First Flight: the Wright Brothers

The First Flight:

    After many years of investigating, on December 17, 1903 Orville Wright in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina took the first manned flight. Although the Flyer only flew 120 feet, with a flight lasting only 12 seconds, the Wright Brothers had changed history forever. Not only would planes change times of war, but also travel for the people and transportation of goods and mail. The invention of the first airplane heavily affected the globe economically.

Historical Significance:

      Since the Flyer didn't stay in flight for long, a second Flyer was built. On November 9, 1904 it was tested and stayed in the air for five minutes. After making more adjustments, the Wright Brothers began allowing passengers to accompany them on flights. The first death occurred on September 7, 1904 when Orville Wright was piloting and his passenger, Signal Corps Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge, died after crashing. Finally, in 1909 the United States purchased its first plane for the government. The plane was a biplane built by the Wright Brothers. The first cross-continental flight occurred in 1911 and took 84 days. The pilot, Vin Fiz, had to make more than 70 stops to complete the journey. Soon after in 1912, the first armed airplane, with a machine gun, was flown in College Park, Maryland and changed war forever. On July 18, 1914 an Aviation Section of the Signal Corps was added to the United States Army.



Global Significance:

      One of the largest impacts planes had on the globe appeared during World War I. First, the planes were just used to spy. Pilots would fly over enemy territory and take note of any troops or artillery that could cause a threat. Many countries began to catch up. Due to threat, the pilots began carrying guns with them to shoot down passing enemy pilots. Some planes were even armed with machine guns or bombs.

      Another use for the plane was transportation of goods and people. By 1930 the United States had four airlines for passengers. Even though it wasn't very cost efficient for the time, the world was amazed that they could travel in a matter of hours, verses days or weeks. Planes also provided another way of traveling over water. Since then, many commercial flights have been added to the list. In recent years airport security has gone up due to terrorist attacks. (See airport security slide.) The TSA (Transportation Security Administration) had to be created in order to regulate what can and cannot go on airplanes in order to keep citizens safe.



 Citations:



 Bradley, R. (Producer) (2003). ''First in flight: The wright brothers ''

 and the moon landing . Retrieved

 http://vasc.alexanderstreet.com/View/886208



 The first flight centennial . (2009). Retrieved

<p class="MsoNormal">          http://www.firstflightcentennial.org

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> Whipps, H. (2012, June 04). Wright brothers & first flight. Retrieved

<p class="MsoNormal">          http://www.livescience.com/2765-wright-brothers-changed-world.html <p class="MsoNormal">

Bellis, M. (2012). History of flight - the wright brothers. Retrieved

<p class="MsoNormal">          http://inventors.about.com/od/wstartinventors/a/TheWrightBrother.htm

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">

<p class="MsoNormal">