Now, each craft they built was slightly superior to the last because they incorporated the knowledge that they had gained from previous failures to adjust the next design. They had realized fairly early on from their experiments that the most serious challenge in manned flight would be stabilizing and maneuvering the aircraft once it was airborne. So, um, while others concentrated their efforts on the problem of achieving lift for takeoff, the Wright brothers were focusing on developing a three-axis control for guiding their aircraft. By the time that the brothers started to build an airplane, they were already among the world's best glider pilots and they knew about the problems of riding the air firsthand.In addition, the Wright brothers had designed more effective wings for their airplane than anyone else had been able to engineer. Using a wind tunnel, they tested more than two hundred different wing designs, recording the effects of slight variations in shape on the pressure of air on the wings. The data from these experiments allowed the Wright brothers to construct a superior wing for their aircraft.But, you know, in spite of these advantages, the Wright brothers still might not have succeeded if they hadn't been born at precisely the right time in history. Attempts to achieve manned flight in the early nineteenth century were doomed because the steam engines that powered the aircrafts were just too heavy in proportion to the power that they produced. But by the end of the nineteenth century, when the brothers were experimenting with engineering options, a relatively light internal combustion engine had already been invented, and they were able to bring the ratio of weight to power within acceptable limits for flight.SUMMARY:The Wright brothers were successful in achieving the first manned flight because they worked collaboratively; they were both glider pilots who recognized the importance of stabilization and control in an aircraft; they were able to design, test and engineer the best wings for the plane; and they were able to take advantage of the relatively light internal combustion engine.
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