Wilbur Wright

Wilbur Wright (Millville, Indiana, April 16, 1867-Dayton, Ohio, May 30, 1912) was an American businessman, aviator, engineer, and inventor. He and his brother Orville, known as the Wright brothers, founded a bicycle factory in 1892. They would later build gliders, and are considered pioneers of aviation.

Taking as a starting point the studies of the German engineer Otto Lilienthal and Octave Chanute, on the principles of flight they began to build their own gliders from September 1900, in Kill Devil Hills, near Kitty Hawk, Carolina of the North.

Inventive, observant, and methodical, they made great strides, experiencing the effects of air pressure on more than 200 wing surfaces. In 1902, after executing more than 1,000 flights with a new glider, they confirmed their Kitty Hawk data. They soon obtained their first patents on glider control and stabilization systems. In 1903 they built their first propeller according to original calculations, 35% more effective than other propellers manufactured up to then. Next they built a 337 kg aircraft with a 12 hp engine. On December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, they made their first powered flights, which contrary to popular belief, were not the first powered flights in history. Frenchman Clément Ader, German Karl Jatho and New Zealander Richard Pearse, managed to fly heavier-than-air aircraft, powered by internal combustion engines, before the Wright brothers.

Despite the lack of support, they devoted themselves to developing better machines and aircraft.

In 1908 Wilbur Wright broke new distance and altitude records in France. This same year the Wrights signed a contract with the United States Transmission Service to produce an airplane that could fly for 10 minutes at a speed of 64 km/h. Later, they toured Europe, where they were honored. Upon their return to the United States in 1909, they received more tributes. Wilbur was president of the Wright Company. He died on May 30, 1912 in Dayton.