The History of the First Airplanes- RPS #5
The first authentic or original airplane that was flown was a glider. A glider is a non-motorized flying
machine (and very hard to control.) Early gliders were launched from high places like cliffs and floated
on the wind to the ground.
During 1890 while Orville and Wilbur Wright were working in a bicycle shop, the Wright Brothers got
interested in flying. They learned that bicycles that were closer to the ground were faster. They made a
prediction or guess on what they would need to do to make an airplane work well, and then they read all
the books they could find about airplanes to learn more. They then began building gliders near Kitty
Hawk, North Carolina. The Wright Brothers improved the glider. The gentlemen did not face much
adversity or distress, and as a result In 1899 they made a large, two wing kite. After experimenting for a
while on unmanned gliders, they made a glider where the pilot would control the airplane in the air. After
working on glider experiments they found out how to steer a plane while in flight by developing a rudder
(the tail of the plane) and flaps on the wings. With the rudder and the flaps, the pilot could control the
direction of the airplane and the height, which would be the solution to solving that problem. Some
people thought the Wright brothers were eccentric and odd in their creation, but their intelligence would
prove otherwise.
In December of 1903, the Wright Brothers became the first people to successfully fly a plane with a
person in it. The plane flew one hundred twenty feet and flew only about twelve seconds. They had three
successful flights that day, but Wilbur made the longest flight of 892 feet and stayed up for about 59
seconds. In 1903 the Wright Brothers made their first powered airplane that they named the "flyer." It was
a biplane (two winged plane) that had a 12 horse power engine that they had built themselves. The wings
were 40 feet wide, wooden, and covered with cotton cloth. The pilot would lay on the lower wing on his
stomach and steer the plane. In 1908 the Wright Brother’s diversity, or variety of skills, allowed them to
finally make a plane that could fly for more that one and a half hours. The brothers showed no
resignation or demonstration of giving up, and therefore succeeded in their endeavors.
Airplane travel has improved a great deal since the first efforts of the Wright Brothers. Airplanes now
travel thousands of miles at altitudes of more than 7 miles, carrying over three hundred passengers. Those
passengers rest in comfortable seats instead of on their stomachs like Orville did. The verification or
confirmation of Jet engines replacing propellers and speeds greater than 600 miles per hour goes to show
not even the Wright brothers could have imagined what air travel would be like today.
This has been a small recollection of the Wright brothers and the memories that go along with them and
the first airplanes. The link below in italics emphasizes where you can find the above information.
http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112389/airplanes.htm
Using your context clues, determine the meaning of this week’s RPS words, and write their definitions
below:
Word
Recollection
Definition
The process of remembering
something; to recall something such
as an event, person, etc.
Something that is real, genuine; not
fake.
One’s fortune or fate; a situation
that brings about distress.
Context Clues
Memories
Eccentric
Italics
To be erratic, irregular, or odd.
Writing style which shows emphasis
on certain words, sayings, etc.
Odd
Emphasizes
Verification
The ability to confirm the accuracy
or truth in something.
Confirmation
Solution
The act of solving a problem,
question; giving a conclusion or
explanation.
The act of being different or having
a variety of skills, abilities, etc.
Solving that problem
Authentic
Adversity
Diversity
Resignation
Prediction
Original
Distress
Variety of skills
Giving up
The submission or giving up of a
job, position, or office.
To declare something in advance; to Guess on what they would
need
foretell an event.
What background knowledge did you use to help you better understand this text? Answers will vary
What text structure is this passage? Chronological/Problem-Solution How do you know? It is in time order, but it
can also be argued that there was a problem with the creation of the plane, and they solved that problem and made a
better product. Both of these structures would apply.
Is this a reliable source and how do you know? Yes, it is a .org site
Summarize in one sentence what this text was about: This text was about the creation of the first airplane, and how
that has developed since.
Did the author of this article make an impact on you? Why or why not? Answers will vary
What is the author’s purpose? To inform