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The Wright Brothers: Kitty Hawk (1903)

5/20/2016

Source: David McCullough. The Wright Brothers (2015)

In the year 1903, Dayton (OH) reached a population of 100,000. Nationally, employment was up (New York's unemployment rate was near 0%), wages were rising, the economy was expanding, and the national budget had a surplus of $45 million . . . Theodore Roosevelt was President (pictured with John Muir at Glacier Point at Yosemite in 1903), a majority of Americans had an encouraging outlook for the future, both their own and the nation's, and America wasn't at war (excepting the Filipino Insurrection). It was amid this landscape that more-and-more Americans were wondering why as of yet there wasn't human flight.
The Wright Brothers had requested light engines, but the only one they received was too heavy; once again Wilbur and Orville had to solve a problem on their own without much experience. Thankfully for the Wright Brothers, they had Charlie Taylor in their employ, who was a brilliant mechanic. Without any experience with gasoline engines, Taylor built a four cylinder motor (4 inch bore, 4 inch stroke) that was designed to deliver 8 horsepower, weigh no more than 200 pounds, and carry 675 pounds. The engine that Taylor built only weighed 152 pounds due to the cast aluminum engine block; the first engine's block cracked, but that turned out to be a blessing in that Taylor's second engine delivered 12 horsepower.

The propellers were the biggest challenge for the Wright Brothers, and they were truly on their own to solve that problem. There was no existing data on propellers, not even screw propellers with the Navy. Wilbur and Orville eventually viewed the propeller as an airplane wing traveling in a spiral course, which meant they could make calculations and collect data. The Wright Brothers found that the only way to really test a propeller was to try it with their flying machine. They positioned the propellers behind the operator, between the two wings, with one turning clockwise, and the other counter-clockwise, so the gyroscopic action of one propeller would counter the other.

Making the propellers with the proper diameter, pitch and surface area didn't cause that many problems. Each propeller was totally unique, crafted by hand, 8 feet in diameter and made of 3 spruce laminations glued together. The flying machine would be on skids with the operator (pilot) prone in the middle of the lower wing. The motor and the radiator were positioned beside the pilot on the right, with the one gallon gas tank located in the upper left relative to the operator.

On 23 March 1903, the Wright Brothers applied for patents for their flying machine, rudder, and wing-warping technology. Octave Chanute, now back in France, was exaggerating his influence with the Wright Brothers, claiming they were carrying out his instructions, teacher-to-pupils. Chanute also put out much of the information that the Wright Brothers had worked hard to gain, which accelerated French aviation. When the Wright Brothers found out what Chanute had been doing, they felt justifiably betrayed. Interestingly, more-and-more French citizens were asking why their nation and government was playing catch-up to a couple of bicycle mechanics from America.
On 14 July 1903, news came that Samuel Pierpont Langley was to test his "latest contrivance" near Quantico in Virginia. Langley's "Great Aerodrome" was a "full-fledged airship", motor-powered, and to that point had cost $50,000 in public funds from the Smithsonian Institute and the War Department (others, including Alexander Graham Bell, and Langley himself, contributed an additional $20,000). There were reporters aplenty, as well as many regular citizens, on the shores and hills alongside the Potomac, and they couldn't miss seeing something with wings on top of a big houseboat in the river. On 8 August 1903, after some bad weather, Langley conducted a test flight, not with his "Great Aerodrome", but with an unmanned quarter-scale replica. The smaller aircraft was launched from the houseboat and traveled 1000 feet before crashing in the Potomac. (Pictured above: Langley's "Great Aerodrome" on top of the houseboat in the Potomac River)

The Wright Brothers kept working on what they called their "Whopper Flying Machine" in the summer of 1903, but they were unable to assemble the entire flyer in Dayton since there wasn't enough room to do so. Therefore, Wilbur and Orville needed to carefully pack their flyer so the parts would arrive at Kitty Hawk (NC) undamaged. On 18 September 1903, everything was in crates and on a train leaving Dayton; the Wright Brothers left on another train five days later. Once settled in their camp, Wilbur and Orville loved Kitty Hawk's solitude. The Wright Brothers had 75 successful glides as a prelude to their first serious attempt at flight, but a storm with very strong winds hit the Outer Banks, which delayed their timetable.

