Knowra Wright brothers Wright brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright were American inventors who achieved the first sustained, controlled, powered airplane flight in 1903. Their three-axis control system made practical heavier-than-air flight possible.
Three-axis control : A method of controlling an aircraft’s pitch, roll, and yaw independently. The Wrights coordinated three controls to steer and stabilize their aircraft.
Wilbur Wright : An American aviation pioneer who, with his brother Orville, developed and flew the first successful powered airplane. Wilbur led much of the brothers’ theorizing, testing, and public advocacy.
Wright Flyer III : The Wright brothers’ 1905 airplane, capable of sustained, controlled flight and repeated takeoffs and landings. Its long flights established that their design could operate as a practical flying machine.
Aviation : The design, development, operation, and use of aircraft. The Wrights’ controlled powered flights helped establish aviation as a practical technology.
Wing warping : A flight-control technique that twists an aircraft’s wings to change lift and induce roll. The brothers used wing warping to control roll on their early gliders and Flyer.
Orville Wright : An American aviation pioneer who, with his brother Wilbur, developed and flew the first successful powered airplane. Orville piloted the first powered flight and continued their aviation work after Wilbur’s death.
1904 Huffman Prairie flights : A series of powered airplane trials by the Wright brothers at Huffman Prairie near Dayton, Ohio. Repeated circuits there refined the Flyer’s control and demonstrated increasingly sustained flight.
Wright Company : An American aircraft manufacturer founded by the Wright brothers in 1909 to build and sell airplanes. The company turned their inventions into aircraft production and commercial activity.
Rudder : A movable aircraft surface that controls yaw by redirecting airflow. The Wrights linked a movable rear rudder to wing warping to counter adverse yaw.
Wright Cycle Company : The bicycle sales and repair business operated by Wilbur and Orville Wright in Dayton, Ohio. Its income and mechanical workshop supported the brothers’ aviation experiments.
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