BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- Gallery 209: (a) Wright Brothers and Invention of the Aerial Age

DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- Gallery 209: (a) Wright Brothers and Invention of the Aerial Age:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. GAL209_130913_004.JPG: Wilbur & Orville Become a Team: The Wright brothers had a variety of individual talents, skills, and personality traits that complemented one another. Relying on each other's strengths and compensating for each other's weaknesses was crucial to their invention of the airplane. Neither probably could have achieved alone what they did as a team. "From the time we were little children my brother Orville and myself lived together. We usually owned all of our toys in common, talked over our thoughts and aspirations so that nearly everything that was done in our lives have been the result of conversations, suggestions and discussions between us." -- Wilbur Wright, 1912 Written long after the brothers became famous, Wilbur's reflection upon his relationship with Orville is a little romanticized. The closeness that he described only began in earnest when the brothers were in their late teens. The Family Fortress: The Wrights' parents taught their children that the world was an unfriendly place; unscrupulous persons lay in wait and temptations beckoned. They were convinced that the strength of family bonds offered the only real support in life. After their older brothers left home and their mother died, Wilbur, Orville, their sister Katharine, and their father remained at 7 Hawthorn Street and formed a close-knit unit. Their mutual support enabled them to weather all manner of crises. A Source of Confidence: The Wrights' supportive home life provided Wilbur and Orville with a strong belief in themselves. This self-confidence enabled them to reject the theories of well-known and more experienced aeronautical experimenters when the brothers felt their own ideas were correct. Often it was the emotional anchor provided by their strong family ties that helped Wilbur and Orville persevere when they encountered difficulties in their research. An Unspoken Pact: In the mid-1890s, Wilbur, Orville, and Katherine were in their twenties, the age young people of their time typically began to seriously contemplate marriage. Yet none of them showed any interest in finding a mate. They seemed bound by an unspoken agreement to remain together and let no one come between them. Spirited Arguments: "I like scrapping with Orv," Wilbur said, "he's such a good scrapper." Heated discussions were a frequent and significant aspect of the Wrights' creative process. Their ability to defend a position with genuine passion, while considering the other's point of view, was essential to their inventive success.
2. GAL209_130913_019.JPG: Three Approaches to Aeronautical Research: As flight research became more organized in the second half of the 1800s, aeronautical pioneers pursued three distinct lines of experimentation: (1) Some went directly to full-size, powered aircraft, focusing on the engine as the main problem. (2) Others used models as their primary research tool. (3) Still others believed that testing their ideas with full-size gliders was the most effective approach. 1. Sir Hiram Maxim's unsuccessful four-ton, twin-engine, full-size powered aircraft, 1894. 2. Samuel P. Langley's large steam-powered model Aerodrome No. 5 making a successful flight, 1896. 3. Chanute-Herring unpowered glider in flight, 1896. The Wrights Course: By the late 1890s, experimenting with full-size, man-carrying gliders was proving to be the most fruitful avenue. These experimenters believed in a gradual, evolutionary path to flight. Careful study of aerodynamics and control with simple hang gliders, they argued, would lead to a more sophisticated powered airplane capable of sustained, controlled flight. The Wright brothers followed this course.
3. GAL209_130913_022.JPG: Sir George Cayley 1773-1857 The career of Englishmen Sir George Cayley marked a turning point in the history of aviation. Cayley was the first to mount a well-conceived, systematic program of aeronautical research grounded in the scientific method. He conducted practical experiments in aerodynamics, published his findings in scientific journals, and performed flight tests with models and full-size gliders.
4. GAL209_130913_026.JPG: Studying Their Predecessors: After collecting reference material from the Smithsonian and other sources, the Wright brothers began studying their predecessors. They were surprised to learn that, despite humanity's centuries old interest in flight, little progress had been made in aeronautics before 1800. Until that time, few trained scientists or mechanics thought it a sensible undertaking. During the 1800s, however, a community of technically trained people interested in flight had evolved. They had amassed a body of aeronautical knowledge that represented the first real steps toward achieving human flight. Much of what Wilbur and Orville accomplished was highly original. However, the findings of several key 19th century experimenters provided useful pieces to the puzzle and saved the Wrights from pursuing many unfruitful avenues of research.
5. GAL209_130913_029.JPG: Learning the Art of Airplane Design: Less than three months after writing to the Smithsonian for aeronautical information, the Wright brothers had defined the essential requirements of a heavier-than-air flying machine and successfully built and tested a kite that incorporated many of these design characteristics in rudimentary form. Their inventive approach was grounded in a strict engineering method. They did not use uninformed trial-and-error techniques like many of their contemporaries, nor did they tackle the problem as theoretical scientists. Their goal was less to understand why in principle the forces of flight behaved as they did than to learn how they acted with respect to one another, and to use that information to construct a successful flying machine.
6. GAL209_130913_032.JPG: Three Fundamental Problems The Wrights followed Sir George Cayley's lead and initially reduced the obstacles to flight to three broad categories: (1) A set of lifting surfaces, or wings. (2) A method of balancing and controlling the aircraft. (3) A means of propulsion. Most earlier experimenters focused only on one or another of these problems and did not consider the final design from the outset. The Wrights recognized that each of these areas had to be successfully addressed to build a working airplane. They believed that the aerodynamic and propulsion problems would be comparatively easier to solve, so they first concentrated on how to maintain balance and control. Stability and Control: The Influence of the Bicycle: Many early experimenters believed that air currents were too swift and unpredictable for human reflexes. Therefore, an aircraft had to be inherently stable for the pilot to be able to maintain control. Because of the Wrights' extensive experience with the bicycle -- a highly unstable but controllable machine -- they reasoned that an airplane could be unstable yet controllable as well. The Drawbacks of Lilienthal's Method of Control: Otto Lilienthal controlled his glider by shifting his body weight from side to side, which altered the craft's center of gravity and caused it to turn. The Wrights recognized that this technique severely limited the size of the aircraft, because the pilot and craft had to be similar in weight for body shifting to be effective. They reasoned that if they could control balance aerodynamically -- using the forces air exerts on a wing -- they could build an aircraft of any size and weight.
