Orville Wright (1871–1948)

I started my reading journey through the history of aviation with Orville Wright's first hand account of how he and Wilbur invented the airplane. It is an amazingly clear and concise telling of how the airplane came to be invented. A great read for both pilots and ground pounders with lots of drawings and pics that I had to see again after reading McCullough's book.

Filled with rare photographs and featuring accounts written by the Wright Brothers themselves, this fascinating firsthand history covers the brothers' early experiments, their construction of planes and motors, the first test flights, life after Kitty Hawk, and much more.
The achievement of the Wright brothers is placed in historical context in the absorbing and informative introduction to this volume, written by Fred C. Kelly, author of two standard works on the Wrights. Mr. Kelly has also show more written an illuminating commentary, including fascinating anecdotes about the Wrights, their personalities and later aspects of their career. As an extra bonus, a lively popular account of the Wrights' success, written in 1908 by both brothers, has been included in an Appendix. Enhanced by 76 photographs, including many rare views of the Wrights and their flying machines, this book offers a thrilling reading experience for anyone interested in aviation, its pioneers, or the mechanics of flights. show less

The Early History of the Airplane is a 1922 pamphlet composed of three reprinted magazine articles by the Wright brothers:

"The Wright Brothers' Aeroplane", Century Magazine, Sept. 1908, Orville and Wilbur Wright
"How We Made the First Flight", Flying, Dec. 1913, Orville Wright
"Some Aeronautical Experiments", Wilbur Wright, speech given in 1901

The last article, "Some Aeronautical Experiments", is the most historically important, it is based on a speech given by Wilbur a few years before the show more first flight while still working with gliders. In the early years of the 20th century it was eagerly studied by would-be aviators and reprinted countless times. It went on to become the "Book of Genesis" of 20th century aeronautical technical literature. Although highly technical and now outdated it is sort of like listening to a steam-punk scientist. The first article, "The Wright Brothers' Aeroplane", was commissioned by Century Magazine as an exclusive account of the first flight on December 17, 1903, it would take the brothers four years to write.

Listened to via LibriVox. Original pamphlet at Internet Archive. show less

Fascinating firsthand account covers early experiments, construction of planes and motors, first flights, much more. Introduction and commentary by Fred C. Kelly. 76 photographs.