FIRST IN FLIGHT: THE WRIGHT BROTHERS

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1 151 West 26 th St. (212) New York, NY FIRST IN FLIGHT: THE WRIGHT BROTHERS Study Guide "There is destiny which makes us brothers;none goes his way alone." ~Edwin Markham ABOUT THE PLAY ~INTRODUCTION~ THEATREWORKS/USA is staging "First in Flight: The Wright Brothers" to help young people fully appreciate and celebrate the Brothers Wright-- the world's first pilots-- and the much anticipated arrival on December 17, 2003 of their Centennial of Flight. One hundred years seem to have flown by fast, since Wilbur and Orville, two ordinary young men from Dayton Ohio, achieved their extraordinary dream of becoming the first humans to ever fly. On December 17, 1903, the Wright Brothers gave the world an amazing new gift: aviation. That day, they literally got humanity off the ground-- and changed the course of human history forever--by making the first, successful flight in a controllable, powered, heavierthan-air, flying machine. NOTE: Please inform your students that because this is a "play," the playwrights, director and actors (or "players" as they used to be called), will be using the artistic freedom to "play around" with history. The creators use their "poetic license" to transport the Wright brothers back and forth in time. This allows the brothers to interact with other important characters--real and imagined--who inspired the almost superhuman accomplishment of human flight. This musical, inspired by the Wright family, is not a documentary, but an exploration of their lives in theatrical terms. The Wright brothers, Wilbur and Orville, had three other siblings-lorin, Reusclin, and Katherine-although they are not literally represented in the play. Likewise the many scientists and visionaries that led to the first flight are here represented by a single man, Otto Lilienthal. The Wright brothers communicated with many of the leading aerial experimenters of their day and their discoveries were the result of careful scientific research and technical expertise. The play opens in December 1903 on a windy, mosquito-buzzing beach in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Wilbur Wright and his younger brother Orville, self-made inventors now in their 30s, are trying to get their new flying machine to finally earn its wings and its name! (After careful research with the U.S. Weather Bureau, they chose Kitty Hawk, with its high winds and low-impact, soft sands, as the perfect place to launch their motorized kite-glider invention, named "the Flyer.") There's lots of ups-and- downs with this kind of first-ever-flight testing and as the show opens, their hopes and their somewhat fragile, cloth- and- wood flying machine, are dashed into the sand. The brothers bicker like little boys Like little boys fighting over a new toy, which is exactly what they're doing as the play flies the audience on flashback to their childhood home in Dayton, Ohio. The boys' father, Milton, is a traveling minister who has high hopes that his son Wilbur will become one too. Yet he unknowingly changes the course of his son's career choice--make that both sons' career choices-- by bringing home a fascinating new kind of toy (like a modern day helicopter) that flew straight up into the air And straight into Wilbur's active imagination. He reasons that if a toy can fly-- powered by a simple elastic band-- then surely human beings can get a similar boost into the sky someday! Soon Wilbur's head is flying with many of the problems (and solutions) the world's first real pilot would need to ponder. In a creative "meeting of the minds," Wilbur is mentored by the great German glider inventor, Otto Lilienthal, who's been raising flight to new heights throughout the late 1800s. The Wright Brothers' wise mother, Susan, lovingly tries to steer her mechanically gifted son, Orville, towards an interest in bicycles-- the newest rage sweeping across Ohio and all of America for that matter! The teenaged Orville opens up his very own shop, the Wright Cycle Co., and begins repairing, selling and even designing bicycles. Wilbur, meanwhile, tries to put the brakes on his own dream of flying and dutifully focuses on following his father's path into the ministry.

