HISTORY OF AIRPLANE

 

HISTORY OF AIRPLANE

Buoyed by the success of their 1902 glider, the Wright brothers were no longer content to simply add to the growing body of aeronautical knowledge. They were going to invent airplanes. Still, he acknowledged that there was a lot of hard work ahead, especially the creation of a propulsion system. During the spring and summer of 1903, he was consumed with leaping this last hurdle in history.

On December 17, 1903, Wilbur and Wright authorized four short flights on Coty Hawk with their first power economy. The Wright brothers invented the first successful airplane.

Allowing 20 pounds for the propulsion system, it is estimated that the combined power with the pilot weighs 625 pounds. Calculating power based on thrust and speed on this estimate results in 8 horsepower engines producing 90 pounds of force to achieve a minimum airspeed of 23 miles per hour. Required۔

A reproduction of an early sketch of the Wright Brothers' 1903 Wright Flyer, drawn in pencil on brown wrapping paper. Allusions are in Wilbur's handwriting. The original is at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.

To compensate for the engine's heaviness, the right wing was four inches longer than the left and was mounted to the right of the pilot. The wings were rigged with a slight droop to reduce the effects of crosswinds.

Wingspan: 12.3 m (40 ft 4 in)

Wing area: 47.4 square meters (510 square feet)

Length: 6.4 meters (21 feet 1 inch)

Height: 2.8 meters (9 feet 4 inches)

Weight: 341 kg (750 lb), with pilot

Engine: Horizontal 4-cylinder, water-cooled, 12 horsepower