Orville and Wilbur Wright: Pioneers of the Age of Flight

Orville and Wilbur Wright: Pioneers of the Age of Flight — page 3
Late in the autumn of 1878 our father came into the house one evening with some object partly concealed in his hands and before we could see what it was he tossed it into the air Instead of falling to the floor as we expected it flew across the room till it struck the ceiling where it fluttered awhile and finally sank to the floor It was a little toy known to scientists as a hélicoptère A toy so delicate lasted only a short time in the hands of small boys but its memory was abiding Orville Wright Century Magazine 1908 came home with a newfangled toy It was a small flying gizmo a sort of helicopter made of paper bamboo and cork It had a rubber band connected to a propeller The propeller was mounted atop of a stick When the boys twirled the propeller with their fingers the elastic wrapped tightly around the stick When they let go the elastic unwound quickly spinning the propeller The toy flew The little gadget was based on a design by Alphonse Pénaud a French aviation pioneer Alphonse had invented a rubber torsion motor in the early 1870s Toymakers in Europe had been making miniature models of the device ever since but the wonderful whirligig had only just made its way across the Atlantic Ocean to the United States Wilbur and Orville were fascinated with their new plaything They called it a bat 66