Wright Bothers

"NOVA: Wright Brothers Flying Machine", bicycling into the sky...
(57 minutes)



Video Description:

The challenge of rebuilding the Wright Brothers’ Flying Machine. Orville and Wilbur Wright were remarkable inventors, mechanics, risk-takers, and visionaries. They designed and built their own wings, steering devices, engines, and wind tunnel. But just how did they construct such an impressive flying machine? It takes a team of modern pilots, builders, aviation experts, and historians joined together to retrace, rebuild and re-fly planes built to the specifications developed by the Wright Brothers a century ago. Vivid footage captures both the Wrights’ own historic flights and the team’s attempt to fly an authentically recreated Wright “Model B.” As modern computer technology meets dusty artifacts, the Wrights’ aviation secrets emerge from the past and seem more impressive than ever. Discover how the Wright Brothers transformed themselves from bicycle mechanics to high-flying inventors who built a machine that changed the world during a mythical flight at Kitty Hawk on December 17, 1903, and see how they contrived to refine their incredible aircraft. For more great science stories, tune in weekly to NOVA on your local PBS station.