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Comprehension Questions


Chapter 4: Three Years to Flight: 1901

Answer Key

Directions: After reading Chapter 4, Three Years to Flight: 1901, answer each question using complete sentences. Back up your answers by using information from the book.

1. On a separate piece of paper, make a chart that lists the differences between the glider of 1900 and the glider of 1901.

Difference 1900 1901
wingspan 16 ft. 22 ft.
wing width 5 ft. 7 ft.
surface area of wing 165 sq. ft. 308 sq. ft.
wing curve less greater
leading edge sharper blunter
wing warp controlled by hands controlled by feet
weight 46 lbs. 98 lbs.
landing gear none skids

2. Name the two problems which they were having, and give the solution for each problem.

Problem: center of pressure
Solution: reduced the curvature of the wings and changed the shape of the leading edge of the wing to lower wind resistance
Problem: stalling
Solution: do not angle the wing too steeply during slow flight

3. What happened when Wilbur attempted to turn the glider during flight?

When he changed the shape of the wing by "wing warping," he created drag, and it slowed the motion of the right wing. The left wing continued to move forward. This caused the glider to slip sideways, and Wilbur lost control.

4. What did this problem lead them to do next?

They realized that they would have to throw out all the mathematical tables and old theories of curvature of the wing and develop new and more accurate tables. They had to devise a way to test wings for the following aspects:

  • length-to-width ratio
  • the proper curve
  • shape of the front edge
  • the center of pressure
All this led them to design and create their own wind tunnel. It was six feet long and sixteen inches square. It used a small internal combustion engine to turn the fan. It had a small, glass window on the top which allowed the experimenter to view the wing models during the experiment. The Brothers tested about 150 different wing models in their wind tunnel.

5. What do you think the brothers used these experiment results for?

They used their results to develop a mathematical table that would tell them how much lift and drag each wing curve had.


  
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