2 When their father suggests that Orville hand over his just-won bike race money to bankroll Wilbur's college studies for the ministry, Orville's patience screeches to a halt! (There's bound to be bumps on the road to brotherly love!) The competition between the two brothers, which has always propelled each to succeed in the eyes of their parents, and in their own eyes, is temporarily "blinding" both boys. Yet the brothers manage to mend their differences and combine their individual competitiveness into a strong, strong, partnership. Together, these two bright brothers just might be able to solve the many thousand-year-old riddle of human flight. In the fast paced, sometimes fierce worldwide competition to fly--if they work together as a team-- they could possibly win first place in the sky! December 17, 1903, just after 10:35 a.m. (EST) -- It wasn't easy getting here, but the day has finally arrived! The brothers have patched their flying machine. They've patched up their argument. And after all the years of trials and errors and long, long flight delays-- it's time to catch a plane! Wilbur wants Orville to be the first in flight--to take the joyride of the ages! He helps Orville lie like an eagle, atop the cloth and wooden wings of their majestically simple flying machine. Quick, wait for the photograph! For this moment, and this moment only, they are two ordinary brothers on a beach, like two young kids chasing a kite and a dream. Then, suddenly, they are 2 men about to make a 12 second, 120-foot leap of faith into the air, which will bring the world to amazing heights that we today-- even 100 years later-- are still only beginning to fathom. "The Wright brothers created the single greatest cultural achievement since the invention of writing. The airplane became the first World Wide Web, bringing people, languages, ideas and values together." ~Bill Gates, Microsoft Corporation PRE-FLIGHT INSTRUCTION INTRODUCTION Probably since people first walked the earth, they' d been looking up at the birds flying in the sky, thinking "why can't I?" There'd been some wise and creative tries. Orinthopterists put on wings and tried to literally imitate the birds (but alas, we humans lack the equivalent muscle power and control that birds possess to flap wings like they do!) Human beings finally did get up, up and away into the air in 1783, when two French brothers, Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier, invented the hot air balloon. Yet as amazing as that creation was, balloonists were still riders at the whims of the wind, not flyers in control of their journey! In 1854, Otto Lilienthal bravely ventured into the air in the first of 16 different kinds of gliders he created. But during all his 2,000 flights, he was still basically a human kite, lacking the control, power and freedom of birds in flight. Although they had no special scientific training, Wilbur and Orville were keen observers of others' attempts to pioneer the sky, throughout history and during their own time. Using combined creativity and common sense (and lots of patience), the Wright brothers were finally able to outsmart the problems that had prevented human beings from flying for all those thousands and thousands of years! Before witnessing TheatreworksUSA's "First in Flight" with the brothers Wright, you may want to set the stage by navigating some of the following problem-solving activities and discussions--just like Wilbur and Orville did, 100 years ago! BIRD WATCHING "Birds are the most perfectly trained gymnasts in the world and are especially well-fitted for their work and it may be that man will never equal them, but " ~Wilbur Wright, pre-flight letter to the Smithsonian Institution ~~Plan for your class to do some bird watching, either as a group or individually. Ask each student to carry a small pad of paper for notes and/or sketches. While carefully observing a bird (or a flock of birds) in flight, ask each child to answer the following question: How does a bird make a turn? Conduct a group discussion about what they observed, wrote and drew. The students who noticed that a bird changes the position of its wing tips to turn, are on the way to earning their wings! (The Wrights spent a lot of time watching birds in flight and noticed that birds change the shape of their wings to turn and maneuver. If only they could learn to change the shape of the wings on the big experimental kites they were making, they might be able to hop on and fly one day! They'd be able to control the path and direction of their flight and fly like the birds! But--HOW could they make a wing that could do this? They'd really have to think "outside the box" to figure this one out!)

3 THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX ~~Locate a long, very narrow cardboard box for a classroom demonstration. Twist the two ends of the box in different directions. Ask students to observe as you twist it one way: the top left end of the box and the bottom right go up. Ask them to observe as you twist it the other way: the top right and bottom left ends come up. Does this remind the students of anything they've seen before like the right and left wings of a bird in flight? It sure looked that way to Wilbur Wright one day while he was changing a flat tire in the bike shop! He was holding a long narrow cardboard box that had held an inner tire tube and decided to conduct the same exact experiment with it, that you and your class just did. Can you believe he "flat-out" fixed the punctured tire and the great big hole that had been missing in flight theory for thousands of years--all in one day? The observations and conclusions you and your class have just made with the bird and the box activities above, are exactly what helped solve one of the major problems stalling airplane development!! This "twisting" principle--which the Wrights called wing warping or just warp, was a major breakthrough in aeronautics! At last, the Wrights could be the first to design and build a flying machine that could be controlled while in the air! The entire aerospace business (which is the now the largest industry in the world), relies on this one simple and simply amazing idea! Ditto for controlling motion and balance in spacecraft, submarines and even robots! And to think