7. GAL209_130913_054.JPG: Embracing the Impossible: Flight was one of the oldest human desires, yet even on the eve of achieving it, most considered it a physical impossibility. Even as experimenters were making their first tentative leads into the air, few believed practical flight was at hand. But with the Wright brothers' public flights in 1908, and the rapid development of aeronautical technology in the years before World War I, no one could deny that the aerial age had begun. In those exciting years between 1908 and 1914, the world embraced the airplane for the modern marvel that it was. It was clear that a new era had opened. Cartoons and Illustration: Enthusiasm for flight was expressed in cartoons and playful illustration as well. Often the aerial world of the future was humorously depicted.
8. GAL209_130913_058.JPG: "For the sake of France's honor, it is well worth 5,000 more. It's not Germany that would be bargaining, Mister Minister!..."
9. GAL209_130913_061.JPG: "Must we keep right or left? ... Above or under? ..."
10. GAL209_130913_064.JPG: "The customs officer can scream all he wants.... I get rid of customs!"
11. GAL209_130913_067.JPG: "By order of the mayor, aerial traffic is prohibited from 5 pm and records do not count!"
12. GAL209_130913_071.JPG: The drivers. -- "In aeroplane, neither dust, not flat tire! ... Here's what will bring the price of automobiles down!"
13. GAL209_130913_075.JPG: "Just as it is forbidden to take water from the sea, it will be prohibited to take oxygen from the air."
14. GAL209_130913_078.JPG: The Military Aeroplane: "What concerns me is not how I'm going to kill the enemy, but how I'm going to manage not to kill myself."
15. GAL209_130913_081.JPG: The Military Aeroplane: The gunners. -- "Gonna have to shoot straight up... but it could very well fall back on our nose."
16. GAL209_130913_084.JPG: Nicolas. -- "The sky too now! .... Wall the sky!"
17. GAL209_130913_087.JPG: Clemenceau. -- "Still, with that thing there are no more countries..." Briand. -- "Great! ... That way we can go back to our old ideas."
18. GAL209_130913_091.JPG: The seller. -- "Note that it is cheaper than an automobile, and faster..." The buyer. -- "For the heirs."
19. GAL209_130913_094.JPG: "Stop! ... If you were a bird, you could fly... but you are a man, you must get permission from competent authorities."
20. GAL209_130913_107.JPG: Critics of the Aerial Age: Not all writers and intellectuals looked favorably upon the airplane. One of the sharpest critics was the Viennese journalist Karl Kraus. He believed that while people were clever enough to create sophisticated machines, they often lacked the intelligence to use them properly. Now that the air had been conquered, he feared the earth was condemned to be bombarded. His prediction would in part come true.
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Description of Subject Matter: The Wright Brothers & The Invention of the Aerial Age
October 11, 2003 – March 27, 2022
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' historic first flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903, this exhibition presents the Wrights' technical achievements and examines the cultural impact of early powered flight. The centerpiece of the gallery is the original 1903 Wright Flyer, displayed on the ground for the first time since the Smithsonian acquired it in 1948. Also on view are 250 photographs and 150 other artifacts, including the stop watch used to time the first powered flights, a Wright wind tunnel test instrument used in unlocking the secrets of aerodynamics, a reproduction of the Wright Brothers' 1899 experimental kite, and full-size reproductions of their 1900 and 1902 experimental gliders.
Hands-on stations and interactive computer stations: both provide an understanding of flight
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Directly Related Pages: Other pages with content (DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- Gallery 209: (a) The Wright Brothers and Invention of the Aerial Age) directly related to this one: [Display ALL photos on one page]:
- 2012_DC_SIAIR_Gall209A: DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- Gallery 209: (a) Wright Brothers and Invention of the Aerial Age (3 photos from 2012)
- 2010_DC_SIAIR_Gall209A: DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- Gallery 209: (a) Wright Brothers and Invention of the Aerial Age (22 photos from 2010)
- 2005_DC_SIAIR_Gall209A: DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- Gallery 209: (a) Wright Brothers and Invention of the Aerial Age (5 photos from 2005)
- 2003_DC_SIAIR_Gall209A: DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- Gallery 209: (a) Wright Brothers and Invention of the Aerial Age (17 photos from 2003)
Same Subject: Click on this link to see coverage of items having the same subject: [(Smithsonian) Air and Space Museum (Everything)] [(Smithsonian) Air and Space Museum (Non-Events)] [Museums (History)]
2013 photos: Equipment this year: I mostly used my Fuji XS-1 camera but, depending on the event, I also used a Nikon D7000 and Nikon D600. Trips this year: three Civil War Trust conferences (Memphis, TN, Jackson, MS [to which I added a week to to visit sites in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee], and Richmond, VA), and my 8th consecutive San Diego Comic-Con trip (including sites in Nevada and California). Ego Strokes: Aviva Kempner used my photo of her as her author photo in Larry Ruttman's "American Jews & America's Game: Voices of a Growing Legacy in Baseball" book. Number of photos taken this year: just over 570,000.
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