Orville Wright

Orville Wright (Dayton, Ohio, August 19, 1871-ib., January 30, 1948) was an American businessman, aviator, engineer, and inventor. Aviation pioneer, along with his brother Wilbur are recognized as the Wright brothers.

Biography

In 1892 both brothers became partners and founded a bicycle factory. The Wrights became interested in some ideas about flying models and, from then on, they did not stop working to take man in flight through the air. To carry out his studies on flight, he developed the first wind tunnel in 1901 and in 1902, he introduced the vertical empennage with moving rudder in airplanes as a stability system that practically eliminated the danger of a spin fall.

The Wright brothers made some models and models before beginning construction on a prototype. Many of these models flew on their own in a planned flight, prompting the Wrights to continue their project. The difficulties were not minor, many times the controls had to be adequate to be able to control the glide. One of the biggest problems was leaning to one side or lack of horizontal control. The Wright brothers ingeniously solved these problems. Although accidents were not absent, none of the Wright brothers suffered disabilities.

Wright's first flight in 1903.

On December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, Orville Wright made what is considered the first successful manned semi-propelled aircraft flight, lasting 12 seconds. The device was called Flyer I.

The Wrights were very jealous of their invention and did not want to give much evidence of their device, in fact the photos were always taken from a distance, to prevent revealing the details. Said flight was made in secret and without witnesses, to avoid the plagiarism of his new invention, the only proof being the word of Orville and his brother.

The Flyer I was not capable of flying on its own, as it required the help of an external catapult activated by a weight that launched it into the air, simulating a flight in order to test the operation of the plane's controls.

On September 9, 1908, at Fort Myer, Virginia, he set new records when the first Wright airplane flew for 62 minutes completing 57 circles at an altitude of 120 feet.

This flight made Orville an international celebrity. He thus began a time of incessant activity: at the head of his team of exhibition pilots, he checked all the new parts of the material used in Wright airplanes and supervised the production of the Wright factories. The army bought into the Wrights' idea, however aviation would take time to develop.

In 1908, the Wrights also took the apparatus to France where it put on a successful display before a stunned public that was used to seeing close glides and collisions on the ground. In this way they snatched the supremacy of the air from Alberto Santos Dumont. Also in 1911 they made a flight that lasted 9 minutes and 45 seconds.

After Wilbur's death in 1912, Orville became president of the Wright American Company. Three years later he sold his shares. He later worked as an engineer in it. He died on January 30, 1948 in Dayton.