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Orville was born in 1871 and his brother, Wilbur 4 years earlier. They were the sons of Milton and Susan Wright and members of a warm, loving family that encouraged learning and doing. Their father was often away from home on business and often brought back presents from his trips, exposing his children to the world beyond their horizon. In 1878, he brought home a rubber band-powered helicopter, and young Wilbur and Orville immediately began to build copies of it. They made their first test flights at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on the shores of the Atlantic where the strong winds helped to launch the gliders and the soft sands helped to cushion the fall when they crashed. Their first two gliders, flown in 1900 and 1901, failed to perform as the Wrights had hoped. The gliders did not provide enough lift nor were they fully controllable. So during the winter of 1901-1902 Wilbur and Orville built a wind tunnel and conducted experiments to determine the best wing shape for an airplane. This enabled them to build a glider with sufficient lift, and concentrate on the problem of control. Toward the end of the 1902 flying season, their third glider became the first fully controllable aircraft, with roll, pitch, and yaw controls. They made that first flight on December 17th. 1903. And in the two years that followed they developed their flying machine into the first practical fixed-wing airplane. Despite remarks that it couldn't be done:
At first, they could only fly in a straight line and only for about a minute. But by the end of 1905, they were flying figure-eight's, staying aloft for over half an hour, or until their fuel ran out. The 1905 "Wright Flyer" was the world's first practical airplane. What made their invention different was the development of "three axis control." A system that enabled the pilot to steer the airplane and maintain its equilibrium. They focused their efforts on developing the secrets of airplane control rather than a more powerful engine. They gained their technical ability by having worked for years with printing presses, bicycles, motors and other machinery. In particular, their work with bicycles influenced them in believing that an airplane could be controlled and balanced with practice. Wilbur flew before over a million spectators in New York Harbor -- his first public flight in his native land. All of these flights stunned and captivated the world. The Wright Brothers became the first great celebrities of the twentieth century. As their fame grew, orders for aircraft poured in. The Wrights set up airplane factories and flight schools on both sides of the Atlantic. Unfortunately, once they had demonstrated their aircraft in public, it was easy for others to copy them -- and many did. In 1912, Wilbur Wright, worn out from legal and business problems, contracted typhoid and died. Orville, his heart no longer in the airplane business, sold the Wright Company in 1916 and went back to inventing. Orville Wright built a small laboratory in his old West Dayton neighborhood. Here, he worked on anything that caught his interest. He did some aeronautical work, helping to develop a racing airplane, guided missile, and "split flaps" to help slow an aircraft in a dive. But he also worked on an automatic record changer, a toaster, and children's toys. In short, he tinkered. He also worked tirelessly to help unknown inventors bring their ideas to market. Orville's last big project was, appropriately, an aircraft. He helped to rebuild the 1905 "Flyer III", the first practical airplane, which he and Wilbur had perfected. This was put on display in 1950, but Orville did not live to see the ceremony. He died of a heart attack in 1948 while fixing the doorbell at his home. The Wright Brothers success was down to their focus. They focused on what they knew to be the answer to the flying problem while everyone else was trying to build a bigger and better engine. They realized that the solution was in the controls and their determination to succeed was how they achieved their goal. And when they withdrew from the world of aircraft they spent a lot of their time helping others develop their inventions.
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