-
121 Wright, Wilbur
SUBJECT AREA: Aerospace[br]b. 16 April 1867 Millville, Indiana, USAd. 30 May 1912 Dayton, Ohio, USA[br]American co-inventor, with his brother Orville Wright (b. 19 August 1871 Dayton, Ohio, USA; d. 30 January 1948 Dayton, Ohio, USA), of the first powered aeroplane capable of sustained, controlled flight.[br]Wilbur and Orville designed and built bicycles in Dayton, Ohio. In the 1890s they developed an interest in flying which led them to study the experiments of gliding pioneers such as Otto Lilienthal in Germany, and their fellow American Octave Chanute. The Wrights were very methodical and tackled the many problems stage by stage. First, they developed a method of controlling a glider using movable control surfaces, instead of weight-shifting as used in the early hand-gliders. They built a wind tunnel to test their wing sections and by 1902 they had produced a controllable glider. Next they needed a petrol engine, and when they could not find one to suit their needs they designed and built one themselves.On 17 December 1903 their Flyer was ready and Orville made the first short flight of 12 seconds; Wilbur followed with a 59-second flight covering 853 ft (260 m). An improved design, Flyer II, followed in 1904 and made about eighty flights, including circuits and simple ma-noeuvres. In 1905 Flyer III made several long flights, including one of 38 minutes covering 24½ miles (39 km). Most of the Wrights' flying was carried out in secret to protect their patents, so their achievements received little publicity. For a period of two and a half years they did not fly, but they worked to improve their Flyer and to negotiate terms for the sale of their invention to various governments and commercial syndi-cates.In 1908 the Wright Model A appeared, and when Wilbur demonstrated it in France he astounded the European aviators by making several flights lasting more than one hour and one of 2 hours 20 minutes. Considerable numbers of the Model A were built, but the European designers rapidly caught up and overtook the Wrights. The Wright brothers became involved in several legal battles to protect their patents: one of these, with Glenn Curtiss, went on for many years. Wilbur died of typhoid fever in 1912. Orville sold his interest in the Wright Company in 1915, but retained an interest in aeronautical research and lived on to see an aeroplane fly faster than the speed of sound.[br]Principal Honours and DistinctionsRoyal Aeronautical Society (London) Gold Medal (awarded to both Wilbur and Orville) May 1909. Medals from the Aero Club of America, Congress, Ohio State and the City of Dayton.Bibliography1951, Miracle at Kitty Hawk. The Letters of Wilbur \& Orville Wright, ed. F.C.Kelly, New York.1953, The Papers of Wilbur and Orville Wright, ed. Marvin W.McFarland, 2 vols, New York.Orville Wright, 1953, How We Invented the Aeroplane, ed. F.C.Kelly, New York.Further ReadingA.G.Renstrom, 1968, Wilbur \& Orville Wright. A Bibliography, Washington, DC (with 2,055 entries).C.H.Gibbs-Smith, 1963, The Wright Brothers, London (reprint) (a concise account).J.L.Pritchard, 1953, The Wright Brothers', Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society (December) (includes much documentary material).F.C.Kelly, 1943, The Wright Brothers, New York (reprint) (authorized by Orville Wright).H.B.Combs with M.Caidin, 1980, Kill Devil Hill, London (contains more technical information).T.D.Crouch, 1989, The Bishop's Boys: A Life of Wilbur \& Orville Wright, New York (perhaps the best of various subsequent biographies).JDS
См. также в других словарях:
January 2004 — larr; January February March April May June July August September October November December →EventsJanuary 1* Ireland s Roman Catholic and Protestant Boy Scouts organisations merge after nearly a century of division, in spite of efforts by the R … Wikipedia
January 2008 tornado outbreak sequence — Extensive tornado damage in Southeastern Wisconsin Date of tornado outbreak: January 7 – January 11, 2008 Duration1: 3 days, 11 hours, 48 minutes … Wikipedia
Early Days: The Best of Led Zeppelin — Early Days: The Best of Led Zeppelin, Vol. 1 Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Early Days: The Best of Led Zeppelin, Vol. 1 Álbum recopilatorio de Led Zeppelin Publicación 23 de noviembre de 1999 Grabación … Wikipedia Español
January 2003 — January 2003: ← January February March April May June July August September October November DecemberEventsJanuary 1, 2003*The first day of the year in the Gregorian calendar *Luíz Inácio Lula da Silva ( Lula ) becomes the 37th president of the… … Wikipedia
Early decision — is a common early admission policy used in college admissions in the United States for admitting freshmen to undergraduate programs. It is used to indicate to the University or College that the candidate considers that institution to be his or… … Wikipedia
Early action — is a type of early admission process for admission to colleges and universities in the United States. Unlike the regular admissions process, early action usually requires students to submit an application by November 1 of their senior year of… … Wikipedia
Early thermal weapons — were devices or substances used in warfare during the classical and medieval periods (approx 8th century BC until the mid 16th century AD) which used heat or burning action to destroy or damage enemy personnel, fortifications or territories.… … Wikipedia
early bird — early birds 1) PHRASE: V inflects If you say that the early bird catches the worm, you mean that the person who arrives first in a place is most likely to get what they want. The serious buying happens between 6 and 8am, and it is very much the… … English dictionary
Early Modern Romania — is the portion of Romanian history that falls in the early modern period, roughly from the end of the 15th century to the end of the 18th century (or from the union of Mihai Viteazul of 1600–1601, to the revolution of Tudor Vladimirescu in 1821.) … Wikipedia
early\ bird\ catches\ the\ worm — • early bird gets the worm • early bird catches the worm proverb A person who gets up early in the morning has the best chance of succeeding; if you arrive early or are quicker, you get ahead of others. When Billy s father woke him up for school… … Словарь американских идиом
early\ bird\ gets\ the\ worm — • early bird gets the worm • early bird catches the worm proverb A person who gets up early in the morning has the best chance of succeeding; if you arrive early or are quicker, you get ahead of others. When Billy s father woke him up for school… … Словарь американских идиом
