chapters 5-6 Summary and Analysis

Chapter 5: Back to the Drawing Board

Wilbur and Orville returned to Ohio discouraged by the second round of tests at Kitty Hawk. The brothers reflected on the problems and review their calculations. Realizing that they were basically groping in the dark because many of the experiments and information they had been relying on were unreliable, the brothers finally decided to rely entirely on their own data. They returned to the workroom behind the bicycle shop and began to run their own tests to gather more accurate data. In order to test different types of wing surfaces the brothers built a wind tunnel. The next step would be to make model wings known as airfoils. Fortunately, all of the tools needed to create the airfoils were on hand. Using hammers, tin shears, a soldering iron and files, the brothers created...