The Airplane
By: Ally Grayson

Introduction:
The airplane could possibly be one of the most important inventions the world has ever seen. I mean, who would have thought that it would be possible for humans to fly? Well the Wright brothers were the one’s brave enough to take this challenge, and amazingly, they conquered it. Because of them, airplanes are used for mail, transportation, and even in war.
Figure 1

Discovery:
On December 17th, 1903, the first airplane took flight. It had a thirty-two foot wing span and weighed around seven hundred pounds. After many tested studies, the Wright brothers came up with a technique of steering the aircraft using a moveable tail which was connected to the wings for turn stability. In order for this machine to take flight, the brothers had to make a moveable downhill track. The downhill track was made to help the plane gain airspeed in order to fly. Orville Wright was the pilot of this plane, and the flight lasted only twelve seconds.
Figure 2

Biography:
Wilbur Wright was born on April 16th, 1867 in Millville, Indiana. When he was in high school he suffered from a facial injury caused by a hockey puck, which prevented him from continuing his education at Yale. After the injury, Wilbur relied on his father’s books to feed him knowledge, which actually helped him a great deal.
Orville Wright was born on August 19th, 1871 in Daytona, Ohio. Orville was the was the brother with the enthusiastic personality. He was full of abstract ideas which was complimentary to Wilbur’s matureness and direct ideas.
Together, the inseparable boys helped their father out with his business until he opened the Wright Cycling Shop in 1892. This was where Wilbur and Orville’s engineering skills took their flight. After testing many aircrafts over and over again for many years, they created the first airplane in 1903 as seen above. Many years later, Wilbur died on May 30th, 1912. Because of his death, Orville gave up everything because he fell into a depression. As you can see in figure 2, they were very close. During retirement, Orville died on January 30, 1948.

Figure 2

Impact on the World:
Airplanes impacted the world in many ways. For example, it is a faster and more convenient way for traveling lost distances. This helps with the alliances and trade with other countries. Also, a ton of exotic food from other countries are carried over to us by plane. One important example of how the airplane impacted the world is medical equipment. We get most of our surgical tools and machines from other countries, and without them it would be impossible to quickly transport medical items to patients in need.
One way the airplane helps the U.S. is during war, especially in World War I. Some planes were used for tracking the opponent, and other were used for releasing bombs. By the end of World War I, the airplane had transformed from a slow, steady moving aircraft, into a fast and almost impossible target.

Journal Article Review:
The article that I viewed was about a half airplane and half car. I chose this article because it was interesting to me that they have evolved the airplane into something better. It made me think about how many new opportunities for technology the airplane opened up. The Wright brother’s first airplane has inspired people into creating something more and more complex that can possibly someday change the world as the first flying machine did. This airplane car would have never been possible if it wasn’t for the men to started it all: Wilbur and Orville Wright.

Sources:

http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blairplane.htm

http://inventors.about.com/od/wstartinventors/a/TheWrightBrother_2.htm

http://www.notablebiographies.com/We-Z/Wright-Brothers.html

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_did_airplanes_change_war

Article:
http://www.google.com/patents?hl=en&lr=&vid=USPAT4881701&id=fvA2AAAAEBAJ&oi=fnd&dq=the+invention+of+the+airplane&printsec=abstract#v=onepage&q=the%20invention%20of%20the%20airplane&f=false




Figure 1: http://www.google.com.hk/imglanding?q=the+airplane&hl=zh-TW&sa=G&gbv=2&tbs=isch:1&tbnid=zWil8fTo4Ed9NM:&imgrefurl=http://blog.wholetravel.com/2008/12/&imgurl=http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2006/photorelease/q3/060803b_lg.jpg&ei=SYBeTe7SEMndgQfKhcimDQ&zoom=1&w=450&h=360&iact=hc&oei=SYBeTe7SEMndgQfKhcimDQ&page=1&tbnh=136&tbnw=179&start=0&ved=1t:429,r:22,s:0&biw=1259&bih=851
Figure 2: http://www.google.com.hk/imglanding?q=the+wright+brothers+airplane&hl=zh-TW&safe=active&biw=1276&bih=851&gbv=2&tbs=isch:1&tbnid=FKL0el2P4u1euM:&imgrefurl=http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/ulterior-motives/200907/tools-innovation-i-normal-psychology-and-economic-recovery&imgurl=http://www.psychologytoday.com/files/u107/Wright-Brothers-Airplane-001.jpg&ei=6YBeTabYIoXqgQfO7vTGDQ&zoom=1&w=590&h=426&iact=rc&oei=6YBeTabYIoXqgQfO7vTGDQ&page=1&tbnh=139&tbnw=183&start=0&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0

Figure 3: http://www.google.com.hk/imglanding?q=the+wright+brothers&hl=zh-TW&safe=active&biw=1276&bih=851&gbv=2&tbs=isch:1&tbnid=3rUz9VyoMCGAyM:&imgrefurl=http://www.myhero.com/myhero/hero.asp%253Fhero%253DWright_Bros_LC_aliman_US_2011_ul&imgurl=http://www.myhero.com/images/guest/g242901/hero75123/g242901_u88055_The-Wright-Brothers_pic_2.jpg&ei=KYFeTZn3Es3pgQeJx83GDQ&zoom=1&w=340&h=430&iact=rc&oei=KYFeTZn3Es3pgQeJx83GDQ&page=1&tbnh=139&tbnw=113&start=0&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0