Wright brothers, wrong story: how Wilbur Wright solved the problem of manned flight

✍ Scribed by Haskell, Katharine Wright;Hazelgrove, William;Wright, Orville;Wright, Wilbur

• Publisher: Prometheus Books
• Year: 2018
• Tongue: English
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

"How could two misanthropic brothers who never left home, were high-school dropouts, and made a living as bicycle mechanics, have figured out the secret of manned flight? This new history of the Wright brothers' monumental accomplishment focuses on their early years of trial and error at Kitty Hawk (1900-1903) and Orville Wright's epic fight with the Smithsonian Institute and aircraft engine manufacturer Glenn Curtiss. William Hazelgrove makes a convincing case that it was Wilbur Wright who designed the first successful airplane, not Orville. He shows that, although Orville's role was important, he generally followed his brother's lead and assisted with the mechanical details to make Wilbur's vision a reality. Combing through original archives and family letters, Hazelgrove reveals the differences in the brothers' personalities and abilities. He examines how the myth of the Wright brothers was born when Wilbur Wright died young and left his brother to write their history with his personal friend John C. Kelly. The author notes the peculiar inwardness of their family life; business and family problems; bouts of depression; and serious illnesses--and, yet, rising above it all, was Wilbur's obsessive zeal to test out his ideas about achieving manned flight. After he found Kitty Hawk, this desolate location on North Carolina's Outer Banks became his laboratory. By carefully studying bird flight and the question of control, Wilbur cracked the secret of aerodynamics and achieved controlled, powered liftoff on December 17, 1903. Hazelgrove's richly researched and well-told tale of the Wright brothers' landmark achievement, illustrated with rare historical photos, captures the excitement of the times at the start of the 'American century.'"--Jacket.;"This book is the first deconstruction of the Wright Brothers' myth. They were not--as we have all come to believe--two halves of the same apple. Each had a distinctive role in creating the first 'flying machine'."--Provided by publisher.;How did two high-school dropouts figure out the secret of manned flight? Hazelgrove reveals the differences in Orville and Wilbur Wright's personalities and abilities. He examines how the Wright brothers myth was born when Wilbur Wright died early and left his brother to write their history with personal friend John Kelly. Though Orville's role was important, he generally followed his brother's lead and assisted with the mechanical details to make Wilbur's vision a reality. Hazelgrove shows that, at Kitty Hawk, Wilbur cracked the secret of aerodynamics and achieved liftoff on December 17, 1903. -- adapted from jacket.

✦ Table of Contents

Preface: The Wright myth --
Part 1: Preflight. The biographer, 1942
The letter, 1948
The murderer, 1884
Steam bugs, 1896
Typhoid, 1896
Inventors, 1900
School of one, 1900 --
Part 2: Flight. The pilgrim, 1900
The Wright sister, 1900
Kill Devil Hills, October, 18, 1900
The mentor, 1901
Dangerous times, 1901
Return to Kitty Hawk, 1901
Wilbur unleashed, 1901
Tunnel vision, 1901
The Smithsonian, 1902
The movable rudder, 1902
United States Patent Office, 1903
The Western Society of Engineers, 1903
The great embarrassment, 1903
Great things, September 23, 1903
The photograph, December, 17, 1903 --
Part 3: Landings. Fliers or liars, 1906
Death in the sky, September, 17, 1908
Return to Eden, 1908
The injunction, 1910
Warped by the desire for great wealth, 1911
Final flight, 1912
The great flood, 1914
To fly again, 1914
Hammondsport, New York, 1914
Middle of the Atlantic Ocean, 1928
A test of wills, 1930
The lone eagle, 1934
The Battle of Britain, 1940
The authorized biography, 1943
Washington, DC, 1943
Mabel Beck, 1948
Wright brothers, wrong story.

✦ Subjects

Aeronautics;Aeronautics--United States;Aeronautics--United States--History--20th century;Fliegen;Inventors;Inventors--United States--History--20th century;TRANSPORTATION--General;Biography;Biographies;History;Wright, Orville, -- 1871-1948;Wright, Wilbur, -- 1867-1912;Haskell, Katharine Wright, -- 1874-1929;Aeronautics -- United States -- History -- 20th century;Inventors -- United States -- History -- 20th century;Aeronautics -- United States -- Biography;TRANSPORTATION -- General;United States;