On 7 October 1903, Langley's "Great Aerodrome", with a wingspan of 48 feet and a pilot, launched from the houseboat on the Potomac, and dove straight into the river (the pilot was not injured). When the Wright Brothers were informed of Langley's failure, they felt that it was now their turn. Delaying the Wright Brothers further was their engine: it wasn't until November that the Wright Brothers were able to fine-tune their motor to run with minimal vibration. The Wright Brothers flyer would be launched on a single wooden track 60 feet long, which cost a total of $4. Newer propeller shafts arrived, made of larger and heavier steel tubing courtesy of Charlie Taylor, who remained in Dayton, but the propellers cracked during indoor tests . . . Orville left for Dayton to help Taylor with the replacement propellers.

On 8 December 1903, Langley’s much derided aerodrome was ready to go for another test flight. Langley's "Great Aerodrome" was launched and went nose-up as it tried to fly, and then collapsed in on itself and crashed into the Potomac. The media reaction was vitriolic, and Langley's public humiliation was great; he died in 1906, never being able to overcome his "Failure in Flight" (the surviving pilot, Charles Manly, didn't suffer any negative publicity to his reputation). Orville heard about Langley's failure as he was leaving Dayton on 9 December 1903 with new propeller shafts. The Wright Brothers were never critical of Langley, since they were thankful that he had widely publicized the possibility of flight.

Orville returned to Kitty Hawk on 11 December 1903, and it took an additional three days for the Wright Brothers to get ready for their first attempt at flight. On 14 December 1903, the 605 pound flyer was hauled to the Big Hill where the launching track was located. By flipping a coin, it was decided that Wilbur would be the pilot. As the flyer reached the end of the wooden track, Wilbur pulled too hard on the rudder, and flew up at too steep an angle. Compensating, Wilbur turned the nose of the flyer downward, and the machine hit the sand a hundred feet from the track . . . and the Wright Brothers were ELATED! Their motor, launching track, et al had proven reliable, and the damage to the flyer was minor.

The Wright Brothers had their flyer ready to go on 16 December 1903, but spent most of the day fine-tuning the engine. On 17 December 1903, only 5 citizens from Kitty Hawk showed up to help Wilbur and Orville; most stayed at home not wanting to see another failure in the winter chill. It was freezing cold, and the wind was 20-27 mph, which meant the main challenge for flight was maintaining balance. Orville later reflected on how audacious and dangerous it was to test their flyer under those conditions.
It was Orville's turn to fly, but before the attempt was made, they made sure that their glass plate camera, with a quick shutter, was also ready to go. At 10:35 am, the flyer started down the track, and lifted into the air, and a photograph was taken. The flight was extremely erratic, and the plane dipped up and down, bouncing like a bronco. The second flight covered a distance of 120 feet in 12 seconds, and everyone went inside to warm up again. At 11 am, Wilbur piloted the third flight, flying for 175 feet; then Orville flew for 200 feet, and near noon, Wilbur flew a little over half-a-mile, 852 feet in 59 seconds. Four years of hard work, great resolve, patience, traveling, and problem-solving culminated in a fifth flight that lasted just under one minute . . . four years for 59 seconds - for the Wright Brothers, it was more-than-worth it!

Wilbur and Orville wanted to continue flying, even over water, but the increasing velocity of the winds ended their flights for the day. As the Wright Brothers were preparing to secure their flyer, winds swept up the plane in the air, and slammed it down on the beach . . . it was a total wreck; no more flights would be conducted at Kitty Hawk that winter. The Wright Brothers sent a telegram (pictured below) to their sister in Dayton with the basic facts of their first flights, asking her to inform the press.
The Langley "Aerodrome" project had cost a total of $70,000 ($1.82 million today), mostly from public funds, while the Wright Brothers spent less than $1000 ($25k today), entirely from the profits of their bicycle business. The Wright Brothers were excited, but they also knew that there was so much work ahead in order to do better, and they would need to construct a brand-new flying machine. News of the Wright Brothers' success was either ignored or wildly exaggerated (e.g. flying for 3 miles) . . . maybe 1 in 1000 citizens in Dayton believed that the Wright Brothers actually succeeded in flying their airplane, and those that did thought the flights were a fluke . . .

