Term paper on Wright Brothers Flight at Kitty Hawk

Wright Brothers Flight at Kitty Hawk (1903)

Wilbur and Orville Wright repaired and manufactured bicycles in Dayton , Ohio , beginning in 1892. By decade’s end, they had become intrigued with the possibility of human flight. They carefully studied gliding, particularly the work of the German Otto Lilenthal, and in 1901 set up a wind tunnel for their own experiments. They developed aileron control and designed a workable propeller and lightweight engine. On December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk , Orville piloted a heavier-than-air, power-driven plane for 120 feet and thereby inaugurated the age of airplanes.

Suggestions for Term Papers

1. Why was there renewed interest in building airplanes at the turn of the century?

2. Analyze how the Wright Brothers experimented and built their plane.

3. Discuss the contributions of the astrophysicist and aeronautics experimenter Samuel P. Langley to aviation.

4. What were the immediate effects of the Kitty Hawk flight on aviation?

5. What further contributions to aeronautics did the Wright Brothers make after Kitty Hawk ?

REFERENCE SOURCES

Kitty Hawk to Concorde: Jane’s 100 Significant Aircraft . H. F. King, comp., and John W. R. Taylor, ed. London : Jane’s Yearbooks, 1970. An excellent descriptive analysis and illustrations of 100 important airplanes starting with the Wright Brothers’ invention. From the publisher’s popular series.

GENERAL SOURCES

Bilstein, Roger E. Flight in America , 1900–1983: From the Wrights to the Astronauts . Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 1984. Good survey for the twentieth century.

Geibert, Ronald R., and Patrick B. Nolan. Kitty Hawk and Beyond: The Wright Brothers and the Early Years of Aviation, a Photographic History . Dayton , OH : Wright State University Press, 1989. Fine pictorial work of early aircraft; brief narrative text.

Gibbs-Smith, Charles H. The Wright Brothers: A Brief Account of Their Work, 1899–1911 . 2d ed. London : HMSO, 1987. A forty-eight-page descriptive account of the brothers’ work prior to, during, and after the Kitty Hawk flight. From the Science Museum in London .

Gollin, Alfred. No Longer an Island: Britain and the Wright Brothers, 1902–1909 . Stanford , CA : Stanford University Press, 1984. Detailed account of Britain ‘s attempts to monitor, then steal, the Wrights’ secrets.

Scott, Phil. The Shoulders of Giants: A History of Human Flight to 1919 . Reading , MA : Addison-Wesley, 1995. Antecedents of the Wrights.

Spick, Mike. Milestones of Manned Flight: The Ages of Flight from the Wright Brothers to Stealth Technology . New York : Smithmark, 1994. Good pictorial survey of the history of flight.

SPECIALIZED SOURCES

Chapman, William, and Jill K. Hanson. Wright Brothers National Memorial: Historic Resource Study . Atlanta : Southeast Field Area, National Park Service , U.S. Department of the Interior, 1997. Concise history of the Wright Brothers, the flight, and the memorial.

Jakab, Peter L. Visions of a Flying Machine: The Wright Brothers and the

Process of Invention . Washington , D.C. : Smithsonian Institution, 1990. The brothers’ place in the history of technology.

The Papers of Wilbur and Orville Wright . (1953). Reprint. New York : Arno , 1972. 2 vols. Standard tool; excellent collection of annotated source materials, including the Chanute-Wright letters, and an extensive bibliography.

Parramore, Thomas C. Triumph at Kitty Hawk : The Wright Brothers and Powered Flight . Raleigh : Division of Archives and History, North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, 1993. Concise, good history of the flight with lengthy bibliography.

BIOGRAPHICAL SOURCES

Aaseng, Nathan. Twentieth-Century Inventors. New York: Facts on File, 1991. A useful biographical dictionary with an interesting perspective on the Wright Brothers.

Combs, Harry, and Martin Caidin. Kill Devil Hill: Discovering the Secret of the Wright Brothers. Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 1979. Thorough study of the Wright Brothers and their marvelous feat.

Crouch, Tom D. The Bishop’s Boys: A Life of Wilbur and Orville Wright. New York : Norton, 1989. Best current biography of the brothers. Excellent bibliography.

Foulois, Benjamin D., and C. V. Glines. From the Wright Brothers to the Astronauts. (1968). Reprint. New York: Arno, 1980. Good collective biography of individuals who have contributed to the space program.

Howard, Fred. Wilbur and Orville: A Biography of the Wright Brothers . New York : Knopf, 1987. Thorough and detailed biography with illustrations and a useful bibliography.

Kelly, Fred C. The Wright Brothers: A Biography . (1943). Reprint. New York : Dover , 1989. Standard biography by an expert.

The Wright Brothers: A Biography Authorized by Orville Wright. New York: Bantam Books, 1983. Adaptation by Bantam Books of the standard biography by Kelly initially issued in 1943.

Kirk, Stephen. First in Flight: The Wright Brothers in North Carolina. Winston-Salem , NC : J. F. Blair, 1995. Recent account with a good biography and historical perspective.

Reynolds, Quentin J. The Wright Brothers: Pioneers of American Aviation . (1950). Reprint. New York : Random House, 1997. Brief, readable account of the Wright Brothers and their achievement. From the publisher’s Landmarks in History series.

AUDIOVISUAL SOURCES

Wilbur&Orville: Dreams of Flying . New York : A&E Home Video, 1994. Videocassette. 58 minutes. Fine presentation of the brothers. From the A&E Biography series. The Wright Stuff . New York : Shanachie Entertainment, 1996. Videocassette. 58-minute segment of The American Experience presenting the story of the Wright brothers.

WORLD WIDE WEB

‘‘First Flight at Kitty Hawk .” The Pilot Pitstop . October 1997; updated January 1998. http://anna716.home.mindspring.com/pilot.htm Aviation buff ‘s home page, equipped with sound and excellent links to relevant sites. Most useful is the detailed description by Orville Wright of the brothers’ efforts in making the first successful flight.