The Wright Flyers ― Weight and Balance Issues

摘要

The one hundredth anniversary of the first flight of a powered aircraft is fast approaching. The actual date of this first flight was December 17, 1903. It took place at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. About ten of us were sitting around the breakfast table at the end of the 2002 conference at the 57th Street Ramada Virginia Beach. Out of the 'clear blue sky,' Frank Gattis suggested that we ought to have an article relative to the Wright celebration in our SAWE Journal. In fact, he added, "Maybe we should have a series of articles. Let's face it. The event is a big thing." Undoubtedly, over the years, the Wright brothers' story has been of casual interest to just about everyone ― perhaps more intensely so for a few. I am one of the latter. The whole story is an amazing one ― the human side as well as the scientific one. Both of the Wright brothers were high school drop-outs but turned out to be very good researchers ―meticulous, persistent, and innovative. As weight engineers we can also appreciate their attention to weight and balance.