46 The Flying Machine

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The Flying Machine by Jeri Cipriano Table of Contents Chapter 1 Who Were the Wright Brothers? page 2 Chapter 2 When Was the First Flight? page 10 Glossary/ Index page 15 Comprehension Check page 16

Chapter 1 Who Were the Wright Brothers? Orville and Wilbur Wright were brothers. As children, they liked to find out how things worked. As grownups, they worked in a bike shop. They made, sold, and rented bikes. Orville and Wilbur were also inventors. Their dream was to build a flying machine. Wilbur Wright is working in the bike shop. You can see some of the tools he and Orville used to build bikes. Wilbur Wright was born April 16, 1867. Orville Wright was born August 19, 1871.

The Wright brothers tested their first glider. In 1900, the Wright brothers built a glider. A glider is a flying machine that flies on the wind. It does not have an engine. The Wright brothers' glider had two wings. Each wing was covered with cloth. The glider was 16 feet from one wing tip to the other. Orville and Wilbur held onto ropes and flew their glider like a kite. After testing the glider, one brother got on and glided through the air. This was the first glider the Wright brothers made that could carry a person. Wilbur tested this glider design in 1901.

The Wright brothers learned many things to help them build gliders. They made and tested many gliders. With each new discovery, they made a better design. This helped them to make a better glider. In 1902, Wilbur flew a glider he could steer to the right. Orville and Wilbur watched birds to see how they fly. The brothers saw that birds could fly up or down. They saw that birds could turn or circle. The Wright brothers wanted their glider to be able to do those things, too. The Wright brothers studied how birds use their wings and tails to fly in different directions.

Orville and Wilbur began working on a new kind of flying machine. This airplane had propellers to make it go forward. A propeller is a blade that goes round and round. The brothers also built a gas engine for their airplane. They made the engine light so the plane could be lifted into the air. The plane with the pilot weighed about 750 pounds. On December 14, 1903, Wilbur tried to fly the engine-powered machine, but it did not work.