both Chanute and Lilienthal felt an aircraft's wings should be curved on top and concave underneath. This shape reduced air pressure above the wing and increased it...

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1. Introduction
2. The man who discovered lift
3. Making the "Wright" connection
4. Experiment 1 - Lift-Off: How can a glider be made to fly higher?
5. Experiment 2 - Helicopters, Propellers, and Centripetal Force: Will it fly high?
6. Design Your Own Experiment