Research and Testing

My brother and I started off by researching the subject of flying. First we went through our local libraries. And the Smithsonian offered us aeronautics, the science of flight. After the research Wilbur told me that if we were going to fly we had to solve the problem of control. In the back of the bicycle shop we built giant kites and gliders to find a good design to work with. We focused on creating a mechanical system that would be the pilot control the aircraft in any direction. We tested flexible tail rudders and wings, and we tested a third small wing. Along the way we invented new technology needed to build our aircraft. We needed to test wind curvatures so we built a wind tunnel out of a six-foot-long wooden box, bicycle spokes, old hacksaw blades, and a old belt-operated fan.