“The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who...looked enviously on the birds soaring freely through space...on the infinite highway of the air” - Wilbur Wright. We have always been through a stage in childhood of wanting to be a pilot but there wouldn’t have been any of that without the Wright Brothers. 

 

Orville Wright has been an amazing person to research this term and there have been many challenges but there have also been many helpful things. One of the challenges was the slogan. There weren’t many websites about quotes from the Wright Brothers but in the end, I found one of their quotes. I also got a lot of help from the website of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum where the actual Wright Flyer is stored. It helped me with many of the tasks, especially the diary extract and the proposal. 

 

During their lives, the Wright Brothers had many significant events and influences that made them into who they are today. One of the major events that inspired them to build the first true airplane happened in 1878. One day, in 1878, their father gave them a toy flying helicopter which sparked their curiosity. The helicopter was powered by several strands of twisted rubber and the Wright Brothers experimented with it extensively and they even made larger and more improved models. 

 

The Wright brothers have had many notable achievements but the best and most known one is the Wright Flyer. The Wright Flyer was the world’s first successful motor plane and they have earned many awards because of it. The Robert J. Collier Trophy, which is presented by the U.S. National Aeronautical Association, is one of them. The annual award is the Noble Prize in world of aviation. 

 

To achieve everything, the Wright brothers had to put in a lot of hard work. Before they could even build the glider, they had to have information on previous attempts so they wrote to many different committees asking for information. Finally, they received the information from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. They also faced many challenges even after the first flight. Many people thought that they were lying and didn’t believe them so they had to travel world and perform demonstrations. There were also personal and medical problems, one of which claimed the life of Orville Wright (He died of a heart attack, aged 76). 

 

They have many inspiring qualities and achievements. But what inspires me is that they managed to invent the first motor flying even though they only had 3 years of proper education and that they beat many other great minds who were also trying to achieve that. 

 

Researching the Wright Brothers has been a fun yet challenging task and I have learnt many interesting things about the Wright brothers and about the world of aviation.