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The Wright Brothers: Before Kitty Hawk

5/19/2016

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Source: David McCullough. The Wright Brothers (2015)

The Wright Brothers were inseparable and indispensable to each other (Wilbur, pictured right, was the older by four years). They lived in the same house, worked together six days a week, ate meals together, and had a joint bank account. The Wright Brothers even "thought" together, both liked to cook, and both were beyond-energetic . . . they were happiest and at their best when working together on their own projects at the same bench in their workshop.
However, they could be highly demanding and critical of each other, occasionally disagreeing to a point where they would shout. Often, they would be just as far apart in their views/perspective an hour after their shouting match, but by then they had taken each other's position. Neither brother had a yearning for the limelight, and did their best to avoid attention. For all practical purposes, Wilbur and Orville were "unidentical twins"; Wilbur was the more serious by nature, and remembered almost everything he saw, heard, and read. Orville's powers-of-concentration were immense, so much so that he largely lived in a world of his own.

Wilbur remained unperturbed and unruffled almost under any circumstances, and was an excellent speaker and writer; Orville was the more gentle of the brothers. Outside of home, Orville was painfully shy, and refused to take any public role an their behalf . . . that was Wilbur's job. But Orville was more cheerful, optimistic, and a natural entrepreneur, and his remarkable mechanical ingenuity was key in all their projects. Unlike Wilbur, Orville was extremely sensitive to criticism & mockery.
What the two brothers had in common above all else was unity of purpose and unyielding determination; they were both on a never-ending mission. In early-1899, Orville started a newspaper (he was still in high school) with his father's permission. A year later, both brothers published a money-making newspaper called "The Evening Item"; the business was Orville's, and he enjoyed it the most, working as hard as he could - Orville actually found Wilbur's performance in the newspaper business to be lacking. (Pictured: Wilbur and Orville on their front porch at home in Dayton, OH)

It was during these newspaper years that the Wright Brothers took up bicycling, which had become a national craze. Gone were the days of the "High Wheelers" of the 1870s/1880s; "Safety Bicycles" with two wheels the same size became the norm. While bicycles were acclaimed as a boon to all mankind by some, others felt they were morally hazardous, in that kids could be unsupervised. Also, according to this minority moral viewpoint, bicycles would mean less reading & education, and group bicycle "tours" would end with "seductions". These concerns had little effect; it seemed that everyone was riding a bicycle, including the citizens of
Dayton, Ohio.
In the spring of 1893, the Wright Brothers opened their small bicycle business; of the two, Orville loved bicycles the most. Competition was stout among bicycle businesses, and while Orville thrived, Wilbur wasn't experiencing the same level of fulfillment or joy. In 1895, the Wright Brothers started making their own model bicycles, available for order. The "Van Cleve" (pictured) sold for $60 (an attention-getting $1725 today); a second, less-expensive model called the "St. Clair" was introduced shortly thereafter. The Wright Brothers earned between $2000 and $3000 per year ($56k - $84k today).

In 1896, during/after Orville's near-death bout with Typhoid Fever (105 degree temperature), Wilbur read about the German glider enthusiast Otto Lilienthal that was killed in an accident. Lilienthal took lessons from birds; in that he adapted the "Art of Flight" from their arched/vaulted wings . . . to fly, one had to be "with the wind". In 1896, Lilienthal had crashed while flying his #11 Glider, falling from an altitude of 50 feet, dying of a broken spine at age 48. After reading about Lilienthal's death, Wilbur passion towards flying was aroused; it was the first true passion he had experienced as an adult. Wilbur's reading on birds became intense . . . Wilbur was convinced that the structure of the fixed wing was key in order to achieve flight.
On 30 May 1899, Wilbur wrote the Smithsonian Institute, requesting all the information they had on flight. Books and pamphlets were sent to Wilbur, among them items by Samuel Pierpont Langley. Langley was an astronomer and a secretary of the Smithsonian, and was among the most respected scientists in America. In 1896, Langley flew a pilotless "Aerodrome" (pictured: a painting of the "Aerodrome" glider), launched by catapult on high ground by the Potomac River. The "Aerodrome" flew for about half-a-mile, and then crashed into the river. Among those trying to create a flying machine at the same time as Langley was Sir Hiram Maxim (famous for the modern machine gun); Maxim spent $100k of his own in his venture. Also, Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison were researching air machines, as were inventors/innovators in France, where the word "avion" (airplane) was added to the French language.

