The success story of the Wright Brothers | Pioneers of aviation

The Wright Brothers, Wilbur, and Orville were American inventors and pioneers of aviation. In 1903, they invented the first powered and controlled airplane flight. But the Wright Brothers wouldn’t have known any success if it wasn’t for their repeated failures. It took them years and numerous attempts to achieve their goals.

Early life

Wilbur Wright, the eldest of the ‘Wright Brothers’ was born on April 6, 1867. Orville Wright was born four years later. Throughout their childhood, they grew up in an environment that encouraged children to pursue their dreams. Their father travelled due to his work and often brought back toys for his children. In 1878, he brought back a toy helicopter for the boys. The toy ignited their love for the world of aviation and its mechanics.

Wilbur was a smart child and excelled in school. He planned to attend the prestigious Yale University after high school but an accident changed his life forever. In the winter of 1885, he was badly injured in an ice hockey game when a player’s stick hit him in the face. Due to this unfortunate incident, Wilbur went into depression. He did not graduate from high school and cancelled his plans for Yale University. He spent most of his time reading books from his father’s library and caring for his mother. Unfortunately, their mother died and, Orville decided to drop out of school. The Brothers started their own newspaper, the West Side News. The brothers also shared a passion for bicycles. They opened a bike shop, fixing bicycles and selling their own design.

Wright Brothers step towards success

In 1896, they made aerial experiments with kites and gliders. After four years of rigorous experiments, they conducted their first experiment flight. They designed a glider to be flown as a kite with a man on board but it did not have enough lift. Nonetheless, the crash did not let them lose hope. In summer 1901, the Wright Brothers built a bigger version of their previous glider but still failed.

Finally, in 1902, they successfully tested a new glider based on their own measurements and almost made 1,000 gliding flights. In 1903, the Wright Brothers made aviation history. Orville flew the flyer that they had built for 12 seconds. They made a total of four flights that day before the wind damaged the Flyer. In 1905, the Wrights made the world’s first ‘practical’ airplane which stayed stay airborne for more than half an hour. Wilbur made record-breaking flights with their new improved machines in France. In five months, he made over 100 flights. The Wright Brothers shocked the world with their exhibition flights in France, Italy, Germany, and the United States. Their planes became the world’s first military airplanes to be used by the U.S. army.

Lessons we can learn

“More than anything else the sensation is one of perfect peace mingled with an excitement that strains every nerve to the utmost if you can conceive of such a combination.” -Wilbur Wright.
After several experiments, years of hard work, masses of failed prototypes, they finally overcame all their troubles and succeeded in creating a flying machine. With perseverance, we can achieve anything. If you keep persevering long enough, you will achieve your true potential. Through failure, you will get to know yourself better and learn from your mistakes.

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