How nicely the birds fly. Up and above, they float in the air. Do some questions come to your mind regarding flying of the birds? If so ask the questions. Never be shy of asking questions. Asking questions is the sign of your curiosity. It is the first step to learning.

They dared to ask and changed the world

Wilbur 11 years old and Orville were seven when their father Milton Wright gave them a toy. This toy could fly to the ceiling of the room. It was made of paper, bamboo and cork. It had a rubber band that rotated the propeller. It made the toy fly into the air.

Let us stop and think

Why was the toy made of paper, bamboo and cork?

Look at these things, a cork, a paper and bamboo. Think why they were used for making a toy that could fly. If you cannot find the answer ask your teacher or parents. Now let us go on with the story. The boys, Wilbur and Orville thought that the small toy could up to the ceiling height, if they could make a larger toy it may still higher. They started making a toy of a bigger size. The major work was done by Wilbur as Orville was quite young. The toy made by them did not succeed much because as the size increased the flying height decreased. After three years their family shifted to Retchmund city. They started making kites. These kites became very popular as flying machines.

Failures

When Orville was 17 he had developed a fairly large printing press. They started printing a newspaper. They also started a magazine but they met with failure in this business.

After printing business, Wright brothers started making bicycles. While they made and sold bicycle they still stayed informed about the experiments in flying by Otto and Gustav Lilienthal in Germany. They were shocked when Otto Lilienthal died in a gliding attempt. This created a deep interest in their mind in making flying machines.

Ideas sometime come like sparks

Sometimes a very small thing gives an important idea. One day, Wilbur noticed a box in his shop which had be sent edges. Looking at that he thought that wings can be designed in such a way that they can be moved up and down during the fight. Just after a few days, in 1899, they made a model of plane. It was a kite –shaped biplane. Both the brothers went to Carolina and conducted its trail. After that for four years they kept on developing different models. Their progress was very slow. They had to face many failure but they did not give up hope.

They kept on developing new models. On the morning of December 17, 1903, Orville Wright made the world’s first controlled, successful flight. This plane reached to the height of 10 feet, May be just up to the ceiling height of your room. it stayed in the air for 12 seconds covering a distance of 37 meters.

Great achievements are made in small steps

Fourth was made by Wilbur who could go up to a distance of 850 feet in one minute. Five people saw this flight ut the plane was crushed by sharp wind.

After this Wilbur went to France, Wright brothers continued their work in this field. Today the aero planes cover so many kilometers but just about hundred years back it could only e imagined it is the persistence and efforts of scientists that this been made possible.