In 1878 the Wright boys got a toy helicopter from their father. It flew when a twisted rubber band unwound.
The boys liked to make things. In 1889 they started a print shop. They printed a newspaper called the West Side News.
In 1892 they opened the Wright Cycle Company, a bicycle shop. They built their own bicycles. They sold and fixed bicycles too.
Their sister Katharine was the youngest of the five Wright children.
Then they chose a goal. They would learn to fly a glider before they flew a machine with an engine. A glider has no engine.
In September 1900 they took their first trip to Kitty Hawk. They tested a glider there. The place had strong winds. It also had soft sand to land on.
In 1901 mosquitoes swarmed the brothers' camp at Kill Devil Hills.
Their Flyer had two propellers at the back. The two propellers turned in opposite directions. The Flyer weighed about 600 pounds.
On December 17, 1903, a man who was helping the brothers took a photograph of the first flight.
Neil Armstrong carried a piece of cloth and a piece of wood from the Flyer to the Moon.
Words to know
- glider: plane without engine
- propellers: spinning blades
- helicopter: flying machine
- mosquitoes: biting bugs