that we have Wilbur Wright and a few of his fine feathered friends to thank for this bright idea! ICARUS, ANOTHER BOY WHO WANTED TO BE A BIRD ~~Wilbur and Orville Wright weren't alone in their belief that they might one day fly like birds! Explore the Greek myth of Icarus, the boy who flew too close to the sun with feather and wax wings. The book, The World of Bruegel, by Timothy Foote (Time Life, 1968) offers both the painting, Fall of Icarus, and W. H. Auden's poem. STAMP OF APPROVAL In this special centennial year, the U.S. Postal Service is giving its own stamp of approval to the brothers who gave such a boost to its official business with that first Wright flight! On May 23, a 37-cent, "First Flight" commemorative stamp was issued nationwide and 85 million stamps were printed to meet the demand for this historic stamp. Visit for more info about the stamp that's flying all over the country on letters this year. ~~As an art activity, ask your students to design their own postage stamp to celebrate the Wrights' "first flight" achievement. Students can work on this project either individually, in small design teams, or as a group. Discuss the most important symbols and elements the students think should be depicted on the stamp. Do they want to create a realistic image or an abstract image to convey their "celebration of flight" message on the stamp? Research any needed design elements on the Internet or in books (i.e. What did the Wrights' "flying machine" biplane actually looked like, how was it piloted during the first flight?) Study the size and design of other postage stamps. Due to the tiny "canvas" they're working with, stamp designers need to create a bolder, more "graphic" design without a lot of detail, so that the image can be clearly understood in small scale. Do the students prefer to design their stamp and then shrink it down or start out small? Why do they prefer the method they chose? Which method do they think professional stamp designers use? Display the student stamp creations honoring the "First Flight." (Is anyone in the class considering a possible future career in stamp design?!) ~~P.S.~~ It was a postage stamp that got the whole big business of commercial aviation off the ground ( an Air Mail stamp to be specific), when in 1919, the "U.S. Post Office Department" began flying the mail between New York and Washington D.C. The Kelly Air Mail Act of 1925 authorized the use of private planes and companies for the delivery of airmail. Before wowing the world with each of their pioneering solo crossings of the Atlantic, Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart were both air mail carriers! POST-FLIGHT INSTRUCTION THE WRIGHT CHARACTER ~~Engage your students in a class discussion about some of the character traits the Wright brothers possessed which enabled them to accomplish the amazing feat of true human flight, something no other human beings had ever achieved. (Certainly Teamwork, Courage, Perseverance will top your list!) Remembering back to the "First in Flight" production, were there times when your students wondered if the brothers had the "wright stuff" to accomplish such an amazing thing as flying? What are some of the things they noticed that kept the brothers apart? What are some of the things they saw that brought the brothers together as team workers? How did the Wright Brothers develop the necessary character traits to get a job done, which had never been done before?

4 FAMOUS SIBLINGS GAME (NOTE: Once you start this fun little "mental exercise" with your class, warn your students that they won't be able to stop thinking about it after they leave class, because there' s just so many examples that will pop into their heads when they least expect it! They'll all be saying to themselves: "Oh brother! Just thought of another!) ~~The Wright brothers were not the first famous siblings and they certainly won't be the last! Ask your class to take out a piece of paper (better make that two!) and start writing down all the famous sibling "teams"--in fact and in fiction, now and throughout history--that they can think of! (Let's see: Brooks Brothers, Warner Brothers, Rockefeller Brothers, the Marx Brothers, the Andrew Sisters, the Bronte Sisters, the Bush Brothers, the Williams Sisters, the Alomar Brothers, the Osmonds, the Osbournes even the Zucker Brothers (David and Jerry) who wrote and directed the movie spoof, Airplane! ) You may want to compile a "siblings wall of fame" to celebrate all the inherent--and often inherited--talent out there among families! FREEDOMS OF FLIGHT "More than anything else, the sensation is one of perfect peace mingled with an excitement that strains every nerve to the utmost, if you can conceive of such a combination." ~Wilbur Wright (when asked what flying felt like) ~~In 1909, Wilbur amazed millions of skywatching Americans and visitors, by flying around the Statue of Liberty. (He even carried a special canoe on board the plane in case he needed to "land" on water!) Ask your class to locate a photo of this historic event in a book or on the Internet. Compose a class essay (or individual essays) about this other famous flight, either from our modern day perspective or from the perspective of Wilbur Wright and how that experience might have actually felt for Wilbur, both physically and emotionally... ~~Discuss the symbolism of that flight. In what ways did the Wright Brothers give us freedoms and liberties, individually and as a nation? As a global community? ~~As an art activity, invite your students to draw their own pictures of "Lady Liberty" "seeing" her first airplane! Is she surprised to see someone suddenly reaching her great height? Or if drawn from the perspective of the ground, does Wilbur and his airplane look like a mere fly buzzing around Lady Liberty's head? AMELIA EARHART The Wrights opened up a new part of the world for people! Being up in the air in flight gave human beings a whole new perspective on the world below. At last, human beings could take a birds-eye-view of the earth! Aviator Amelia Earhart, who in 1932 became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, once made the following observation: "You haven't seen a tree, until you've seen its shadow from the sky." ~~As an art activity, prepare students to take an