Every year in August, Americans celebrate National Aviation Day. It’s a day for Americans to think about airplanes, helicopters, hot air balloons, rocket ships, and all the other flying machines that let people take to the sky.
Did you know that flying was invented here, in the United States?
(Not the kind birds do. That’s been around for as long as there have been birds).
But, if you’ve ever ridden on an airplane to go on a family vacation, you have a pair of American brothers to thank.
Their names were Wilbur and Orville Wright. They spent much of their adult lives running a bicycle store, which helped them more than you might expect.
It usually takes time for people to learn how to ride a bike. If you don’t pedal fast enough, you might fall over. But once you get it, you probably won’t forget.
The Wright Brothers knew that bicycles could be tricky to balance. That knowledge gave them the confidence that it would be possible to construct a machine that seemed clumsy and strange at first, but would be just like riding a bike for people who knew how to use it.
The Wright Brothers’ most important invention was something called a “three-axis control system.” Basically, this invention was like a steering wheel or bicycle handlebars, but designed for a vehicle that wasn’t stuck on the ground.
Their system let pilots control the way their plane moved up-and-down and right-to-left. Pilots could also control the angle of the “roll” of their plane, pointing the body right-side up or upside down.
The Wright Brothers successfully completed their first flights on December 17, 1903, south of a town called Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
Orville took the first flight, but the brothers completed three more after that. On the fourth, their plane (called the Wright Flyer) was damaged, and they didn’t attempt any more flights that day.
Thanks to the Wright Brothers (and many other engineers who came after them), we can fly all across the world. Before that, it was hard to believe that something that weighed more than the air could stay up. Earlier flying machines, like hot air balloons, could fly because they were lighter than the air.
In honor of the Wright Brothers’ achievement, in 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared that Orville’s birthday, August 19, would be National Aviation Day. On that day, federal buildings would be instructed to fly the U.S. flag. Additionally, citizens would be encouraged to engage in activities that promoted interest in aviation.
Do you like to fly? When was the last time you flew on an airplane? Where did you go?
If you want to learn more about aviation, come to DeKalb Public Library. We can definitely help you find a book with plenty of information on the Wright Brothers, or on flight!
Give us a call at 815-756-9568 ext. 3350 or email us at [email protected] if you have any questions!