The Wright Brothers were not discouraged by the failures, humiliations, or deaths experienced by others. Wilbur & Orville were not college graduates, and didn't have any formal technical training, or any experience working with anyone else but themselves. The Wright Brothers didn't have any friends in "high places", financial backers, and had very little extra money of their own. Despite those obstacles, the Wright Brothers learned about LIFT, where the air moved faster over the top wing, thereby reducing the air pressure under the wing. Wilbur and Orville learned about PITCH (nose-up or nose-down) and ROLL (rotation of the wings, like a boat rocking) and YAW (applied to the direction, the turning of the plane, pointing the nose right/left) and EQUILIBRIUM (control: the ability to remain in the air, the most important factor).
Wilbur's study of birds in flight showed that birds adjusted their wings (e.g. tips), creating balance and equilibrium. For Wilbur, that meant shifting weight on the glider was out, and finding ways to manipulate air was in. Orville calculated that Lilienthal had only spent 5 total hours in the air; the Wright Brothers would test and fly many more hours to develop both their knowledge and skill. Orville, using cardboard wings, showed Wilbur how the top &/or bottom wings could be "warped" in order to manipulate the air, which would mean their glider could even bank-and-turn, just like birds. "Wing Warping" (a.k.a. "Wing Twisting") was an original advancement in aviation developed by the Wright Brothers.

In the summer of 1899, in the second floor of their bike shop, Wilbur and Orville started to build their first aircraft, a flying kite from split bamboo and paper with a wingspan of 5 feet. Their design of a biplane glider meant greater stability in the air; they tested the glider in an open field outside of Dayton (OH); when the wings were warped, the glider responded, but then started to descend by the nose, and crashed. Nonetheless, the Wright Brothers believed that they were ready for a man-carrying glider after their "Kite Test".
On 13 May 1900, Wilbur wrote Octave Chanute, the famous French flight researcher, asking for advice on where to conduct flying experiments without rain or bad weather, yet with sufficient wind. Chanute suggested South Carolina or Georgia, where the sand dunes on the beaches would aid with landing. Based on that advice, plus mounds of meteorological data from the U.S. Weather Service, the Wright Brothers chose Kitty Hawk (NC) on the Outer Banks, for the steady winds and sandy & soft beaches . . . and the isolation for the Wright Brothers to work in privacy.
In the final weeks of 1900, the Wright Brothers had built a full-size glider that could be taken apart and reassembled. The wingspan of their first glider at Kitty Hawk measured 18 feet, and cost $15, but still needed long spruce spars which were unattainable in Dayton, but the Wright Brothers hoped they would be able to find in the East Coast. The Wright Brothers also brought a box camera and a tripod, as well as all the necessary tools needed for the glider and camp. By this point, the Wright Brothers had made (and were making) enough money from their bicycle business so they could spend extended time in the Outer Banks . . .

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President Reagan: The Budget Battle During the Summer of 1981

5/7/2016

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Source: H.W. Brands. Reagan: The Life (2015)

About a month after being shot, President Ronald Reagan asked for, and received permission to, address Congress. Reagan had to fight through extended arms and hands to reach the podium. Reagan reveled in, and reciprocated, that good feeling . . . he felt like he was once again performing. Soon enough in his address, Reagan launched into the topics of spending, inflation, and taxes . . . still, six months after his election, the economy was still in "Stagflation" mode. Inflation had scarcely abated and interest rates were punishingly high. Eight million Americans were unemployed, and real wages were down.
Reagan said the effort to end the economic misery should begin with the federal budget, arguing that the federal government was too large and that it spent too much. Reagan mentioned that his proposed budget had moved along until the Democrats in the House presented their version that kept social spending but cut defense spending and raised taxes. Reagan stated that he proposed nothing more than to stop tax increases, not cut taxes. Reagan, speaking in the immediate aftermath of the first Space Shuttle Mission, stated that "We have much greatness before us."

After his speech, Reagan's approval rating increased to 68%, which would be the highest it would reach during his remaining time in office. In the House,
Speaker Tip O'Neill and the Democrats made a show of resistance, but the tidal wave of support in the nation for Reagan was such that the Democrats didn't dare block the President's budget proposal. The House passed the budget bill, and the House and the Senate prepared to "seal the deal" with a Reconciliation Bill.
(Pictured from left-to-right: President Reagan, Vice-President George H.W. Bush, and Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill of Massachusetts).
It was at that point that Reagan administration shot themselves in the foot. The bullet was Social Security; the system had become financially unsound as the number of retirees and beneficiaries increased, and payments would soon exceed contributions. A bitter fight surfaced in the Reagan administration on how to reform Social Security; David Stockman (Director of the Office of Management and Budget) had a plan that cut Social Security benefits using supply-side logic and tactical compromises.

