Wednesday, June 15, 2016

The Wrights Were Right: Flying is Cool

(Written to my younger sister)

Emily,

The First Flight
All of those years we lived in Cincinnati and we never went to the Wright Brothers Museum! Do you remember all of the times we drove up to Dayton for soccer tournaments or state track meets? I know at the time we didn't take great interest in historical museums, but sometimes I wish we did. Lately I have been studying more in depth about the Wright Brothers (Orville and Wilbur) and their process in inventing, building and flying the world's first airplane. I find it so fascinating that they were able to develop their mechanical skills as they worked with bicycles and other things such as printing press, motors and other machines in their shop. 

Delta Airlines
It has been over a hundred years since their first flight on December 17, 1903 at Kitty Hawk. Orville Wright piloted the first powered airplane 20 feet above a beach in North Carolina. The flight only lasted 12 seconds and covered 120 feet. During this time there were many different inventions being produced, which has ultimately led to where we are today. It is incredible to think that there was a time when you couldn't travel across the country in a matter of hours by plane. It could take weeks or month (depending on where you were going) to drive in a car, cross by train or by foot to your destination. Not only can we travel from state to state by plane, but we can fly across oceans and experience different countries and culture. Go back to our flight home from France: we were sitting first class, in seats that reclined all the way back, we were served food, and we watched several movies on the TVs in front of us. It is unbelievable to reflect on how far we have come. The Wright Brothers, and their invention of the airplane has allowed us to progress, grow, and experience places, things and people that we would have never had the chance to, if it were not for them. Next time we are home in Ohio, let's go to the museum and Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park and see if they'll let us take a selfie by their memorial monument. I bet they wouldn't mind. 


Madeline Vance

Emily flying first class back from France



Works Cited:
1. http://wrightbrothers.info/

No comments:

Post a Comment