As the boys grew older, their parents encouraged them to pursue intellectual interests. They had two libraries in their house; books on theology were kept in the bishop's study, while the downstairs library had a large and diverse collection. This kept them always reading and learning while they were not at school. Although their dad was a firm disciplinarian, both parents were loving and kept the family a close one. Every once and awhile, Milton would bring them various souvenirs and trin

In 1892, the brothers bought bicycles. They began repairing bicycles for friends, and then started their own repair business. They opened up a bicycle shop in 1893, and three years later, made their own bicycles called Van Cleves and St. Clairs. While caring for Orville, who was sick with typhoid in 1896, Wilbur read about two events; the death in a flying accident of Otto Lilienthal, the celebrated German experimenter with gliders, and the successful launching of powered models by Samuel Langley. This struck Wilbur with excitement.

Wilbur's skating accident and his mother's illness and subsequent death kept him from attending college. Orville was on the other hand, was an average student, known for his mischievous behavior. He quit school before his senior year to start a printing business with his brother.

To drive a propeller, you need power. The Wrights wanted a lightweight gasoline engine that would provide the necessary power. They tried to buy an engine, but no one was willing to build one to their specifics. Wilbur and Orville then built their own 4-cylinder, 12-horsepower engine. They built the 1903 Flyer in sections in the back room of their cycle shop, and with the able assistance of Charles Taylor, they built their own engine. There was no carburator. The gas was just dumped into the cylinders. It was air-cooled, without even the benefit of fins. To control the engine speed, the spark was advanced or retarded. It barely had the horsepower to drag the 1903 machine. As the engine broke in, the next year, it began to produce more horsepower, and better flights.

The following year, in 1901, the Wright brothers returned to North Carolina and tested a new and improved glider with a 22-foot wingspan. They made their camp in Kill Devil Hills, rather then Kitty Hawk, as they found the large hills better to conduct flight tests than the beaches of Kitty Hawk. The glider was an enlarged version of the 1900 glider. Unfortunately, the 1901 glider still did not have adequate lift. Numerous attempts at free flight were made. The longest flight on August 8 covered a distance of 389 feet. The Wrights often tested their glider as a kite, in an effort to better understand how much lift the craft produced. It was clear that there was an error in the formula they had used to compute lift. A bad performance by the glider prompted the Wright brothers to construct a wind tunnel to test the effectiveness of a variety of wing shapes.

Twenty minutes later the third flight started. Wilbur was proceeding along pretty well when a sudden gust from the right lifted the machine up twelve to fifteen feet and turned it up sidewise

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1776
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)