Reagan authorized Stockman's proposal, believing that Social Security was finally on sound footing. Stockman's plan may have been good economic austerity, but Chief of Staff James Baker III understood that the real issue was politics, not economics, and that there would be a severe political backlash against the administration with the planned cuts in Social Security. Baker refused to have Reagan's fingerprints on Stockman's plan, and he wanted Heath and Human Services to be the arm of the Executive branch that pushed for the plan.
(Pictured: President Reagan with the OMB Director David Stockman during a Cabinet meeting)
Stockman was furious, but in just two days, Baker's predicted backlash started, and Stockman had to admit that his plan was in serious trouble. Democrats, as well as many Republicans, attacked the administration, saying that the cuts to Social Security would devastate America's seniors . . . to a man they felt blindsided by the proposed cuts. The Senate preemptively buried the Social Security proposal in committee with an unanimous vote. Stockman's Social Security plan, and Reagan's authorization of the plan, killed the legislative momentum that had been built to that point by the administration.

The House and Senate Reconciliation Committee on the budget bill was the largest in history, with 72 Senators and 183 Representatives. The Democrats on the committee dragged out the process, hoping to gain at least some advantage. Reagan saw Speaker Tip O'Neill as a "New Dealer" that believed in "Big Government" and "Big Spending". O'Neill and the Democrats held up the budget bill long enough that Reagan started to bargain. Instead of 10% cuts on tax increases per year for three years, it became 5% per year for ten years. Also, without any prompting, Congress accepted a reduction in the top tax rate for unearned income, from 70% to 50%, which was something Reagan wanted, but hadn't yet officially proposed.
Reagan had reached a point where he was happy-enough with the bill, but the committee continued to drag out the process, and Reagan vowed to fight on. On 27 July 1981, Reagan spoke to America from the Oval Office on the stalled budget. Reagan stated that his top priority was the tax program, and that citizens were needlessly frightened over Social Security. Reagan pledged to keep the Social Security checks coming with the full amounts due. Reagan then attacked the Democrats, using a chart to back up his claim that their tax cuts were illusory. Reagan stated that the Democrat's plan would only be beneficial for two years; after that, it would become an economic disaster, increasing the already too-high inflation rate.

Reagan challenged Americans to hold their elected members of Congress accountable, and to contact them in record numbers. Reagan's appeal worked its magic; Congress finally was in a mood to follow the President. Baker told Reagan that the Reconciliation Budget Bill passed, and would be on his desk very soon. The reconciled bill featured cuts for projected federal government spending, 3% for fiscal 1982, 4% in 1983, and 4.5% in 1984. Schools took a 20% hit, school lunches went down 33%, funding for Food Stamps was cut 15%. Medicaid lost $1 billion, the Job Corps lost 20% of its budget, public housing fell 40%, and funding for the Arts decreased 30%. Reagan awaited word on the Tax Cut Bill, and he only had to wait to the next day. The House voted 238-195, and the Senate 89-11, which was a larger-than-expected majority. Reagan received all he had hoped for and more. (Pictured from left-to-right: "The Troika" - Chief of Staff James Baker III, Special Counsel Edwin Meese, and Deputy Chief of Staff Michael Deaver . . . they were the "tip of the spear" for Reagan during his first term)

Business depreciation accelerated, the "Marriage Penalty" for two-income couples decreased, and the exclusion of estate taxes increased, exempting all but the very wealthy. The biggest bonus was the indexing of tax rates to eliminate "Bracket Creep" and inflation. Reagan signed the budget and tax bills, saying they were the "greatest political win in half a century". But another battle loomed: tax cuts were written on stone, but in comparison, spending cuts were written on paper with ink that readily disappeared. Spending cuts had to work their way through hostile committee after hostile committee, but for the moment, it was indeed "heady days" for the Reagan administration at the end of the Summer of 1981.

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The Wright Brothers: Kitty Hawk (1903)

The Wright Brothers: Before Kitty Hawk

President Reagan: The Budget Battle During the Summer of 1981

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