The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-08-01
Their Triumph of Today Had
Beginning in Toys of
Youth.
AIR KINGS" TYPICAL
YANKEE INVENTORS
How the Silent Ones Look Upon
Future Travelling in
Skies.
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Continued from First Page.)
Wright was born. OrvilIe was born in
Dayton. Ohio, where the family now
lives. There are three other children
Reuchlin, who is a farmer at Tong
anoxie, up near the Missouri river in
Kansas. Lorin, who is in charge OF
the making OF aerOplanes at Dayton
while his brothers are away, and Miss
katherine. a sweet and accomplished
young woman who is almost a con-
slant companion 10 her two now famous
ebrethers.
Mrs. Wright died about twenty years
ago. Her influence. reinforcing that Of
her husband, made the home of these
four boys and one girl place Of
Christian peace and a dominating
influence toward thOroughness, earn
sestness, and Wholesome fun If
poll could be made of the readers
of this article it would be found be-
yond any doubt that more than half
OF them knew precisely such a home as
this in their own youth-only here the
youngsters suffered the extra rsstric-
tsons Of being a preachers family in
a small town.
- The two aviators are the only children
of the five, and they are almost the
only children of the Wright connection,
who have not capped their public school
education with courses in college. Even
Miss Katherine went TO ObeTIin and was
graduated. But Wilbur and Orville
turned from the high school at Dayton
directly 10 work and followed the trend
developed by their stuay in the public
schools. Both were good at mathe-
MATES. Wilbur with an excellent mem
DRY to help, did we'll in languages. But
1t was in the sciences they excelled.
= And If there had been a manual training
course they would have done still better
in that
They heard the call of business before
they we're out OF school They were still
students when they edited and publish
ed a little newspaper devoted 10 that
s section of Dayton in which they lived
THE West Side News This plant was
z enlarged as fast as its earnings per-
mitted and when the two boys first be
gan TO experiment with aerial apparatus
they had made themselves competent
job printers. simultaneously they had
taken advantage OF the prevailing en-
thusiasm over bicycles to open a shop
for the sale. repair, and occasional man
ufacture OF wheels.
One evening in the autumn Of 1873
Wilbur was then eleven and Orville
SEVENTEEN father walked into the
house with something partly hidden in
his hands. Before the lads could see
what it was Mr.. Wright tossed it into
the air. Whatever il was it flew across
the room. huttered awhile against the
ceiling and only sank to the floor after
FrrfF N4f
lessor Langley called "Penaud's fly
ing toy and is known to scientists gen
orally as a "heucOptere-'
p We can imagine what fun these two
boys had with it, taking it half apart
TO study it's two screw prOpellers,
stretching the rubber band thar twirled
them. and trying to keep IT In the air
the longest possible time. We can also
get something Of an insight into their
boy natures from two facts-it lasted
only few days: and it wasrmmediately
dubbed a bat"
This was the beginning. Several
years later the two began making hell
copteres for themselves, and discovered,
greatly TO their surprise. that the larger
they made them the smaller the flights.
I'VE didn't know then said Orville
TO me. that a machine having only
twice the linear dimensions Of tia first
one we had would need eight times the
power" After a few such trials they
became discouraged. and turned their
boy minds 70 dte-dying. Naturally,
there were boy kite-fyers all over Day
ton. But we viii have a particular
interest in that which "the bishops
boys did when we know that they de-
fveloped their knowledge Of il along the
zines indicated by their study Of physics
and gave IL Up only when Il cOntTadicted
the dignity Of long trousers.