imaginary flight to gain a "bird's- eye-view" of the landscape below. Ask students to draw "Amelia Earhart's tree" from her perspective: flying in the sky. Which students have flown in an airplane before? Was it a large or small airplane? Were they able to see out the window? What did they observe during their flight that might help them draw "Amelia's tree?" Have any of the students climbed a large hill or mountain before? What do they remember from that experience that might help them with the Amelia's-eye-view of the tree they are drawing? CELEBRATE OTHER FIRSTS IN FLIGHT ~~In addition to the Wright's very first flight in 1903, you've met Amelia Earhart (above) who was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic solo (1932). There are many other "firsts" in the history of aviation and your students may want to pick a hero "out of the air" and celebrate that pioneer's story-- in drawing, essay, report or poem form. Here's a list to start the engines of your students' imaginations: First person to cross the English channel: Louis Bleriot (1909) First African American woman to earn pilot's license: Bessie Coleman (1921) First person to successfully fly across the Atlantic :Charles Lindbergh (1927) First person to fly faster than the speed of sound; Chuck Yeager (1947) First person to orbit the earth: Yuri Gagarin (1961) First person to fly to (and walk on) the moon: Neil Armstrong (1969) First to

5 WRIGHT REFERENCES **(denotes materials specifically for younger students) WRIGHT BOOKS First in Flight: The Wright Brothers in North Carolina by Stephen Kirk: John F. Blair Publisher, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 1995 How We Invented the Airplane: An Illustrated History by Orville Wright: edited by Fred C. Kelly, Dover Publications, NY, NY, 1988 **Taking Flight: The Story of the Wright Brothers by Stephen Krensky, illus. by Larry Day: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, NY, NY, 2000 **The Wright Brothers: A Flying Start by Elizabeth MacLeod, illus. by Barbara Spurll: Kids Can Press, Ltd., Toronto, Canada and Tonawanda, NY, 2002 **The Wright Brothers by Russell Ash: Wayland Publishers, Sussex, England, 1974 (second impression: 1980) The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane by Russell Freedman: Holiday House, NY, NY, 1991 Twelve Seconds to the Moon: A Story of the Wright Brothers by Rosamond Young: The Journal Herald, Dayton, Ohio, WRIGHT VIDEOS, CD ROMs and TELEVISION SPECIALS Biography: Wilbur and Orville: Dreams of Flying: A&E Home Video, 1994 Born of Dreams~Inspired By Freedom: (International Network Television Special) This two-hour program will celebrate aviation's 100-year history in an Academy Awards-Kennedy Center Honors type of format, hosted by celebrities. You can watch this broadcast on Television: December 13, **Inventor Labs : Transportation: Houghton Miflin Interactive CD-ROM for Windows, Somerville, MA A virtual walk through time (with Wilbur and Orville) and other extraordinary inventors who helped transport us into the future. This CD-ROM will put you and your students right to work in the Wright Brothers Lab (a.k.a. their bike shop!) solving some of the many mysteries of flight. The Age of Flight: Kitty Hawk: MPI Home Video, 1990 The American Experience: The Wright Stuff: Nancy Porter Productions and WGBH Education Foundation, 1996 WRIGHT WEBSITES National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.: This is where it all began and ended for the Wrights' flight! The Wright Brothers began their own research by writing to the Smithsonian Institution when they were just starting out to solve the mystery of human flight and this is where their 1903 Flyer finally ended up! National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA): This will become a major exploration space for both you and your students in your research on the Wrights, the two brothers who opened up the double frontiers of air and space! As a teacher visiting this site, you can come away equipped with a Centennial of Flight Electronic Tool Kit full of educational materials and resources. Students visiting: can enjoy a vast range of interactive learning experiences. NASA is one of the sponsors of our nation's year-long Centennial of Flight celebration.

6 The Wright Stories: A fact-packed site of stories and anecdotes about the Brothers Wright, their families, friends and famous counterparts. You'll meet such interesting people as Paul Lawrence Dunbar, the first nationally recognized African American poet, who just so happened to be a classmate and close friend of Orville Wright! It was Orville who first published Dunbar's poems and magazine articles during Orville's very first flight into business: a home-based printing business he ran while still in high school! The Wright Stuff: Enjoyed either as a companion reference to the PBS American Experience video (noted below), or independently, as an exciting, encompassing, and interactive information source, this title says it all. Wright Brothers Aeroplane Company and Museum of Pioneer Aviation: This site should be your first stop on your quest for wondrous information about the Brothers Wright and the history of flight! It's your first-class ticket to: timelines, primary sources, virtual Wright airplane models and other interactive adventuring, free photos, free Wright airplane model plans/blueprints and a most helpful stop: "Help with Homework." You can even hear some of the music that filled the air of the time, like the early 1900s "Aviation Rag." U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission: An act of Congress created this web site--and this Commission-- to instill national (and worldwide) pride and awareness in the Wright Brothers' achievements and the 100 th anniversary of powered flight. You'll want to visit this site often to plan your own classroom celebration of the December 17, 2003 Centennial and all the interesting activities leading up to the big day. Share the sights and sounds of aviation history through photographs, narratives, movies, web casts, and more. Download or send away for free posters, brochures and bookmarks, which will empower you to easily integrate the study of the Wright Brothers and aerospace-related topics, into every corner of your class curriculum.