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Wright
Brothers' Invention Process
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(1899 - 1902)
- Researched How Things Fly
The first step in any new program or project is
research. The Wright Brothers first performed a literature search
to find out the state of aeronautical knowledge at their time. They
read about the works of Cayley, and Langley, and the hang-gliding
flights of Otto Lilienthal. They corresponded with Octave Chanute
concerning some of their ideas. They recognized that
control
of the flying aircraft would be the most crucial and hardest problem
to solve.
The Wright Brothers spent a great deal of time
observing birds in flight. They noticed that birds soared into the
wind and that the air flowing over the curved surface of their wings
created lift. Birds change the shape of their wings to turn and
maneuver. The Wrights believed that they could use this technique
to obtain roll
control by warping,
or changing the shape, of a portion of the wing.
Today, NASA engineers are involved in all aspects
of research. Engineers use the Internet, read books, attend
conferences, and use videoconferencing technologies to solve new
problems of flight. You can share in this research at NASA
Quest, which is hosted by the NASA Ames Research Center.
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