From The Streets To The Sky — Wilbur & Orville Wright
The Wright Brothers:
Orville & Wilbur Wright were the first of their kind American handyman and pioneers of flight. The brothers were the first to ever achieve powered flight through a controlled airplane flight which was accomplished in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903. These men were two of the most hardworking individuals you could ever think of going well above today’s standards of innovators and inventors. They designed and built bikes, planes, wind tunnels, houses, garages, and many other inventions that probably are not mentioned in the Wright Brothers Book.
The First Design Thinkers:
Have you ever wondered when Design Thinking came into place and how it has shaped the minds of early entrepreneurs and inventors? The Wright Brothers are the perfect example of that and have been noted as some of the earliest Design Thinkers shown through their relentless pursuit of the unthinkable… “Flight”. They began the process much like anybody and first though about the issue they were trying to solve being the ability to launch a person(s) into the air via a flying machine. After coming up with the project they set forth on their journey and started the first step… Empathizing. In order to do this they had to find the perfect place to do so and that lead them to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. This was the ideal place to watch the birds flying which they both did for countless hours in order to understand flight and how they would begin the next step which was to unpack and synthesize their findings. To understand how the birds flew they gathered data on the angles of different birds wings, wing spans of the birds, and how they used the wind to determine cruising altitude. They also noticed how on calmer days the birds didn’t fly as much due to lack of wind. From the observations they collected they were able to start the next step of the Design Thinking process which was to Ideate. Using the observations they collected they then started to think of ways to incorporate that into their design. After sifting through designs they started to test their own flying devices. The first device they used was a kite, which lead them to a glider, and eventually a plane. Trial and error constantly helped them to refine their prototypes through the testing phase of Design Thinking gradually getting them to their final design. Finally the Wright Brothers designed the “Perfect Plane” which was able to fly for nearly 50 seconds, unfortunately getting hit by a gust of wind after landing and nearly ending up in the ocean.
Funding:
If you had to build and design a working airplane today, could you do it for less than $1000? The Wright Brothers did exactly that and would not accept any cash advances for their project. The entire project was solely funded by the brothers bicycle shop which they also used to help produce a few of the parts as well as space to test their wind tunnel. Amazingly, the brothers succeeded independently when many other funded aeronautical projects had over $50,000 in donations with little to no advancement in flight. Because of this the brothers were not able to put as much time and effort into their project since they had to work in order to buy materials and support their lives and family. A friend of the Carnegie's offered to assist them with a monetary contribution which they humbly declined. It is from my understanding that the brothers didn’t want to have anyone try and give them input about their design which was the case for Langley, another man in the pursuit of flight with a large amount of monetary contributions. This goes to show the character of the brothers and how they wanted to accomplish this goal on their own without the help of a large amount of people.
The Brothers Impact On Me:
The Wright Brothers are definitely two very inspiring gentleman who have definitely had an impact on my personal life after reading about them and looking at their story. Although they didn’t have a difficult life they were always looking for ways to better themselves either by reading or finding a way to make some spare change. The brothers loved to read and do hands on activities which I personally also enjoy to do. From balsa wood bridges to building homemade catapults and reading short stories to the wall street journal I was always busy growing up. Similar to the Wright brothers, they would either be building bicycles or reading in their spare time. The brothers also were very entrepreneurial minded running a paper shop and bicycle store all while trying to design an airplane. I can relate since I have always enjoyed business and while younger I would do any available work for some spare change. The brothers have also changed my mindset on hard work, since no-matter how hard I am attempting to complete a task I am on no level of the Wright Brothers motivating myself to try harder and harder until I get the job done perfectly. They also show you countless times the importance of motivation since in their testing phase they had countless crashes and times when all hope seemed lost but they still pushed on until the work was done. I have been in similar situations when every outlook was gloom but their was still a glimmer of light ahead and I knew that I needed to continue on since times would get better eventually. Through the importance of working hard and motivation displayed in the book I truly feel as if I learned something not only about the Wright Brothers but also about myself. Whenever I am tasked with something difficult I will imagine myself in the Wright’s shoes and think, what would they do? By striving to do your very best in life you can truly achieve some amazing accomplishments and the Wright Brothers do an excellent job of showing you that.
Final Wright-Up:
Without the Wright Brothers would be currently be as advanced in aeronautical sciences as we are today? They definitely were the first line in aeronautical pioneers and still have many designs present on current day planes. It’s hard to imagine how we would have advanced in the field of flight had they never started on their journey and I am definitely glad that did what they did. These two brothers were amazing tinkers and inventors and truly did something amazing. They show you how hard work can really pay off and no matter what happens you never give up. Even if you are not the best at something you can gradually get better and better with enough effort put into it. Regardless, these brothers accomplished something that many though was impossible and despite the criticism they received, they managed to stay on top eventually completing the project they years before had only dreamed of.
For more information on the Wright Brothers check out this video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDlk4Ky_ahs